Tana colobus monkey

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Tana colobus monkey
Systematics
Superfamily : Tailed Old World Monkey (Cercopithecoidea)
Family : Vervet monkey relatives (Cercopithecidae)
Subfamily : Common monkeys and colobus monkeys (Colobinae)
Tribe : Colobini monkeys
Genre : Red colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus )
Type : Tana colobus monkey
Scientific name
Piliocolobus rufomitratus
( Peters , 1879)

The Tana colobus monkey ( Piliocolobus rufomitratus ) is a species of primate from the group of colobus monkeys .

Tana colobus monkeys, like all colobus monkeys, are slender and have a long tail and a receding thumb . Their fur is black-gray on the back and light gray on the belly. There is a red cap at the top of the head.

These primates are only found in Kenya , where they live in forest areas on the lower reaches of the Tana River . Their habitat are the partially flooded river forests.

Tana colobus monkeys are diurnal and usually stay in the trees. They live in groups of up to 30 animals, in contrast to many other red colobus monkeys , these are not multi-male groups. Rather, often only one or two males live together with a number of females and their young animals. These primates are herbivores that primarily eat young leaves, but also eat fruits, seeds, buds and flowers. Like all colobus monkeys, they have a multi-chambered stomach for better utilization of the difficult to digest plant food .

The Tana colobus monkey has a small area of distribution that is exposed to strong influences and regulatory measures by humans. As a result of habitat destruction and hunting, the populations have fallen sharply; an estimate from 1994 puts the total population at 1,100 to 1,300 animals. The IUCN lists the species as " critically endangered ". The main retreat is the Tana River National Primate Reserve.

literature

  • Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
  • 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 .

Web links