Guenon
Encyclopedia
The guenons are the genus
Cercopithecus of Old World monkey
s. Not all the members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names, and because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have common names that do include the word "guenon". Nonetheless, the use of the term guenon for monkeys of this genus is widely accepted.
All members of the genus are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa
, and most are forest monkeys. Many of the species are quite local in their ranges, and some have even more local subspecies. Many are threatened or endangered because of habitat loss. The species currently placed in the genus Chlorocebus
, such as vervet monkey
s and green monkey
s, were formerly considered as a species in this genus, Cercopithecus aethiops.
In the English language
the word "guenon" is, although still uncertain, from French
origin. In French, guenon is the common name for all species and individuals, both males and females, from the Cercopithecus genus. In all other monkeys and apes species, the French word guenon only designates the females.
(Cercopithecus ascanius) is known to hybridize with the blue monkey
(C. mitis) in several locations in the wild in Africa.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Cercopithecus of Old World monkey
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...
s. Not all the members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names, and because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have common names that do include the word "guenon". Nonetheless, the use of the term guenon for monkeys of this genus is widely accepted.
All members of the genus are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
, and most are forest monkeys. Many of the species are quite local in their ranges, and some have even more local subspecies. Many are threatened or endangered because of habitat loss. The species currently placed in the genus Chlorocebus
Chlorocebus
Chlorocebus is a genus of medium-sized primates from the family of Old World monkeys. There are six species currently recognized, although some classify them all as a single species with numerous subspecies...
, such as vervet monkey
Vervet Monkey
The vervet monkey , or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus....
s and green monkey
Green Monkey
The green monkey , also known as the Callithrix monkey, is an Old World monkey with golden-green fur and pale hands and feet. The tip of the tail is golden yellow as are the backs of the thighs and cheek whiskers. It does not have a distinguishing band of fur on the brow, like other Chlorocebus...
s, were formerly considered as a species in this genus, Cercopithecus aethiops.
In the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
the word "guenon" is, although still uncertain, from French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
origin. In French, guenon is the common name for all species and individuals, both males and females, from the Cercopithecus genus. In all other monkeys and apes species, the French word guenon only designates the females.
Species list
Genus Cercopithecus- C. dryas group
- Dryas monkeyDryas MonkeyThe Dryas monkey , also known as Salonga monkey or ntolu, is a little-known species of guenon found only in the Congo Basin, restricted to the left bank of the Congo River. It is now established that the animals previously classified as Cercopithecus salongo were in fact Dryas monkeys...
or Salongo monkey, Cercopithecus dryas
- Dryas monkey
- C. diana group
- Diana monkeyDiana MonkeyThe Diana monkey is an Old World monkey found in West Africa, from Sierra Leone to Côte d'Ivoire.The Diana monkey ranges from 40 to 55 cm in length, excluding its tail, which is of a uniform 3–4 cm diameter and 50–75 cm long. Adults weigh between 4–7 kg...
, Cercopithecus diana - Roloway monkeyRoloway MonkeyThe Roloway monkey is a species of Old World monkey found in a small area of eastern Côte d'Ivoire and the forests of Ghana, between the Sassandra and Pra Rivers....
, Cercopithecus roloway
- Diana monkey
- C. mitis group
- Greater spot-nosed monkeyGreater Spot-nosed MonkeyThe greater spot-nosed monkey or Putty-nosed monkey is one of the smallest Old World monkeys. It is a guenon of the C. mitis group, native to West Africa and living to some extent in rain forests but more often in the transition zone between rain forest and savannah. It is primarily arboreal and...
, Cercopithecus nictitans- Cercopithecus nictitans nictitans
- Bioko putty-nosed guenon, Cercopithecus nictitans martini
- Blue monkeyBlue MonkeyThe blue monkey or diademed monkey is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the Great Rift Valley and south to northern Angola and Zambia...
, Cercopithecus mitis- Pluto monkey, Cercopithecus mitis mitis
- Silver monkeySilver MonkeyThe silver monkey is a species of Old World monkey found primarily in East Africa. Its range includes Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The silver monkey was previously considered a subspecies of the blue monkey .- External links :* Flickr -...
, Cercopithecus doggetti - Golden monkeyGolden MonkeyThe golden monkey is a species of Old World monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, including four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo...
, Cercopithecus kandti - Sykes' monkeySykes' MonkeySykes' monkey , also known as the white-throated monkey or Samango monkey, is an Old World monkey found between Ethiopia and South Africa, including south and east Democratic Republic of Congo...
, Cercopithecus mitis- Zanzibar Sykes' monkey, Cercopithecus mitis albogularis
- Pousargues' Sykes' monkey, Cercopithecus mitis albotorquatus
- Cercopithecus albogularis erythrarchus
- Cercopithecus albogularis francescae
- Cercopithecus albogularis kibonotensis
- Cercopithecus albogularis kolbi
- White-lipped monkey, Cercopithecus albogularis labiatus
- Cercopithecus albogularis moloneyi
- Cercopithecus albogularis monoides
- Cercopithecus albogularis phylax
- Cercopithecus albogularis schwarzi
- Zammarano's white-throated guenon, Cercopithecus albogularis zammaranoi
- Greater spot-nosed monkey
- C. mona group
- Mona monkeyMona MonkeyThe mona monkey is an Old World monkey that lives throughout western Africa. The mona monkey can also be found on the island of Grenada as it was transported to the island aboard slave ships headed to the New World during the 18th century. This guenon lives in groups of up to 35 in arboreal regions...
