GUENONS
GUENONS
The guenon genus, Cercopithecus, includes at least thirty-three species and forty-seven subspecies. The genus Allochrocebus has three species and two subspecies.
TERRESTRIAL GUENONS
Genus: Allochrocebus
Allochrocebus lhoesti
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
The L’Hoest’s monkey, also known as the mountain monkey, can be found in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, and western Uganda. It is unknown just how far south their range extends, but they are likely also present along the eastern bank of the Congo River. There are isolated…
Allochrocebus preussi
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
The Preuss’s Monkey is a species of Old World monkey living in various regions in southwest Cameroon and southeast Nigeria and in Equatorial Guinea. This species comprises two subspecies: the Cameroon Preuss’s monkey (A. p. preussi) found on the mainland, and the Bioko Preuss’s monkey (A. p. insularis) found only on…
Allochrocebus solatus
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
Endemic to central Gabon, sun-tailed monkeys are believed to occupy a range of about 9,700 square miles (25,300 sq km), an area about the size of Vermont. They live in mature mixed forests and sometimes secondary lowland moist forests and prefer altitudes between 460 and 3,220 feet (140–980 m). Because… undergrowth.
ARBOREAL GUENONS
Genus: Cercopithecus
Cercopithecus mitis
CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN
The blue monkey, also known as the diademed monkey, is an Old World primate that is distributed widely across Africa in a large variety of environments. This arboreal guenon species dwells high in the canopy of contiguous and fragmented lowland and montane tropical moist forests, riverine and gallery forests, delta and…
Cercopithecus campbelli
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
Native to numerous countries along the western coast of Africa, Campbell’s mona monkeys, also called Campbell’s monkeys and Campbell’s guenons, are right at home in a wide variety of habitats, including primary and secondary lowland forest, gallery forest, mangroves, woody savannas, and even areas used for agriculture…
Cercopithecus pogonias
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
The crowned monkey—also known as the crested mona monkey, crowned guenon, golden-bellied guenon, or the golden-bellied monkey—is found in west central Africa, particularly from the Cross River in Nigeria and southern Cameroon to Angola (Cabinda) and east into the Central African Republic. They are also present…
Cercopithecus neglectus
CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN
The De Brazza’s monkey, also known as the De Brazza’s guenon, the Ayatollah monkey, or the swamp monkey, is a shy and watchful African monkey. Named for Italian-French naturalist and explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, the species earned its scientific designation, neglectus, from its ability to hide and successfully…
Cercopithecus diana
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
The Diana monkey is an Old World monkey that is found in West Africa, from Sierra Leon to Ghana. They are primarily arboreal, meaning they spend most of their time in trees, and they live in primary tropical and terrestrial forests. Diana monkeys dwell in the upper canopy of the forest; however, they rarely make nests…
Cercopithecus dryas
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
The Dryas monkey, also known as Salonga monkey, ekele, inoko, the Dryad monkey, Dryas guenon, and Salonga guenon, is one of the least known monkeys in Africa. Virtually everything about the monkey, from their range, to their reproductive habits, to their behavior, is not fully understood, and in some cases, not…
Cercopithecus hamlyni
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
The Hamlyn’s monkey is also known as the owl-faced monkey or guenon. This elusive and vulnerable primate lives at high altitudes of 3,000–15,000 ft (900–4,500 m) in dense bamboo and primary forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. These forests are surrounded by rivers and volcanoes, which…
Cercopithecus petaurista
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
The lesser spot-nosed guenon, also known as the spot-nosed monkey, the lesser white-nosed guenon, and the lesser white-nosed monkey, is a very adaptable monkey found on the west coast of Africa, from swampy areas and thickets to fringe forests and coastal scrublands. They generally live in the lower layer of the…
Cercopithecus lomamiensis
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
A team of conservation biologists exploring the Lomami Forest Basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in June 2007 were astounded when they came upon a most unusual looking monkey, tethered to a post, in the remote town of Opala. They had never before seen such a monkey, colloquially referred to as a…
Cercopithecus lowei
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
Lowe’s monkeys are native to the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) and Ghana. They live in both protected and unprotected areas, with home ranges estimated between 1.5 to 40 hectares (3 to 98 acres). Lowe’s monkeys, also called Lowe’s guenons or Lowe’s mona monkeys, are terrestrial and can be found in tropical forest environments…
Cercopithecus mona
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
The mona monkey is found in the tropical forests of the Guinea region in West Africa. It is native to Ghana, Togo, Bénin, Nigeria, and Cameroon. The species was also introduced to the Lesser Antilles islands of the Caribbean Sea, most notably the island of Granada. Caribbean mona monkeys are mostly found inhabiting…
Cercopithecus cephus
CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN
Moustached guenons, also known as moustache monkeys, are native to western Africa. Their geographic distribution begins south and east of the Sanaga River and extends to the banks of the Congo/Ubangi river system. The region where the Congo River empties into the Atlantic Ocean was once thought to be a natural…
Cercopithecus nictitans
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
Putty-nosed monkeys, also known as greater spot-nosed monkeys, white-nosed guenons, or greater white-nosed monkeys, occupy a wide range of dense forest habitats in western and central Africa, including moist tropical lowland forests, montane forests, swamp and mangrove forests, and dense gallery forests. They…
Cercopithecus erythrogaster
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
Red-bellied monkeys, also known as red-bellied guenons, white-throated monkeys, and white-throated guenons, are endemic to southwestern Nigeria, the Nigerian Delta, southern Benin, and Togo. They live in fragmented forest patches of primary, secondary, and riverine lowland moist forests, or in semi-deciduous or swamp…
Cercopithecus erythrotis
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
The red-eared guenon, also known as the russet-eared guenon or red-eared monkey, is a denizen of Africa. This shy primate’s restricted range extends from the Cross River in southeastern Nigeria to south of the Sanaga River in Cameroon. The species also inhabits the island of Bioko, 20 mi (32 k) off of Africa’s west coast, in…
Cercopithecus ascanius
CONSERVATION STATUS: LEAST CONCERN
The red-tailed monkey is a species of guenon native to central Africa. Other common names include the black-cheeked white-nosed monkey and the red-tailed guenon. Their home range extends throughout the Central African Republic and the Congo, with southern Sudan as the northern boundary and northern Zambia as…
Cercopithecus roloway
CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Roloway monkeys, also known as Roloway guenons, are Old World monkeys endemic to Ivory Coast and Ghana. In the thick canopies of moist, old-growth, lowland, and swamp forests, they remain fantastically out-of-sight. Their elusive natures, combined with the complicated terrain of their habitats, makes tracking…
Cercopithecus sclateri
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
The Sclater’s guenon, also known as the Sclater’s monkey and the Nigerian monkey, is endemic to southern Nigeria, from the eastern Niger Delta to the Cross River State. The furthest north its range extends is Anambra-Enugu State and central Ebonyi State. Eleven small populations have been confirmed to exist in the states…
Cercopithecus wolfi
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
Also known as Wolf’s mona monkey, Wolf’s guenon is a colorful Old World monkey native to Central Africa. The species’ range includes the countries of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the primates can be found in primary (mature) and secondary (younger) lowland forests and also residing in…