Abstract:

Background & Aims: Primates are the closest living relatives to humans. China harbors rich primate diversity, and research on this group is of great significance for biodiversity conservation and for understanding humanity itself. Primate research in China has boomed since the 1980s, with the establishment of a specialized academic system including the Primate Specialist Group (1989) and China Primatological Society (2017). 

Review Results: China hosted the International Primatological Society (IPS) Congress in 2002 and became an IPS member in 2014, marking its growing international influence. Chinese primatology has evolved from basic species surveys to a comprehensive discipline integrating multiple fields, addressing global biodiversity conservation and human cognitive evolution needs. Chinese scholars have achieved pivotal progress in six key areas. In taxonomy and distribution, new species such as White-cheeked macaques (Macaca leucogenys) and Skywalker hoolock gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) were discovered, confirming China harbors 29 primate species from 4 families and 10 genera. Genetic and evolutionary studies, led by the Primate Genome Project, revealed the radiation evolution of macaques driven by Quaternary climate fluctuations and the hybrid origin of snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus spp.), also elucidating primate extinction mechanisms and social evolution drivers. Behavioral and physiological research uncovered the “multilevel society” of golden snub-nosed monkeys (R. roxellana), gibbons’ song coordination and path-planning behaviors, and the synergistic adaptation of primate nutritional regulation and gut microbiota. Cognitive and neuroscientific studies identified neural bases for advanced cognition and emotional processing in macaques, establishing a complete research system from disease models to cellular atlases. Conservation research built a scientific system from risk assessment to targeted intervention, achieving remarkable results such as doubling the population of white-headed langurs (Trachypithecus leucocephalus). Methodological innovations applied AI behavior recognition and UAV monitoring, forming an intelligent “sky-land-sound” observation system and promoting automated and intelligent research. 

Prospects: Overall, Chinese primatology has formed internationally influential research paradigms in multiple key fields. Chinese primatology has developed into a comprehensive interdisciplinary discipline with prominent international contributions. Future research will focus on national strategic needs such as national park construction, biosafety and brain science. It will further integrate cross-disciplinary methods, advance basic research on primate genetics, behavior and cognition, and translate research achievements into global biodiversity conservation practices, contributing Chinese wisdom to human cognitive evolution and the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

Key words: primate, research progress, taxonomy, genetics, behavior, conservation, cognition