The southern patas monkey (''Erythrocebus baumstarki'') is a
critically endangered species of
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 ...
found only in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, and formerly in
Kenya
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It may be the most endangered primate in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
known to still be extant, with only 100 to 200 known wild inviduals.
Taxonomy
This species was described in 1905, but later reclassified as a subspecies of the
common patas monkey
The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa.
Taxonomy
There is some confusion surrounding ...
(''E. patas''). However, a 2017 review on variation and taxonomy in ''
Erythrocebus
''Erythrocebus'' is a genus of Old World monkey. All three species in this genus are found in Africa, and are known as patas monkeys. While previously considered a monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that cont ...
'' supported reclassifying it as a distinct species based on its distinctive appearance and geographic separation from the other two species. This taxonomy was followed by the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
and
American Society of Mammalogists
The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...
.
Phylogenetic evidence has also affirmed ''E. baumstarki'' as being a distinct species.
It is possible that due to its seemingly-
relict
A relict is a surviving remnant of a natural phenomenon.
Biology
A relict (or relic) is an organism that at an earlier time was abundant in a large area but now occurs at only one or a few small areas.
Geology and geomorphology
In geology, a r ...
ual distribution at the fringe of the range of ''
Erythrocebus
''Erythrocebus'' is a genus of Old World monkey. All three species in this genus are found in Africa, and are known as patas monkeys. While previously considered a monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that cont ...
'', ''E.'' ''baumstarki'' may represent an ancient lineage of ''Erythrocebus'' that has been largely supplanted by ''E. patas'' throughout the rest of its range.
Distribution
In the early 20th century, this species had a relatively small distribution in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya. Two major populations were known, separated by the
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately in total length, that runs from Lebanon in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it i ...
: the
Serengeti
The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serengeti ...
population, found west of the valley, and the
Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
population, found east of the valley. The Kilimanjaro population was the much larger of the two populations, ranging from
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
south to
Lolkisale.
Over the following century, the population suffered a heavy decline; the Kilimanjaro population suffered the greatest losses despite originally being the larger population; the very last known individual, a deceased juvenile killed by
domestic dogs
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
, was recorded in 2011. Over the next several years, the species suffered further losses; the very last individual in Kenya, a lone individual sighted in
Maasai Mara National Reserve
Maasai Mara, also sometimes spelled Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people, the ancest ...
, was recorded in 2015. The species' range in Tanzania had also continued to contract over the past 2 decades, and by 2021 it was restricted to the western Serengeti region.
Habitat
This species inhabits
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
woodland, primarily
whistling thorn
''Vachellia drepanolobium'', more commonly known as ''Acacia drepanolobium'' or whistling thorn, is a swollen-thorn Acacia sensu lato, acacia native to East Africa. The whistling thorn grows up to 6 meters tall. It produces a pair of straight spi ...
(''Vachellia drepanolobium'') woodland. The majority of its diet derives directly from the whistling thorn, with half of this deriving from the gum of the tree, and another half of this deriving from ants of the genus ''
Crematogaster
''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are a ...
'', which have a mutualistic relationship with the whistling thorn. The whistling thorn is primarily found above 500 meters
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
and is not found below 200 meters, serving as a prominent altitudinal limit for ''E. baumstarki''.
Description
''E. baumstarki'' is one of two known species of ''Erythrocebus'' with a black face and nose, at least in adult males, with the other being the
Blue Nile patas monkey (''E. poliocephalus'').
Status
''E. baumstarki'' was likely never a common species; although it is difficult to observe, its core range is heavily visited by tourists and naturalists, and the very few historic specimens indicate that it was likely already rare when it was described in 1905. Following the dramatic declines over the 20th and early 21st centuries, this species is now exclusively restricted to protected areas. These remnant populations are thought to only total 100 to 200 total individuals, amounting to 50 to 100 mature individuals.
Threats
The largest threat to the species and the main driver of its decline is the heavy
population growth
Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...
in its home range, which, when combined with unsustainable use of natural resources, which has led to heavy
habitat degradation
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 ...
, especially in ''V. drepanolobium'' woodlands. Many of these woodlands have been cleared for agriculture and livestock rearing, and remaining woodlands are frequently encroached upon by livestock, further degrading them.
The growing population in the region has also led to competition between wildlife and humans/livestock for drinking water. ''Erythrocebus'' species depend on permanent sources of drinking water, especially after the increasingly frequent periods of
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
; however, many of these water sources have herders present all day long, putting the monkeys into conflict with herders and domestic dogs, who may kill monkeys. Lack of access to water and persecution at the available water sources is thought to be a major risk to the species. In addition, this species is frequently caught in
snares from illegal
poaching
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
operations, despite not being a target species. These risks have all likely led to a decline in
genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...
of the species, which may further threaten it.
Climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
may also be a potential threat due to it spurring a decrease in water availability and ''V. drepanolobium'' inhabiting specific altitudes that may decrease with warming, although its impact may be limited as patas monkeys have shown potential to adapt; due to this, human interactions likely serve as the greater threat to the species, and may magnify the effects climate change has on the species.
Aside from
Miss Waldron's red colobus
Miss Waldron's red colobus (''Piliocolobus waldronae'') is a species of the red colobus native to West Africa. It had previously been described as a subspecies of the western red colobus, ''P. badius''. It has not been officially sighted since ...
(''Piliocolobus waldronae'') and the
Mount Kenya potto (''Perodicticus ibeanus stockleyi''), both of which may be potentially
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
already, the southern patas monkey could be the most endangered primate in Africa, and may potentially be the next to go extinct. Some estimates indicate that without conservation efforts, the species could go extinct before 2031.
Conservation
The lack of conservation actions for this species may be due to it being very poorly-known, as well as it previously being considered a subspecies of the
common patas monkey
The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa.
Taxonomy
There is some confusion surrounding ...
rather than a distinct species of its own. Potential conservation actions include close monitoring of populations, working with local people to monitor groups, as well as stopping poaching, illegal livestock grazing, and keeping dogs out of protected areas. It has also been recommended that the species be added to
The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates
The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates is a list of highly endangered primate species selected and published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Primate Specialist Group (PSG), the In ...
campaign. Despite the very low population and the future intensification of threats, the species may be able to recover if the threats are successfully mitigated.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q108865004
Erythrocebus
Mammals of Kenya
Mammals of Tanzania
Mammals described in 1905
Taxa named by Paul Matschie
Critically endangered fauna of Africa