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The western chimpanzee, or West African chimpanzee, (''Pan troglodytes verus'') is a Critically Endangered
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of the
common chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...
. It inhabits western Africa, specifically
Côte d'Ivoire 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 ...
,
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
,
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
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 ...
,
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
, but has been extirpated in three countries:
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 ...
,
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 ...
, 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 ...
.


Etymology

The taxonomical genus ''Pan'' is derived from the
Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
of fields, groves, and wooded glens, Pan. The species name ''troglodytes'' is Greek for 'cave-dweller', and was coined by
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (11 May 1752 – 22 January 1840) was a German physician, naturalist, physiologist, and anthropologist. He is considered to be a main founder of zoology and anthropology as comparative, scientific disciplines. He wa ...
in his ''Handbuch der Naturgeschichte'' (''Handbook of Natural History'') published in 1779. ''Verus'' is
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for 'true', and was given to this subspecies in 1934 by Ernst Schwarz, who originally named it as ''Pan satyrus verus''.


Taxonomy and genetics

The western chimpanzee (''P. t. verus'') is a subspecies of the
common chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...
(''Pan troglodytes''), along with the
central chimpanzee The central chimpanzee or the tschego (''Pan troglodytes troglodytes'') is a subspecies of chimpanzee closely related to the other great apes such as gorillas, orangutans, and humans. The central chimpanzee can be found in Central Africa, mostly ...
(''P. t. troglodytes''), the
Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes ellioti'') is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee which inhabits the rainforest along the border of Nigeria and Cameroon. Male Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees can weigh up to 70 kilos with a bo ...
(''P. t. ellioti''), and the
eastern chimpanzee The eastern chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii'') is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It is native to the Central African Republic, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. Taxono ...
(''P. t. schweinfurthii''). The western chimpanzee last shared a common ancestor with ''P. t. ellioti'' between 0.4 and 0.6 million years ago (mya) and with ''P. t. troglodytes'' and ''P. t. schweinfurthii'' 0.38–0.55 mya. Western chimpanzees are the most genetically differentiated and
homozygous Zygosity (the noun, zygote, is from the Greek "yoked," from "yoke") () is the degree to which both copies of a chromosome or gene have the same genetic sequence. In other words, it is the degree of similarity of the alleles in an organism. Mo ...
subspecies of the common chimpanzee.


Distribution and habitat

The population of the western chimpanzee once spanned from southern Senegal all the way east to the
Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
. Today, the largest populations remaining are found in
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
,
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, and
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
.


Behavior


Diet and hunting

Male and female western chimpanzees differ in their prey. In Fongoli, Senegal, Senegal bushbaby, Senegal bushbabies account for 75% of females' prey and 47% of the males'. While males will prey more on
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, such as
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 (27%) and
Guinea baboon The Guinea baboon (''Papio papio'') is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. Some (older) classifications list only two species in the genus '' Papio'', this one and the hamadryas baboon. In those classifications, all other ''Papio'' species ...
s (18%), only males were observed to hunt
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 ...
s and only females were observed to hunt
banded mongoose The banded mongoose (''Mungos mungo'') is a mongoose species native from the Sahel to Southern Africa. It lives in savannas, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes. Mongooses use various types of dens for shel ...
s. Both will occasionally hunt
bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...
s, preferring fawns, when given the chance. Adult, adolescent, and juvenile females are slightly more likely to hunt with tools than males of the same age group.


Unique behaviors

Western chimpanzees have unique behaviors never observed in any of the other subspecies of the chimpanzee. In fact, their behaviour is so diverged from that of their fellow subspecies of chimpanzee that it has been proposed West African chimpanzees may be a distinct species in their own right. Western chimpanzees engage in an unusual rock-throwing behaviour, throwing large rocks into hollow tree stumps or just against trees, presumably as some sort of primitive ritual or perhaps an early form of competitive sport. They make wooden
spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s to hunt other primates, use caves as homes, share plant foods with each other, and travel and forage during the night. They also submerge themselves in water and play in it to stay cool in the oppressive heat. Female west African chimpanzees are quite gregarious and often support one another in conflicts with males, resulting in a more gender-balanced hierarchy than that of the rigidly patriarchal east african chimpanzees. Female West African chimpanzees have been observed hunting and accompany males on territorial patrols, playing a more important role in social dynamics than other chimpanzee subspecies. While it was traditionally accepted that only female chimpanzees immigrate and males remain in their natal troop for life, Western Chimpanzees uniquely exhibit female and male immigration between groups, suggesting males are less territorial and more willing to accept unfamiliar males. Paternity tests indicate males frequently mate with females from several different communities, siring infants from them. There are even cases of solitary male western chimpanzees, while in any other population, a chimpanzee couldn't survive alone. Male West African chimpanzees generally are respectful of females and do not forcibly confiscate food from them, which may at least partly stem from the gregarious females forming alliances. Among the Tai forest community, infants are often adopted by unrelated adults, with both sexes adopting infants in equal measure. Female western chimpanzees also can rebuff the unwanted advances of males and select males to breed with on their own terms. This further is in line with the active and possibly co-dominant role female western chimpanzees play in their communities.


Conservation status

The IUCN lists the western chimpanzee as Critically Endangered on the
Red List of Threatened Species 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 biologi ...
. There are an estimated 21,300 to 55,600 individuals in the wild. The primary threat to the western chimpanzee is
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 ...
, although it is also killed for
bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...
.


References

{{Authority control
western chimpanzee The western chimpanzee, or West African chimpanzee, (''Pan troglodytes verus'') is a Critically Endangered subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It inhabits western Africa, specifically Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea ...
Mammals of West Africa Critically endangered fauna of Africa
western chimpanzee The western chimpanzee, or West African chimpanzee, (''Pan troglodytes verus'') is a Critically Endangered subspecies of the common chimpanzee. It inhabits western Africa, specifically Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea ...