The Angola colobus (''Colobus angolensis''), Angolan black-and-white colobus, or Angolan colobus is a

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of Old World monkey belonging to the genus '' Colobus''.

Taxonomy

There are six recognized subspecies and one undescribed subspecies from the Mahale Mountains in Tanzania: *Angola colobus, ''Colobus angolensis'' **Sclater's Angola colobus, ''C. a. angolensis'' **Powell-Cotton's Angola colobus, ''C. a. cottoni'' ** Ruwenzori colobus ''C. a. ruwenzorii'' **Cordier's Angola colobus, ''C. a. cordieri'' **Prigogine's Angola colobus, ''C. a. prigoginei'', from Mt. Kabobo **Peters Angola colobus or Tanzanian black-and-white colobus, ''C. a. palliatus''

Physical characteristics

Like all black-and-white colobi, the Angola colobus has black fur and a black face, surrounded by long, white locks of hair. It also has a mantle of white hair on the shoulders. The long, thin tail can be either black or white, but the tip is always white. There is a significant regional variation in the total amount of white on the body and the length of the fur. Animals that live in the mountains have longer, thicker fur than animals from the lowlands to protect them against the cold. The Angola colobus has a head-body length of 50 to 70 cm, with the males usually being larger than females. The tail is about 75 cm long, and the body weight varies between 9 and 20 kg.

Distribution and habitat

The Angola colobus occurs in dense

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

s, both in the lowlands and coastal mountains. It lives in most of the Congo Basin, to the south and northeast of the Congo River, as far as Ruwenzori,

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

and southwestern

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. The species can also be found in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

, especially in the interior and coastal forests of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and in isolated mountain areas. Although the species is named after

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, it is quite rare in that country. Of all ''Colobus'' species, the Angola colobus occurs in the southernmost

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

s. The geographical range lies south of that of the mantled guereza. It is found up to 2,415 m above sea level in Kenya.

Ecology and behaviour

All ''Colobus'' species are very sociable and live in groups of up to several hundred animals, although most groups are much smaller. Their diet consists of mostly leaves, but also lesser amounts of fruit and seeds.

References

External links

Angolan Black & White Colobus
{{Taxonbar, from=Q541813 Angola colobus Fauna of Central Africa Angola colobus Mammals of Burundi Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mammals of Kenya Mammals of Malawi Mammals of Mozambique Mammals of Rwanda Mammals of Tanzania Mammals of Uganda Mammals of Zambia Angola colobus Angola colobus