An Old World monkey belonging to one of 23 species in the genus Macaca (family Cercopithecidae). Macaques feed mainly on fruit but also eat other plant material, and the crab-eating macaque (M. fascicularis) eats crabs and other invertebrates. Macaques are highly social, with complex social structures, always with a dominant female matriarch, and occur throughout much of Asia, North Africa, and southern Europe.