Niger Delta Colobus monkey
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Niger delta colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus epieni ) |
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| Piliocolobus epieni | ||||||||||||
| ( Grubb & Powell , 1999) |
The Niger Delta colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus epieni ) is a primate species from the group of colobus monkeys that is endemic to the western part of the Niger Delta in Nigeria, West Africa. For a long time the species was considered a subspecies of the Pennant colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus pennantii ) from the Republic of Congo and the island of Bioko , but Colin P. Groves raised it to the rank of an independent species, which has been reported in more recent publications (e.g. in the “Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 3, Primates ”) is increasingly recognized.
features
The Niger Delta colobus monkey is similar to the Pennant colobus monkey and, like the latter, has a blackish back, orange-brown sides and a whitish belly. The white of the underside extends to the outer sides of the arms and limits the orange-brown coloration to a narrow band. Hands and feet are black. The tail is dark red-brown on the upper side with a medium dark brown band and maroon or dark brown-red on the underside. The last third of the tail becomes increasingly black-brown. Conspicuous black vertebrae sit above the ears.
habitat
The Niger Delta colobus monkey lives exclusively in the so-called marsh forest zone in the western Niger Delta. It is characterized by a year-round high water level, but tidal effects or additional flooding do not occur. The limited distribution of edible plants in this biotope is believed to be a key factor in the narrow range of the species. The tree Hallea ledermannii is an important forage plant . The distribution area is bounded in the northwest by the Forcados and Bomadi rivers, by the Sagbama, Osiama and Apoi in the east and by the mangrove belt in the south. At the time of its discovery, the Niger Delta colobus was locally abundant. In the meantime, however, the species is endangered by deforestation , hunting and other human activities and the population of the species has declined by 80% in the last 30 years, so that it is now considered critically endangered. Other primate species that occur in the habitat of the Niger Delta red colobus are the white-throated guenon ( Cercopithecus erythrogaster pococki ) and the collared mangabey ( Cercocebus torquatus ), both of which are in the Red List of IUCN listed as threatened (Vulnerable), and the greater spot-nosed monkey ( Cercopithecus nictitans ), the monkey cat ( Cercopithecus mona ) and possibly also the green colobus monkey ( Procolobus verus ). The Niger Delta colobus monkey is not legally protected in Nigeria itself, its two most important population groups settle in the Apoi Creek and the Upper Orashi Forest Reserve
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Colin P. Groves: The taxonomic diversity of the Colobinae of Africa. Journal of Anthropological Sciences, Vol. 85 (2007), pp. 7-34, PDF ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Piliocolobus epieni in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Oates, JF & Struhsaker, T., 2008. Accessed June 19, 2013.
- ↑ John F. Oates & J. Lodewijk Werre: Niger Delta Red Colobus Monkey, Procolobus epieni, Grubb and Powell, 1999, Niger Delta, Nigeria (2008) , PDF in Primates in peril: the world's 25 most endangered primates 2008-2010 / ed. by Russell A. Mittermeier, illustrations by Stephen D. Nash
- ↑ Miriam Isoun: Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS) - 2006-2008 Version ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Wetlands.org (PDF document; 164 kB) (English)
- ↑ Ogunkoya: Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands (RIS) - 2006-2008 Version ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on wetlands.org (PDF document; 129 kB) (English)
