The ursine colobus (''Colobus vellerosus''), also known as the white-thighed colobus, Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus, or the white-thighed black-and-white colobus,
is a species of
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 ...
in the family
Cercopithecidae
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 ...
.
Description
The ursine colobus is quite distinctive, with predominantly black fur and lacking a white mantle. They have a black and naked face which is surrounded by a thick white halo of fur. The ursine colobus is further characterized by white patches on the thighs which vary in width and length. Like other species of colobus, the babies are born with an all white fur coat, which starts to turn black at around three months of age. In contrast to other species of colobus, they have slender bodies and ischial callosities, a hard thickened area of skin on the buttocks that allows comfortable sitting on branches. It has an all white tail which is longer than the body. They weigh between for males and in females with a body length of is in males and in females.
Biology
Ursine colobus are diurnal and highly arboreal, coming down from trees only occasionally when feeding. Their social behavior is like that of many
polygynous
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...
monkeys, with each group consisting of related females their juvenile offspring and a territorial male. The males are highly territorial and disperse upon reaching sexual maturity.
[
Ursine colobus use a roaring call to advertise territory and location, this roar is a low "rur, rur, rur" noise. They also have alarm calls that alert group members when predators have been seen which are a "snorting" sound, made by all members of the group except infants.][
Ursine colobus are mainly vegetarian and have a diet which is made up of new leaves and seeds, with the occasional addition of fruits, insects, and termite clay.][
]
Habitat
Ursine colobuses are found in lowland rainforest and in gallery forest
A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...
s which extend northwards into the Guinea Forest Savannah Zone. In Bénin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
, these monkeys were observed in several habitats, including swamp forests, semi-deciduous forests and gallery forests.
Distribution
It is found in Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
, Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
, Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, and Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
, as well as very southernmost Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...
. Its natural habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s. It is threatened by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
.
Conservation
The ursine colobus is threatened by both hunting and deforestation. Its range falls within a region which includes a dense and rapidly growing human population, where forest destruction has been extensive, and there is uncontrolled hunting of wildlife in many places. However, in some parts of their range these monkeys are held to be sacred. It is listed as Class A under the African Convention, and under Appendix II of CITES. They are known to live within a number of protected areas including Comoe National Park, Fazao-Malfakassa National Park and Mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
, Bui and Digya National Parks (Ghana).
Nomenclature
The ursine colobus was formerly thought to be a subspecies of ''Colobus polykomos'' with which it interbred; however, it has since been recognized as a separate species.["Combining this information n loud callswith data on cranial morphology (e.g. Hull, 1979) and pelage (e.g. Rahm, 1970), Oates and Trocco, (1983) concluded that the black-and-white colobus monkeys are best regarded as belonging to five species: ''Colobus polykomos'' (Zimmerman, 1780); ''C. vellerosus'' (Geoffroy, 1831); ''C. guereza'' (Ruppell, 1835); ''C. satanas'' (Waterhouse, 1838); and ''C. angolensis'' (Sclater, 1860). Oates and Trocco (1983) also concluded that ''C. salanas'' retains more primitive features than other members of the group. and that ''C. guereza'' and ''C. vellerosus'', in their low-frequency loud call and other features, are the most derived species.]
page 432
of Oates, John F.; Bocian, C. M. and Terranova, C. J. (2000) "The loud calls of black-and-white colobus monkeys: their adaptive and taxonomic significance in light of new data" , ''In'' Whitehead, Paul F. Jolly, Clifford J. (2000) ''Old World Monkeys'' Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, pp. 431–452,
Notes
External links
*ARKive
images and movies of Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus ''(Colobus vellerosus)''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q546456
ursine colobus
The ursine colobus (''Colobus vellerosus''), also known as the white-thighed colobus, Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus, or the white-thighed black-and-white colobus, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae.
Description
The ursine ...
Mammals of West Africa
ursine colobus
The ursine colobus (''Colobus vellerosus''), also known as the white-thighed colobus, Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus, or the white-thighed black-and-white colobus, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae.
Description
The ursine ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire