Male monkeys with large noses have more females in their harems - proving that size does matter, according to a team of scientists.

Researchers studying proboscis monkeys in Malaysia found that males with exaggerated masculine traits, such as big noses, "serve as advertisements to females in mate selection".

Those involved in the study by Cardiff University, Kyoto University and Sabah Wildlife Department and the Danau Girang Field Centre in Malaysia, said the new evidence points to both male-male competition and female choice as contributing to the evolution of enlarged male noses.