Red tailed monkey
Red tailed monkey | ||||||||||||
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Red tailed monkey |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Cercopithecus ascanius | ||||||||||||
( Audebert , 1799) |
The red-tailed monkey or Congo-white-nosed monkey ( Cercopithecus ascanius ) is a species of primate from the genus of the monkeys ( Cercopithecus ) within the family of the vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae).
features
Red-tailed monkeys have a black face with white whiskers, a whitish nose patch, and blue skin around the eyes. The body is brown, the limbs black-gray. The tip of the tail is red on the underside. The head body length of these animals is 40 to 60 centimeters and their weight 3 to 6 kilograms.
distribution and habitat
Red-tailed monkeys live in the central and southern parts of Africa , from Central Africa to Uganda and Angola . Their habitat is primarily tropical rainforests, but they can also be found in swamp forests and other forest types.
Way of life
These animals live in harem groups made up of a male, several females and their offspring, the group size is usually between 11 and 14 animals. They are diurnal tree dwellers who live in the lower and middle layers of the forest. They often socialize with diademed monkeys and colobus monkeys .
The diet of these animals consists mainly of fruits, but they also eat insects, flowers and leaves.
After a gestation period of around five months, the female gives birth to a single young. This is weaned after six to 12 months and sexually mature at four to six years.
Subspecies
There are currently five subspecies:
- C. ascanius ascanius
- C. ascanius atrinasus
- C. ascanius katangae
- C. ascanius schmidti
- C. ascanius whitesidei
threat
Red-tailed monkeys are hunted because they sometimes devastate plantations, and they are also feared as carriers of yellow fever . Nevertheless, they are relatively common and are not endangered species.
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Elizabeth L. Gadsby, Colin P. Groves, Aoife Healy, K. Praveen Karanth, Sanjay Molur, Tilo Nadler, Matthew C. Richardson, Erin P. Riley, Anthony B. Rylands, Lori K. Sheeran, Nelson Ting, Janette Wallis, Siân S. Waters & Danielle J. Whittaker: Family Cercopithecidae (Old World Monkeys). Page 690 in Russell A. Mittermeier , Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson : Handbook of the Mammals of the World: - Volume 3. Primates. Lynx Editions, 2013 ISBN 978-8496553897
- Marina Cord & Esteban E. Sarmiento: Cercopithecus ascanius Red-tailed monkey, page 375–381 in: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume II: Primates , Bloomsbury, London, 2013 ISBN 978-1-4081-2252-5
Web links
- Information on the Animal Diversity Web
- Information on primatis.de
- Cercopithecus ascanius in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006 Posted by: T. Butynski & Members of the Primate Specialist Group, 2000. Accessed June 23 of 2008.