The guenons (, ) are
Old World monkey
Old World monkeys are primates in the family Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons (genus '' Papio''), red colobus (genus '' Piliocolob ...
s of the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Cercopithecus'' (). Not all members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names; also, because of changes in
scientific classification
image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy
Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
, some monkeys in other genera may have common names that include the word "guenon". Nonetheless, the use of the term guenon for monkeys of this genus is widely accepted.
All members of the genus are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
, and most are forest monkeys. Many of the species are quite local in their ranges, and some have even more local
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
. Many are threatened or endangered because of
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
. The species currently placed in the genus ''
Chlorocebus
''Chlorocebus'' is a genus of medium-sized primates from the family of Old World monkeys. Six species are currently recognized, although some people classify them all as a single species with numerous subspecies. Either way, they make up the enti ...
'', such as
vervet monkey
The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus '' Chlorocebus''. The five distin ...
s and
green monkey
The green monkey (''Chlorocebus sabaeus''), also known as the sabaeus monkey, is an Old World monkey with golden-green fur and pale hands and feet. The tip of the tail is golden yellow as are the backs of the thighs and cheek whiskers. It does n ...
s, were formerly considered as a single species in this genus, ''Cercopithecus aethiops''.
In the
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
, the word "guenon" is apparently of
French origin. In French, ''guenon'' was the common name for all species and individuals, both males and females, from the genus ''Cercopithecus''. In all other monkey and apes species, the French word ''guenon'' designates only the females. The three species such as the
L'hoest's monkey
L'Hoest's monkey (''Allochrocebus lhoesti''), also known as the mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo Basin. They mostly live in mountainous forest areas in small, female-dominated groups. They have a dark coat and ca ...
,
Preuss's monkey and the
sun-tailed monkey
The sun-tailed monkey (''Allochrocebus solatus'') from Gabon is one of the least studied primates in its habitat. It was discovered as a new species in 1988, and is classified as a guenon, which is a member of the genus ''Cercopithecus'', but was ...
were formerly included in the genus and now listed in a different genus ''
Allochrocebus
''Allochrocebus'' is a primate genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classificati ...
''
Classification
The genus ''Cercopithecus'', derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
terms (''kérkos'', “tail”) and (''píthēkos'', "ape"), was named by Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in 1758.
Species list
Hybrids
The red-tailed monkey
The red-tailed monkey (''Cercopithecus ascanius''), also known as the black-cheeked white-nosed monkey, red-tailed guenon, redtail monkey, or Schmidt's guenon, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae.
It is found in Angola, Central ...
(''Cercopithecus ascanius'') is known to hybridize with the blue monkey
The blue monkey or diademed monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'') is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It ...
(''C. mitis'') in several locations in the wild in Africa.
References
Sources
*
External links
*
Primate Info Net ''Cercopithecus'' Factsheets
{{Taxonbar, from=Q255571
01
Primates of Africa
Cercopithecini
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus