Red-tailed monkey
| Red-tailed monkey | |
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| Semliki Wildlife Reserve, Uganda | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Genus: | Cercopithecus |
| Species: | C. ascanius |
| Binomial name | |
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Cercopithecus ascanius (Audebert, 1799) |
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| Geographic range | |
The red-tailed monkey, also known as the black-cheeked white-nosed monkey, red-tailed guenon, redtail monkey, or Schmidt's guenon (Cercopithecus ascanius) is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and possibly Burundi. The red-tailed monkey is usually black, red, or orange. Although native to this region, it has spread north and south as well as it can survive in different habitats and under different conditions. It is a distinct creature in its habitats and is gradually becoming endangered due to deforestation and over-exploitation through hunting and predation.
All primates are within the class Mammalia due to the distinguishing features of all mammals such as mammary glands, hair, and placental delivery of young. Primates are then in the Order Primates which is separated into two Sub-orders, Haplorhini and Strepsorhini. Sub-order Haplorhini is characterized by having a dry nose and nostrils that are oval in shape while sub-order Strepsorhini have moist noses with nostrils that are elliptical in shape. The red-tailed guenon is within the sub-order Haplorhini which is separated into two parvorders. Parvorder Catarrhini are the Old World monkeys and parvorder Platyrrhini are New World monkeys. Red-tailed monkeys are within the Parvorder Catarrhini and have nostrils that point downward which differs from the Platyrrhini which have nostrils that point to the sides. The overall classification of the red-tailed monkey is:
The red-tailed monkey is named as it sounds, for its red coloration of the tail's underside as well as the bi-coloration of the tail as the reddish color increases from the base to the tip. There are other features characteristic to this mammal as well such as the white nose and cheeks in the midst of black or dark grey body fur. Red-tailed monkeys also have very large, elastic cheeks which are used in gathering food and storing it in their mouths for safety.
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Wikipedia