Black-and-white colobus

Black-and-white Colobus[1]
Mantled Guereza (Colobus guereza)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cercopithecidae
Subfamily: Colobinae
Genus: Colobus
Illiger, 1811
Type species
Simia polycomos
Schreber, 1800
(= Cebus polykomos Zimmermann, 1780)
Species

Colobus satanas
Colobus angolensis
Colobus polykomos
Colobus vellerosus
Colobus guereza

Black-and-white colobus are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa, and are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus Piliocolobus.[1] The word "colobus" comes from Greek ekolobóse "he cut short" and is so named because its thumb is a stump.

Baby colobus are born completely white. Colobus are herbivorous, eating leaves, fruit, flowers, and twigs. The habitat of a colobus includes primary and secondary forest, riverine forest, and wooded grasslands; they are found at higher density logged forests more so than other primary forests. Their ruminant-like digestive systems have enabled these leaf-eaters to occupy niches that are inaccessible to other primates. Colobus live in territorial groups of approximately 9 individuals, based upon a single male with a number of females and their offspring. There are documented cases of "allo" mothering, which means members of the troop other than the infant's biological mother care for it.

Colobus are important for seed dispersal through their sloppy eating habits as well as through their digestive system. In addition, they are prey for many forest predators. Colobus struggle from the bushmeat trade, logging, and habitat destruction.

There are five species of this monkey, with at least eight subspecies:[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 167-168. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3. 
  2. ^ Wolfheim, J.H. (1983) Primates Of The World: Distribution, Abundance And Conservation Routledge ISBN 3718601907

External links