Chlorocebus
| Chlorocebus | |
|---|---|
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Chlorocebus head color patterns Top left: green monkey, top right: grivet Bottom left: malbrouck, bottom right: vervet |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Subfamily: | Cercopithecinae |
| Tribe: | Cercopithecini |
| Genus: |
Chlorocebus Gray, 1870 |
| Type species | |
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Simia aethiops Linnaeus, 1766 |
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| Species | |
Chlorocebus is a genus of medium-sized primates from the family of Old World monkeys. Six species are currently recognized, although some people classify them all as a single species with numerous subspecies. Either way, they make up the entirety of the genus Chlorocebus.
Confusingly, the terms "vervet monkey" and "green monkey" are sometimes used to refer to the whole genus Chlorocebus, though they also refer more precisely to species Chlorocebus pygerythrus and Chlorocebus sabaeus, respectively, neither of which is the type species for Chlorocebus. This article uses the term Chlorocebus consistently for the genus and the common names only for the species.
The native range of these monkeys is sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal and Ethiopia south to South Africa. However, in previous centuries, a number of them were taken as pets by slavers, and were transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean islands, along with the enslaved Africans. The monkeys subsequently escaped or were released and became naturalized. The descendents of those populations are found on the West Indian islands of Barbados, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, and Sint Maarten. A colony also exists in Broward County, Florida.
The dorsal fur of Chlorocebus monkeys varies by species from pale yellow through grey-green brown to dark brown, while the lower portion and the hair ring around the face is a whitish yellow. The face, hands, and feet are hairless and black, although their abdominal skin is bluish. Males have a blue scrotum and red penis. The monkeys are sexually dimorphic, wild adult males range from 42 to 60 cm (17 to 24 in) and females are 30 to 49.5 cm (11.8 to 19.5 in), including a tail measuring 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in). Males weigh from 3.9 to 8 kg (8.6 to 17.6 lb) and females weigh from 3.4 to 5.3 kg (7.5 to 11.7 lb).
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Wikipedia