Mangabeys are West-African

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 ...

s, with species in three of the six genera of tribe

Papionini Papionini is a tribe of Old World monkeys that includes several large monkey species, which include the macaques of North Africa and Asia, as well as the baboons, geladas, mangabeys, kipunji, drills, and mandrills, which are essentially from sub- ...

. The more typical representatives of ''

Cercocebus The white-eyelid mangabeys are African Old World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Cercocebus''. They are characterized by their bare upper eyelids, which are lighter than their facial skin colouring, and the uniformly coloured hairs of the fur. ...

'', also known as the white-eyelid mangabeys, are characterized by their bare, upper eye-lids which are lighter than their facial skin colouring, and the uniformly coloured hairs of the fur. Members of ''

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 ...

'', the crested mangabeys, tend to have dark skin, eyelids that match their facial skin, and crests of hair on their heads. A new species, the

highland mangabey 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 ...

, was discovered in 2003 and was initially placed in ''Lophocebus''. The genus ''

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 ...

'' was later created for this species. ''Lophocebus'' and ''Cercocebus'' were once thought to be very closely related, so much so that all the species were in one genus. However, the species within genus ''Lophocebus'' are now thought to be 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 ...

s in genus ''

Papio 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 chacm ...

'', while the species within genus ''Cercocebus'' 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 mal ...

Genera

The three genera of mangabeys are: *''

'', the crested mangabeys *''

'', the highland mangabey (''kipunji'') *''

'', the white-eyelid mangabeys

References

{{Animal common name Papionini Primates of Africa