Tantalus green monkey

Tantalus green monkey
	Tantalus Vervet Monkey ( Chlorocebus tantalus )
Systematics
Superfamily :	Tailed Old World Monkey (Cercopithecoidea)
Family :	Vervet monkey relatives (Cercopithecidae)
Subfamily :	Cheekbones monkey (Cercopithecinae)
Tribe :	Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecini)
Genre :	Vervet monkeys ( Chlorocebus )
Type :	Tantalus green monkey
Scientific name
	Chlorocebus tantalus
	( Ogilby , 1841)

Distribution area of the tantalus green monkey

The tantalus vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus tantalus ) is a species of primate from the family of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae). It is one of the six species in which the vervet monkeys are differentiated in the more recent classifications.

The fur of these primates is gray-green on the upper side, the underside is lighter, almost white. The face is black, there is a light stripe on the forehead. The hands and feet are also black. They reach a head body length of 40 to 60 centimeters and a tail length of up to 70 centimeters and a weight of 4 to 6 kilograms, whereby the males are significantly heavier than the females.

Tantalus monkeys are native to central Africa, their range extends from the Volta River in Ghana to Sudan , Uganda and northwestern Kenya (around Lake Turkana ). They inhabit a variety of habitats, both open forests and savannas , but are dependent on sleeping trees.

Their way of life should match that of the other green monkeys. They are diurnal and stay on the ground more often than other vervet monkeys , although they can climb well. They live in large groups that consist of a few males, many females and their offspring and can contain up to 80 animals. In the groups, males and females establish a distinctive hierarchy, which is expressed, among other things, in access to food resources and mutual grooming.

They are omnivores that eat fruits, shoots and other parts of plants, but also insects and other small animals.

Although they are hunted in some places for their meat and suffer from the destruction of their habitat, the tantalus green monkeys are not considered to be endangered species.

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 .

Web links

KA Cawthon Lang: Primate Factsheets: Vervet ( Chlorocebus sp. )

Chlorocebus tantalus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Posted by: Kingdon, J. & Gippoliti, S., 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2013.