The white-eyelid mangabeys are African

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s belonging to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Cercocebus''. They are characterized by their bare upper

eyelid An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. The human eyel ...

s, which are lighter than their facial skin colouring, and the uniformly coloured hairs of the

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

. The other two genera of

mangabey Mangabeys are West-African Old World monkeys, with species in three of the six genera of tribe Papionini. The more typical representatives of ''Cercocebus'', also known as the white-eyelid mangabeys, are characterized by their bare, upper eye-l ...

s, ''

Lophocebus The crested mangabeys are West African Old World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Lophocebus''. They tend to have dark skin, eyelids that match their facial skin, and crests of hair on their heads. Another genus of mangabeys, ''Cercocebus'', was ...

'' and ''

Rungwecebus The kipunji (''Rungwecebus kipunji''), also known as the highland mangabey, is a species of Old World monkey that lives in the highland forests of Tanzania. The kipunji has a unique call, described as a 'honk-bark', which distinguishes it from i ...

'', were once thought to be very closely related to ''Cercocebus'', so much so that all the species were placed in one genus. However, it is now understood that ''Lophocebus'' and ''Rungwecebus'' species are more closely related to the

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...

s in genus ''Papio'', while the ''Cercocebus'' species are more closely related to the

mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

Species

*Genus ''Cercocebus'' **

Sooty mangabey The sooty mangabey (''Cercocebus atys'') is an Old World monkey found in forests from Senegal in a margin along the coast down to the Ivory Coast. Habitat and ecology The sooty mangabey is native to tropical West Africa, being found in Guinea, G ...

, ''Cercocebus atys'' **

Collared mangabey The collared mangabey (''Cercocebus torquatus''), also called red-capped mangabey and white-collared mangabey is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae of Old World monkeys. It formerly included the sooty mangabey as a subspecies. ...

, ''Cercocebus torquatus'' **

Agile mangabey The agile mangabey (''Cercocebus agilis'') is an Old World monkey of the white-eyelid mangabey group found in swampy forests of Central Africa in Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, and DR Congo. Until ...

, ''Cercocebus agilis'' **

Golden-bellied mangabey The golden-bellied mangabey (''Cercocebus chrysogaster'') is a social Old World monkey found in swampy, humid forests south of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was previously considered a subspecies of the agile manga ...

, ''Cercocebus chrysogaster'' **

Tana River mangabey The Tana River mangabey (''Cercocebus galeritus'') is a highly endangered species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Some authorities have included the taxa ''agilis'' and '' sanjei'' as subspecies of this species, while others award the ...

, ''Cercocebus galeritus'' **

Sanje mangabey The Sanje mangabey (''Cercocebus sanjei'') is a highly endangered Old World monkey of the white-eyelid mangabey group from the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania. They are about in length, excluding the tail, and their body colour is greyish. Fru ...

, ''Cercocebus sanjei''

References

External links

Primate Info Net ''Cercocebus'' Factsheets

. Primates of Africa Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire {{oldworld-monkey-stub