Wolf's mona monkey
| Wolf's mona monkey | |
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| Wolf's mona monkey at the Henry Doorly Zoo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Cercopithecidae |
| Genus: | Cercopithecus |
| Species: | C. wolfi |
| Binomial name | |
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Cercopithecus wolfi (Meyer, 1891) |
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The Wolf's mona monkey (Cercopithecus wolfi), also called Wolf's guenon, is a colourful Old World monkey in the family Cercopithecidae. It is found in central Africa, primarily between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. It lives in primary and secondary lowland rainforest and swamp forest.
The species was first described from a living specimen in the Zoological Garden at Dresden. It was brought in 1887 by Dr Ludwig Wolf from somewhere in central west Africa. The species was described in 1891 and named after the collector. This specimen died in October 1891 and the skeletal characters were described in 1894.
Wolf's mona monkey is in the C. mona grouping within the Cercopithecus genus along with Campbell's mona monkey, Dent's mona monkey, Lowe's mona monkey, the mona monkey, and the crested mona monkey. Wolf's mona monkey was previously considered a subspecies of the crested mona monkey. The Cercopithecus genus is a member of the Cercopithecinae subfamily along with baboons, , and macaques. This subfamily shares several common traits such as cheek pouches, low and rounded molar cusps, and simple stomachs; all adaptations to a frugivorous diet.
Wolf's mona monkey has two subspecies which are separated by a large area of swamp forest:
Guenons, the largest group of African primates, are very colorful. Their color is used in intraspecific communication for recognizing individuals, species, and potential mates. Wolf's mona monkey is dark grey with a red "saddle" on its back. The pelage depends on the subspecies. C. wolfi wolfi has a chestnut-colored patch on the middle of its back. Its arms are black and legs are red. It has a yellow underside, occasionally with an orange stripe down its flanks. Its cheek whiskers are yellow, speckled with black, and its ear tufts are red.C. wolfi elegans has a back which is gradually browner towards the rump. Its forearms are black, and its upper arms have a pale speckling. Its legs are light gray, while its underside is white. Its cheek whiskers are white, with dark speckling that increases near the base. Its ear tufts are white. The male's scrotum is blue. Wolf's mona monkey is also sexually dimorphic in size. Males weigh, on average, almost twice as much as females, 4.5 kilograms (10 lb) and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lb) respectively. Its small size makes it susceptible to predators, especially the crowned eagle and the leopard.
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Wikipedia