A genus of macaques including the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta), much used in laboratory biomedical research. Formerly called Macacus.

macaques; rhesus monkeys

Macacahttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/macaca macaca. (n.d.). Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Retrieved September 26, 2006, from Dictionary.com is a dismissive epithet used by francophone colonials in Central Africa's Belgian Congo for the native population.Note 22 in http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/lpca/aps/tshibumba3b.html#the%20one%20who%20founded%20it The history of Zaire as told and painted by Tshibumba Kanda Matulu in conversation with Johannes Fabian, Archives of Popular Swahili, ISSN 1570-0178, Volume 2, Issue 7 (6 June 2000) It may be derived from the name of the genus comprising macaque monkeys.