, Cercopithecus mona - Campbell's mona monkeyCampbell's Mona MonkeyCampbell's mona monkey , also known as Campbell's guenon and Campbell's monkey, is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family...
, Cercopithecus campbelli - Lowe's mona monkeyLowe's Mona MonkeyLowe's mona monkey is an Old World monkey in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found from the Ivory Coast to Ghana. It was previously classified as a subspecies of Campbell's mona monkey C. campbelli....
, Cercopithecus lowei - Crested mona monkeyCrested Mona MonkeyThe crested mona monkey , also known as the crowned guenon, crowned monkey, golden-bellied guenon, or golden-bellied monkey, is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family...
, Cercopithecus pogonias- Cercopithecus pogonias pogonias
- Cercopithecus pogonias nigripes
- Cercopithecus pogonias grayi
- Cercopithecus pogonias schwarzianus
- Wolf's mona monkeyWolf's Mona MonkeyThe Wolf's mona monkey , also called Wolf's guenon, is a colorful Old World monkey in the Cercopithecidae family. 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.-Taxonomy:Wolf's...
, Cercopithecus wolfi- Cercopithecus wolfi wolfi
- Cercopithecus wolfi elegans
- Dent's mona monkeyDent's Mona MonkeyDent's mona monkey is an Old World monkey in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congo, Rwanda, western Uganda, and the Central African Republic. It was previously classified as a subspecies of Wolf's mona monkey C. wolf....
, Cercopithecus denti
- Mona monkey
- C. cephus group
- Lesser spot-nosed monkeyLesser Spot-nosed MonkeyThe lesser spot-nosed monkey, lesser spot-nosed guenon, lesser white-nosed guenon, or lesser white-nosed monkey is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, possibly Gambia, possibly Guinea-Bissau, and...
, Cercopithecus petaurista- Cercopithecus petaurista petaurista
- Cercopithecus petaurista buettikoferi
- White-throated guenonWhite-throated GuenonThe white-throated guenon , also known as the red-bellied monkey and the red-bellied guenon, is a diurnal primate that lives on trees of rainforests or tropical areas of Nigeria and Benin....
, Cercopithecus erythrogaster - Sclater's guenonSclater's GuenonSclater's guenon , also known as Sclater's monkey and the Nigerian monkey, is an Old World monkey that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1904 and named after Philip Sclater. It is an arboreal and diurnal primate that lives in the forests of southern Nigeria...
, Cercopithecus sclateri - Red-eared guenonRed-eared GuenonThe red-eared guenon, red-eared monkey, or russet-eared guenon is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Nigeria. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss....
, Cercopithecus erythrotis- Bioko red-eared guenon, Cercopithecus erythrotis erythrotis
- Cercopithecus erythrotis camerunensis
- Moustached guenonMoustached GuenonThe moustached guenon or moustached monkey is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon....
, Cercopithecus cephus- Cercopithecus cephus cephus
- Cercopithecus cephus cephodes
- Ngotto guenon, Cercopithecus cephus ngottoensis
- Red-tailed monkeyRed-tailed MonkeyThe red-tailed monkey, black-cheeked white-nosed monkey, red-tailed guenon, redtail monkey, or Schmidt's guenon is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania,...
, Cercopithecus ascanius- Cercopithecus ascanius ascanius
- Cercopithecus ascanius atrinasus
- Cercopithecus ascanius whitesidei
- Cercopithecus ascanius katangae
- Schmidt's guenon, Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti
- Lesser spot-nosed monkey
- C. lhoesti group
- L'Hoest's monkeyL'Hoest's MonkeyL'Hoest's monkey , or mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo basin. They mostly live in mountainous forest areas in small, female-dominated groups...
, Cercopithecus lhoesti - Preuss's monkeyPreuss's MonkeyPreuss's monkey , also known as Preuss's guenon, is a diurnal primate that lives terrestrially in mountainous forests of eastern Nigeria, western Cameroon and Bioko in Equatorial Guinea. It is sometimes classified as a subspecies of the L'Hoest's monkey Preuss's monkey (Cercopithecus preussi),...
, Cercopithecus preussi - Sun-tailed monkeySun-tailed MonkeyThe sun-tailed monkey , also known as the sun-tailed guenon, is a primate that lives semi-terrestrially in one hilly area of moist evergreen forest in Gabon....
, Cercopithecus solatus
- L'Hoest's monkey
- C. hamlyni group
- Hamlyn's monkeyHamlyn's MonkeyHamlyn's monkey , also known as the owl-faced monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that inhabits the bamboo and primary rainforests of the Congo. This species is exceedingly rare and known only from a few specimens; little is known about it...
, Cercopithecus hamlyni- Owl-faced muenon, Cercopithecus hamlyni hamlyni
- Kahuzi owl-faced guenon, Cercopithecus hamlyni kahuziensis
- Hamlyn's monkey
- C. neglectus group
- De Brazza's monkeyDe Brazza's MonkeyDe Brazza's monkey is an Old World monkey endemic to the wetlands of central Africa.- Taxonomy :Locally known as swamp monkeys, these primates are named after the Italian-French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. They were given the species name neglectus because of their skill in hiding from...
, Cercopithecus neglectus
- De Brazza's monkey
Hybrids
The red-tailed monkeyRed-tailed Monkey
The red-tailed monkey, black-cheeked white-nosed monkey, red-tailed guenon, redtail monkey, or Schmidt's guenon is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania,...
(Cercopithecus ascanius) is known to hybridize with the blue monkey
Blue Monkey
The blue monkey or diademed monkey is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the Great Rift Valley and south to northern Angola and Zambia...
(C. mitis) in several locations in the wild in Africa.