A monkey said to have a human-like face and a permanently surprised expression has become the latest Internet sensation in China, after photos and videos of the ape were shared on social media.

Tourists to the Tianjin Zoo were tickled by the black-capped capuchin's facial features, which they say resemble a human's.

A 15sec clip of the animal looking around with a dazed and anxious expression was posted on Sina Weibo on March 19, and has been viewed more than 8.3 million times to date.

Broadcasting company GBTimes, which quoted a zookeeper, said that the monkey's face can be recognised by mobile phone facial-recognition applications.

"Once, we were using our mobile phones to take photos of animals for promotional purposes and found that this monkey's face can be recognised as a human being by the app, unlike the other monkeys," the zookeeper had said.

"Are you sure this is not the zookeeper?" quipped a Weibo user, while another added: "Brother, if you're stuck in the monkey's body, send us a signal!"

According to Chinese television network CGTN, the monkey is 18 years old. It belongs to a species native to Central and South America which has an average lifespan of 20 years.

Earlier this month, Yogi, a pet dog belonging to a woman from Massachusetts in United States went viral after Reddit users pointed out that it had a "man's face".

Some commented that the dog, which is a mix of a shih tzu and toy poodle, resembles a brown-eyed, bearded man.

Others were quick to compare it to images of celebrities, such as American actor Jake Gyllenhaal and British singer Ed Sheeran.