Geographic Range
Cercopithecus cephus
is distributed in western Africa, south and east of the Sanaga River. Its southern
and eastern limits are the banks of the Congo/Oubangi river system. However, the region
where the Congo River empties into the Atlantic Ocean is no longer a barrier since
this species in now found in northwestern Angola and eastern Democratic Republic of
the Congo. It is not known when or how
C. cephus
was able to cross the river barrier at this location, but it is not found much further
from this crossing point.
Cercopithecus cephus
occurs in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, southern Cameroon,
southwestern Central African Republic, northwestern Angola, and eastern Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
Habitat
Cercopithecus cephus
inhabits an array of forested regions including primary rainforests, secondary rainforests,
and gallery forests.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- Terrestrial Biomes
- rainforest
Physical Description
Cercopithecus cephus
has a very colorful face, bluish to violet with a bluish-white crescented stripe
below the naked nose. Beneath this “moustache” are black hairs along the border of
the upper lip and bright yellow bushy whiskers on both sides of the face. The ears
are black and the rest of the head is covered with blackish-brown hair. This blackish-brown
hair extends dorsally and laterally, with the ventral region having ashy grey hair.
The tail, which is longer than the rest of its body, is nonprehensile and is covered
in coppery-red hair.
The average length of
C. cephus
is 520 mm (head to body) and its tail averaging 700 mm. The average mass is about
4 kg. The dental formula is 2/2, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3 = 32.
Females and males are alike in color.
Cercopithecus cephus
is sexual dimorphic in size with the female being relatively smaller.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
Mating in this species is polygynous, with one male generally mating in a group of 10 to 40 females. A female elicits copulation by directing her rump towards the male, informing him that she is ready for copulation.
In spite of this basic pattern, polygynandrous mating groups sometimes occur. The
breakdown of the one-male group structure may lead to between 3 and 6 males attending
a group of females on any one day. These males occasionally leave such groups for
a few hours to court and mate females in neighboring groups. The presence of several
males in the group coincides with elevated levels of sexual activity.
- Mating System
- polygynous
- polygynandrous (promiscuous)
In the tropics, where there is little annual variation in day length and temperature,
annual changes in rainfall and nutrition are most important in determining the reproductive
events of
C. cephus
. In areas of high rainfall, some populations display year round mating and birth.
The majority of the
C. cephus
population has a mating season centered around July, August, and September, with
the birth season centered around December, January, and February. Mating and birth
seasons usually last three months or less when there is one wet season, and three
months or longer when there are two wet seasons each year.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
Little is documented about the parental investment of
C. cephus
, but close relatives of moustached guenons produce young that are relatively well
developed at birth with open eyes and the means to support their own weight and embrace
their mother. Mothers typically care for their young, providing them with food and
protection, for a year or longer. Males may be considered to play some role in parental
care in that they contribute to the defense of the social group against predators
and rival males. This may help to protect the offspring.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
protecting
- maternal position in the dominance hierarchy affects status of young
Lifespan/Longevity
Little is known about the lifespan of
C. cephus
in the wild or in captivity. However, one known wild born
C. cephus
female lived in captivity for 31 years and it is estimated that it was as old as
36 years. Close relatives of moustached guenons have lifespans in the wild averaging
22 years.
Behavior
Cercopithecus cephus
is diurnal and arboeal. These guenons move through the rainforest quadrupedally
with great agility. Their sure-footedness in rapid flight through an arboreal habitat
makes them remarkable tree to tree leapers. They can leap up to 20 meters without
faltering in passing from one group of trees to another.
Cercopithecus cephus
is known to use regular routes through the branches, with each monkey following the
next along the same path.
Cercopithecus cephus
characteristically exists in two kinds of groups. One kind is a group comprising
males only, and the other kind is a group of 10 to 40 females with one adult male.
Sometimes the one-male group might have more males for a short period of time due
to increased sexual activity. If female members of a group are unhappy with a male
intrusion, or even a female intrusion, they defend the group and chase away the solitary
intruder.
