Lomami monkey
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Lomami monkey ( Cercopithecus lomamiensis ) |
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| Cercopithecus lomamiensis | ||||||||||||
| Hart et al. , 2012 |
The Lomami monkey ( Cercopithecus lomamiensis ) is an African primate species from the genus of the monkeys ( Cercopithecus ) within the family of the vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae). The species was discovered in 2007 and described in 2012 . The type epithet is named after the Lomami in the Central African Democratic Republic of the Congo , in the vicinity of which the type specimen was found. In various African languages the animal is called Lesula , Kifula or Tou .
features
The Lomami monkey is a medium-sized, slender monkey with long limbs. Adult males reach a head-torso length of 47 to 65 cm and a weight of 4 to 7.1 kg, subadult females a head-torso length of 40 to 42 cm and a weight of 3.5 to 4 kg.
The species is similar to the owl monkey ( Cercopithecus hamlyni ), from which it is geographically isolated by the Lomami and the Congo . The main difference between the two species is the color of their fur. The bare skin of the face, the eyelids and the auricles vary from pale pink to gray to brown. A vertical nasal stripe and a horizontal stripe above the eyes, as in the monkey monkey, can be more or less clearly present. The chin, neck and chest are yellowish and contrast with the black color of the abdomen. The fur on the shoulders and arms is black, the back hair at the base is whitish, gray or black and then banded in yellow or amber. A noticeable median lies on the back third of the back and on the base of the tail. The upper half of the thigh is silvery gray, while the rest of the legs and the inside are covered with black hair. The tail is amber at its base and becomes darker towards the rear. The tip of the tail is always completely black. Adult males are larger than females, have larger canines and a blue scrotum and perineum .
distribution and habitat
The Lomami monkey occurs in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between the middle Lomami and the upper Tshuapa . The area of the previously known habitat covers 17,000 km² and consists of lowland rainforest ( Terra Firme forest ).
The first author of the first scientific description, John A. Hart, first became aware of an individual of the species that this colleague had made of the prey of a bushmeat hunter through a photograph of a colleague . Hart discovered a young living specimen shortly afterwards as a pet of a child.
Way of life
Like the owl-capped monkey, the Lomami monkey lives semi- terrestrially , i.e. partly on the ground, and feeds primarily on herbaceous vegetation.
literature
- John A. Hart, Kate M. Detwiler, Christopher C. Gilbert, Andrew S. Burrell, James L. Fuller, Maurice Emetshu, Terese B. Hart, Ashley Vosper, Eric J. Sargis, Anthony J. Tosi. Lesula: A New Species of Cercopithecus Monkey Endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Implications for Conservation of Congo's Central Basin. PLoS ONE , 2012; 7 (9): e44271 doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0044271
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pet monkey turns out to be new species. In: Science. Volume 337, No. 6101, 2012, p. 1439, doi: 10.1126 / science.337.6101.1439-a