The Angola colobus (''Colobus angolensis''), Angolan black-and-white colobus, or Angolan colobus is a

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

Old World monkey Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...

belonging to the genus ''

Colobus Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Colobus'', native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus '' Piliocolobus''. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subs ...

''.

Taxonomy

There are six recognized subspecies and one undescribed subspecies from the Mahale Mountains in Tanzania: *Angola colobus, ''Colobus angolensis'' **Sclater's Angola colobus, ''C. a.'' subsp. ''angolensis'' **Powell-Cotton's Angola colobus, ''C. a.'' subsp. ''cottoni'' **

Ruwenzori colobus The Ruwenzori colobus (''Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii''), also known as Ruwenzori black-and-white colobus, is a subspecies of the Angola colobus. This primate is distributed from the Afromontane forests of the Ruwenzori Mountains across the mount ...

''C. a.'' subsp. ''ruwenzorii'' **Cordier's Angola colobus, ''C. a.'' subsp. ''cordieri'' **Prigogine's Angola colobus, ''C. a.'' subsp. ''prigoginei'' **Peters Angola colobus or Tanzanian black-and-white colobus, ''C. a.'' subsp. ''palliatus''

Physical characteristics

Like all black-and-white colobi, the Angola colobus has black fur and a black face, surrounded by long, white locks of hair. It also has a mantle of white hair on the shoulders. The long, thin tail can be either black or white, but the tip is always white. There is a significant regional variation in the total amount of white on the body and the length of the fur. Animals that live in the mountains have longer, thicker fur than animals from the lowlands to protect them against the cold. The Angola colobus has a head-body length of 50 to 70 cm, with the males usually being larger than females. The tail is about 75 cm long, and the body weight varies between 9 and 20 kg.

Distribution and habitat

The Angola colobus occurs in dense

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s, both in the lowlands and coastal mountains. It lives in most of the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

, to the south and northeast of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

, as far as Ruwenzori,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

and southwestern Uganda. The species can also be found in East Africa, especially in the interior and coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania and in isolated mountain areas. Although the species is named after Angola, it is quite rare in that country. Of all ''Colobus'' species, the Angola colobus occurs in the southernmost latitudes. The geographical range lies south of that of the mantled guereza. It is found up to 2,415 m above sea level in Kenya.

Ecology and behaviour

All ''Colobus'' species are very sociable and live in groups of up to several hundred animals, although most groups are much smaller. Their diet consists of mostly leaves, but also lesser amounts of fruit and seeds.

References

External links

Angolan Black & White Colobus
{{Taxonbar, from=Q541813 Colobus, Angola colobus Fauna of Central Africa Mammals of Angola, Angola colobus Mammals of Burundi Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of Kenya Mammals of Malawi Mammals of Mozambique Mammals of Rwanda Mammals of Tanzania Mammals of Uganda Mammals of Zambia Mammals described in 1860, Angola colobus Taxa named by Philip Sclater, Angola colobus