- Key Behaviors
- arboreal
- scansorial
- diurnal
- crepuscular
- motile
- sedentary
- social
- dominance hierarchies
Home Range
No information is available on the home range of moustached guenons. However, groups
of the closely related
Cercopithecus ascanius
defend a home range of about 120 hectares. Moustached guenons probaby have somewhat
similar home range sizes.
Cercopithecus cephus
has a great curiousity that accounts for their frequent wandering, which leads them
to explore the edges of the forest or along forest tracts where timber is being cut
down.
Communication and Perception
Cercopithecus cephus
uses a trilling call that is soft and oscillates in a descending pitch. These calls
are emitted by subadults when approached by an adult, therefore communicating obedience.
Cercopithecus cephus
uses staring as a threat display. In this case, a monkey fixes its eyes on another
individual with eyebrows raised, scalp retracted, and facial skin stretched by moving
the ears back. The color underneath the eyelids contrasts sharply with the adjacent
facial color, contributing to the visual effect of this threat.
Cercopithecus cephus
also stares with its mouth wide open but the teeth covered. This threat expression
is usually accompanied by bobbing the head up and down.
Cercopithecus cephus
also uses a nose-to-nose greeting, where two monkeys approach each other and touch
noses. Such greetings are frequently followed by play or grooming.
Although not documented for this species, many old world primates use some forms of scent-based communication. Cercopithecus cephus may use some chemical communication as well.
Food Habits
Cercopithecus cephus
is primarily frugivorous. This species has adapted to live on the pulp of oil palm
nuts, and as a result, it is only found in regions where there is a constant supply
of this fruit. In order to compete effectively with other primate species,
C. cephus
arrives at a fruiting tree before dawn.
Cercopithecus cephus
may also feed on fruits in the early evening after other primate species have retreated.
In addition to oil palm nuts, moustached guenons consume seeds, leaves, insects, and
eggs.
- Animal Foods
- eggs
- insects
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
Predation
Predators of
C. cephus
include leopards, snakes, birds of prey, and humans who occasionally capture these
monkeys.
Male moustached guenons produce a distinctive warning tone, which is described as
a sharp, staccato, rhythmically repeated bark. A ke-ke-ke call is also used by both
sexes, which indicates fear.
Ecosystem Roles
Cercopithecus cephus
is accompanied by sneaky and silent birds (
Tropicranus albocristatus cassini
), which benefit from the insects, numerous seeds, and other vegetable products disturbed
by the monkeys. This is commensalism. Because
C. cephus
is a frugivore, it undoubtedly aids in the dispersal of the seeds of fruit trees.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
- No information available.
- No information available.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Cercopithecus cephus
is sometimes kept as a pet. This guenon is usually friendly toward humans and is
full of curiosity. However, as is true of all wild animals,
C. cephus
can bite.
- Positive Impacts
- pet trade
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
In the wild,
C. cephus
is not reported to have any adverse effects on humans. However, when kept as pets,
their curiosity often leads these monkeys to destruction of property. As mentioned
previously, they are also capable of biting.
Conservation Status
Cercopithecus cephus is not endangered.
Other Comments
Cercopithecus cephus
is commonly called a moustached guenon or a moustached monkey.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Juan Miretti (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (editor, instructor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Nancy Shefferly (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- polygynous
-
having more than one female as a mate at one time
- polygynandrous
-
the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- crepuscular
-
active at dawn and dusk
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- dominance hierarchies
-
ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- pet trade
-
the business of buying and selling animals for people to keep in their homes as pets.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- frugivore
-
an animal that mainly eats fruit
References
Estes, R. 1991. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals . Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
Hill, W. 1966. Primates, Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy . New York: Interscience Publishers, Inc..
Kingdon, J. 1988. A Primate Radiation . New York: Cambridge University Press.
MacDonald, D. 1984. Encyclopedia of Mammals . New York: Facts on File Publications.
Smuts, B., D. Cheney, R. Wrangham, T. Struhsaker. 1987. Primate Societies . Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press.
Vaughan, T. 1986. Mammalogy . Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
2006. "Human Ageing Genomic Resources" (On-line). AnAge Database. Accessed April 18, 2006 at http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Cercopithecus_cephus .