rhesus monkey
/ˈriːsəsmʌŋki
/(also rhesus macaque)
noun
A small brown macaque with red skin on the face and rump, native to southern Asia. It is often kept in captivity and is widely used in medical research.
- Macaca mulatta, family Cercopithecidae.
- Concentrations of relaxin in the plasma of the human, the rhesus monkey, and the marmoset during the peri-implantation period implicate relaxin as being involved in this critical period of feto-maternal interaction in these species.
- Research on a fellow primate, the rhesus monkey, reveals a gender gap in spatial cognition, but one that it is easily overcome with training.
Origin
Early 19th century: modern Latin rhesus, arbitrary use of Latin Rhesus (from Greek Rhēsos, the name of a mythical king of Thrace).