Angola Colobus
Encyclopedia
The Angola colobus, Angolan black-and-white colobus or Angolan colobus (Colobus angolensis) is an arboreal Old World monkey
belonging to the Colobus genus.
There are six recognized subspecies (with one undescribed ssp from the Mahale Mountains in Tanzania):
, 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.
Angola colobi have 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 to 20 kg.
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
and southwestern Uganda
. The species can also be found in East Africa
, especially in the montane and coastal forests of Kenya
and Tanzania
and in isolated mountain areas. Although the species is named after Angola
, it is quite rare in that country. Of all Colobus species, the Angola Colobus occurs in the southernmost latitude
s. The geographical range lies south of that of the Mantled Guereza
. Recorded to 2,415 m asl in Kenya (Anderson et al. 2007).
Old World monkey
The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade Catarrhini. The Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting a range of environments from tropical rain forest to savanna, shrubland and mountainous...
belonging to the Colobus genus.
There are six recognized subspecies (with one undescribed ssp from the Mahale Mountains in Tanzania):
- Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis
- Sclater’s Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis angolensis
- Powell-Cotton’s Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis cottoni
- Adolf Friedrichs’s Angola colobus, or Ruwenzori Black-and-white Colobus, Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii
- Cordier’s Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis cordieri
- Prigogine's Angola colobus, Colobus angolensis prigoginei
- Peters's Angola colobusPeters's Angola colobusThe Peters's Angola colobus also known as Peter's Angola colobus or Tanzanian black-and-white colobus, is a subspecies of angola colobus...
or Tanzanian Black-and-white Colobus, Colobus angolensis palliatus
Physical characteristics
Like all black-and-white colobiBlack-and-white colobus
Black-and-white colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus Colobus, native to Africa. They are closely related to the brown colobus monkeys of genus Piliocolobus. The word "colobus" comes from Greek κολοβός kolobós , and is so named because its thumb is a stump.Colobuses are herbivorous, eating...
, 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.
Angola colobi have 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 to 20 kg.
Distribution and habitat
The Angola colobus occurs in dense rainforestRainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s, both in the lowlands and coastal mountains. It lives in most of the Congo Basin
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
, to the south and northeast of the Congo River
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
, as far as Ruwenzori, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
and southwestern Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. The species can also be found in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, especially in the montane and coastal forests of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and in isolated mountain areas. Although the species is named after Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, it is quite rare in that country. Of all Colobus species, the Angola Colobus occurs in the southernmost latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
s. The geographical range lies south of that of the Mantled Guereza
Mantled Guereza
The mantled guereza , also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black and white colobus monkey, a kind of Old World monkey...
. Recorded to 2,415 m asl in Kenya (Anderson et al. 2007).