Colobus monkeys
| Colobus monkeys | ||||||||||||
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Mantled monkey ( Colobus guereza ) |
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| Colobini | ||||||||||||
| Jerdon , 1867 | ||||||||||||
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The Colobus (Colobini) are a generic group of the primate family of Cercopithecidae (Cercopithecidae). Both the German trivial name and the scientific name (Colobini or Colobus ) are based on the anatomical peculiarity of the receded, thus "mutilated" thumb (from the Greek κολοβός for "mutilated"). The family group is divided into three genera with over 20 species.
distribution
The homeland of the colobus monkeys is West , Central and East Africa , their distribution area extends from Senegal to Kenya and south to Angola and Zambia .
description
Colobus monkeys are relatively large, slender animals with a long tail and thin, long limbs. Their heads are rather small and round and they have no cheek pouches. The thumb has been reduced to a small hump in the black and white colobus monkeys ( Colobus ) and the red colobus monkeys ( Piliocolobus ) , this relic is also missing in the green colobus monkey ( Procolobus verus ). The regrettable thumb of the colobus monkeys is often associated with an adaptation to the tree-dwelling way of life and is found in a similar way in the not closely related spider-tailed monkeys of South America. The color of the fur varies depending on the species. Females of the red and green colobus monkeys get a significant sexual swelling (normal swelling) in the buttock region during their fertility. Non-adult males of the two genera show pseudo-sexual swelling .
Way of life
The habitat of the colobus monkeys are predominantly forests, mostly rain and mangrove forests , but sometimes also grasslands with trees . They are diurnal animals that are mostly in the trees. Colobus monkeys live together in groups, with group behavior differing depending on the species.
food
Colobus monkeys feed primarily on leaves, but they also eat fruits and flowers. They have a four-chambered stomach, with the two upper chambers serving as “fermentation chambers” with special bacteria to break down the cellulose; only then does the pre-digested food enter the lower stomachs, where it is further broken down before it moves on to the intestines. This digestive system is an adaptation to the nutrient-poor leaf food and is also found in a similar form in ruminants .
Reproduction
The gestation period is around five to six months, after which a young is usually born. In the black and white colobus monkeys, the females take care of the offspring together, in the other genera the mother is solely responsible for raising the young. Young animals become sexually mature after three to four years (females) or four to six years (males).
threat
The main threat to the colobus monkeys is, on the one hand, hunting for their meat and fur, and, on the other hand, the loss of their habitat through clearing of forests. To make matters worse, many species live in crisis-ridden countries in West and Central Africa, where animal welfare is being pushed into the background by wars and humanitarian tragedies. Almost all species are listed as endangered or threatened by the IUCN .
The genera
Three genera with a total of 23 species are distinguished, especially with regard to the color of the fur:
- The black and white colobus monkeys ( Colobus ) comprise five species:
- Angola colobus monkey ( C. angolensis )
- Mantled monkey or guereza ( C. guereza )
- Whiskered or colobus monkey ( C. polykomos )
- Black colobus monkey ( C. satanas )
- Geoffroy's colobus monkey ( C. vellerosus )
- The red colobus monkeys ( Piliocolobus ) consist of 17 species, their fur color is reddish brown, gray and often black.
- West African colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus badius )
- Bouvier colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus bouvieri )
- Niger delta colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus epieni )
- Luvua colobus monkey ( P. foai )
- Udzungwa colobus monkey ( P. gordonorum )
- Zanzibar colobus monkey ( P. kirkii )
- Lualaba colobus monkey ( P. langi )
- Oustalet colobus monkey ( P. oustaleti )
- Lomami colobus monkey ( P. parmentieri )
- Pennant colobus monkey ( P. pennantii )
- Preuss colobus monkey ( P. preussi )
- Tana colobus monkey ( P. rufomitratus )
- Semliki colobus monkey ( P. semlikiensis )
- Temminck colobus monkey ( P. temminckii )
- Ugandan colobus monkey ( P. tephrosceles )
- Thollon's colobus monkey ( P. tholloni )
- Miss Waldron's red colobus monkey ( P. waldronae )
- The green colobus monkeys ( Procolobus ) comprise only one species. Their fur is olive green.
- Green colobus monkey ( P. verus )
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 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). in Russell A. Mittermeier , Anthony B. Rylands, and Don E. Wilson : Handbook of the Mammals of the World: - Volume 3. Primates. Lynx Editions, 2013 ISBN 978-8496553897 . Page 566.
- ↑ Stephen R. Frost, Christopher C. Gilbert, Kelsey D. Pugh, Emily H. Guthrie, and Eric Delson: The Hand of Cercopithecoides williamsi (Mammalia, Primates): Earliest Evidence for Thumb Reduction among Colobine Monkeys. PLoS ONE 10 (5), 2015, p. E0125030, doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0125030 .
