Northern pygmy monkey
| Northern pygmy monkey | ||||||||||||
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Northern pygmy monkey ( Miopithecus ogouensis ) in Prague Zoo |
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| Miopithecus ogouensis | ||||||||||||
| Kingdon , 1997 |
The northern pygmy monkey ( Miopithecus ogouensis ) is a primate species from the family of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae). It has only been separated from the southern pygmy monkey as an independent species since 1997 .
features
Together with their southern relatives, the northern pygmy monkeys are the smallest old world monkeys, with a head body length of around 32 to 45 centimeters and a weight of 1.1 to 1.4 kilograms . Their fur is gray-green on the top and yellowish-white on the underside. The head is comparatively large and the muzzle short. They differ from the southern species in that the ears and the hairless skin of the face are flesh-colored and not blackish.
distribution and habitat
Northern pygmy monkeys live in central Africa . Its distribution area includes southern Cameroon , Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , the Republic of the Congo and the Angolan enclave Cabinda . The Congo forms the southern border of their range, south of it live the southern pygmy monkeys. Their habitat are river forests and other forests near water.
Way of life
Pygmy monkeys are diurnal tree dwellers, but can also swim well. They live in large groups of 60 to 100 animals made up of roughly twice as many females as males. To search for food, they are divided into smaller, separate-sex subgroups. Their diet consists mainly of insects and fruits, but they also eat other parts of plants and small animals.
After a gestation period of around 160 days, the female usually gives birth to a single, relatively large young animal.
Danger
The degree of endangerment of the northern pygmy monkey is unclear. Hunting does not play a role because of the small size, the main threat is likely to be habitat destruction. The IUCN combines the two pygmy monkeys into one species and lists them as not endangered.
Systematics
By the 1960s at the latest, it was known that the northern populations of the pygmy monkeys might represent their own, initially unnamed species. The formal name was not given until 1997, the specific epithet ogouensis alludes to the river Ogooué .
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
