The ground monkey is one of the two monkey species that makes their home in Scandera and they inhabits southern Scandera and the islands in sundet, Asterarna and Jarnarna where they make their living as omnivores on the large open fields and in the thick dark forests of the north. Just as most animals that have adopted for a life in Scandera so are they covered in a thick layer of fur to withstand the cold winter temperatures.

Etymology

Scanderan ground monkey
	File:Snowmonkey.jpg
	An adult and child walking through the snow.
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Genus:	Macaca
Species:	M.Apfus
Binomial name
	Macaca Apfus; Hylfred Görenssen, 1785
	File:Habitat monkey.png
	Habitat

The term ground monkey comes from the Translation of the Imerian name "Mark apfa" as the monkey have been named as it spends most of it's life on the ground rather than the trees as it's more common brother, the pine monkey.

History

Historically so have the ground monkey been seen as a weak creature as they are quite long down on the food chain but they have despite that had a repetition as thieves which means that the god of thieves, Lander, is often drawn with one of the monkeys on his side just as he is said to be wearing a cloak made out of monkey fur that makes him invisible and makes people unable to hear him.

Taxonomy

The first scientific book that categorised animals by latin names and in families was Hylfreds Görenssen's book about animals, even if there are several older books that have mentioned them or studied them but those are often not very scientific and takes up folklore as fact and works in religious histories as fact. Just as in the modern age however so were the monkey classified as a close relative to the pine monkey but any connection to the thinking races were left out as Hylfred separated sentient creatures from animals.

Anatomy and health

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Size compared to a human

The average ground monkey stands around half a meter tall and is covered in thick light brownish fur that turns white and thicker in the winter months. Normally so does the monkey walk over large distances on all four but it can walk on two legs for short periods of time and when it climbs the trees so does it often do so in a straight position.

However lacking a long tail so is the ground monkey not as agile or quick as it's smaller cousin the pine monkey and it cannot preform the intricate and impressive acrobatic manoeuvres that the pine monkey can.

However while the females have pale pink faces all year around so are the males known to turn into a deep red colour during the mating period.

Reproduction

The reproduction rituals of the Ground monkey is as much else in it's life a complicated ritual as the females releases hormones that attracts both females and males alike and same sex couplings between females is not unheard of or even uncommon during the mating seasons. However as the females releases their hormones so does the faces of the males turns a deep dark red.

When the season starts so does the males chose a female that they follow around for about one and a half day before she mates with him in a complicated courtship ritual. Once the mating is over so does both the male and female continue on their own way and chooses a new mate to have a courtship with.

The larger the male is and the higher up on the hierarchy he is means that he is more likely to get to mate as he can and will interrupt the courtship rituals of other weaker males and court the female once he has driven away the smaller male. The females however mates with all the layers of the hierarchy and often tries to mate with both the lower ranking males and the higher ranking ones. Once the new baby monkey is born so does it's mother carry it around on first her stomach but then her back for the first 18 months of it's life while the rest of the tribe helps as much as they can.

Diet

The ground monkey is a omnivore and while it often lives on fruits, berries, nuts, eggs and roots so is it not too rare for them to hunt amphibians, small mammals and the animals living on the islands have also been known to hunt birds like puffins that they dig out of their holes.

Behaviour

The ground monkey lives in large tribes lead by an alpha male, with several females and males living in the tribe. When the Males grow up so do they leave the tribe to look for a new tribe. The females on the other hand stays in the tribe and mates for life with new males that moves in with the tribe. The monkey is however known as a rather smart animal with complex social structures as the females takes care of the males by cleaning them. They are also known to have a very primitive language as the monkeys are able to communicate with one another by screaming.

While the monkey lives most of the day on the ground so does it however have it's nests in the trees where they climb up in the night and down in the morning to protect them from predators. They also have a tendency to shatter and climb up into trees if they are hunted by a predator where they often help one another to fend of the attacker or attackers.

Other smart qualities shown by the ground monkey is that they are known to gather food for the winter that they buries around their nests. This is further evidence by the "coo" sounds they give away when they travels in groups to ensure that the entire tribe knows the locations of the rest as well as warns the tribe if one of them are lost or taken by a predator.