Preuss's red colobus (''Piliocolobus preussi'') is a

red colobus Red colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Piliocolobus''. It was formerly considered a subgenus within the genus ''Procolobus'', which is now restricted to the olive colobus. They are closely related to the black-and-white colobus monke ...

primate Primates are a diverse order (biology), order of mammals. They are divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include the Tarsiiformes, tarsiers and ...

species endemic to the Cross-Sanaga Rivers ecoregion. An important population occurs in

Korup National Park Korup National Park is in the Southwest Province of Cameroon and extends over 1,260 km2 of mostly undisturbed primary forest. It is reputedly one of Africa’s oldest and richest tropical forests in terms of floral and faunal diversity. It i ...

Southwest Province The Southwest Region or South-West Region () is a region in Cameroon. Its capital is Buea. , its population was 1,553,320. Along with the Northwest Region, it is one of the two Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroon. Various Ambazonia ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

, but the species' distribution is localized (groups are frequently encountered near the main tourist camps). The species is considered present in adjacent

Cross River National Park The Cross River National Park is a national park of Nigeria, located in Cross River State, Nigeria. There are two separate sections, Okwangwo (established 1991) and Oban (established 1988). The park has a total area of about 4,000 km2, most ...

- Oban Division in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

and hunter reports suggest that few groups remain in Nkwende Hills and

Nta Ali NTA may refer to: * Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis, a method for visualizing and analyzing particles * National Tax Agency, the official tax collecting agency of Japan * National Tax Association, a non-profit organization in United States * Nat ...

Forest Reserve in the broader Korup region.Astaras, C. (2009). Ecology and Status of the Drill (''Mandrillus leucophaeus'') in Korup National Park: Implications for Conservation. PhD dissertation, Gerog-August-University of Göttingen, pp. 287. A population is also present in Ebo forest, Littoral Province of

Conservation status

The Preuss's red colobus is critically endangered according to 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 ...

due to hunting pressure and destruction of its habitat. Large portion of the remaining groups are included within protected areas (

, Cross River National Park, and the proposed national park at Ebo).

Ecology

Like other colobus monkeys, it is primarily a

leaf eater In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. ...

Description

Preuss's red colobus has a black head, a black back ticked with orange, and bright red tail, limbs and cheeks.

Taxonomy

Preuss's red colobus has, in the past, been considered a subspecies of '' P. pennantii'' and '' P. badius.''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1206196 Preuss's red colobus Mammals of Cameroon Mammals of West Africa Critically endangered fauna of Africa Preuss's red colobus Primates of Africa Taxa named by Paul Matschie