The crested mona monkey, also known as the crowned guenon, crowned monkey, golden-bellied guenon, or golden-bellied monkey (Cercopithecus pogonias)
The crested monkey monkey, also known as the crowned guenon, crowned monkey, golden-bellied guenon, or golden-bellied monkey, (Cercopithecus pogonias), is a species of African primate in the family Cercopithecidae found in west central Africa.
Description
The colour of the fur varies from subspecies to subspecies, from brown to grey. The lower limbs and tail are black. The thorax, abdomen and inside of the limbs are golden yellow. Males have a blue scutellum. The muzzle is dark blue and the nose is pink. The fur around the muzzle is yellow. A dark stripe runs from the edge of the eyes to the ears. There is a small tuft of hair on the forehead and also tufts of long hair around the ears. Body length 38-66 cm, weight 3-4.5 kg.
Distribution
The species is widely distributed throughout central Africa. Found in Nigeria, most of Central Africa, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Life history and reproduction
Cercopithecus pogonias is found in the upper levels of the forest. They move in the treetops, making long jumps. They form groups of 8 to 20 individuals, consisting of a male, several females and their young. Males that fail to establish a harem become solitary, and even join groups of other monkeys, such as Colobus satanas.
Their diet consists of fruit, supplemented by leaves and insects. Unlike other monkeys, members of this species, especially in the northern part of the range, may migrate solid distances in search of seasonally available fruit. There is no defined breeding season and they give birth at any time of the year. Gestation lasts about 5 months, and there is usually one offspring per litter.
Habits
The crested mona monkey is a highly vocal species with a wide repertoire of calls. Both males and females have vocal sacs which are inflated to be used as resonators. A typical call is the booming call made by the adult male which can be heard more than 200m away. Social interactions include tail twining between resting monkeys and a ritualised head display.
The crested mona monkey is an agile species, which crosses large gaps between trees by jumping. They are normally found in groups of between 8 and 20 individuals which are typically made up of a single male, several females and their dependent offspring. Groups are highly vocal, with the males producing the loud, "boom" mentioned above announcing their presence and status, there is also a sharp hacking call which is used as an alarm. The dominant males are able to establish groups, and therefore the lives of most males are rather solitary and are marked by an absence of social contact. Surprisingly, this appears to lead to some males joining groups of other monkeys such as the black colobus Colobus satanas, where these solitary males can form strong group bonds with the non conspecific monkeys, possibly resulting in a permanent loss of mating opportunities. The social groups of crested mona monkeys will also associate with other guenon species, especially with moustached guenon Cercopithecus cephus and greater spot-nosed monkey Cercopithecus nictitans. In the Atlantic coastal forests, this includes red-capped mangabey as well. These large mixed-species groups grant the monkeys' increased protection from predation, as the greater number of eyes on the sky means that the spotting of predators such as birds of prey is more likely, and it also facilitates the sharing of information between groups about the best foraging sites.
The crested mona monkey is mainly frugivorous but invertebrates are also frequently taken, along with small quantities of leaves. Unlike most guenons, populations of the crested mona monkey in the northern parts of its range are known to migrate over long distances to forage for seasonally abundant food supplies. The crested mona monkey has a polygynous mating system where the dominant male in each group has exclusive breeding access to all the females in that group. Breeding seem to take place at any time of year, and the females give birth to a single baby after a gestation period of roughly five months.
Taxonomy
This species sits within the mona superspecies grouping within Cercopithecus. There does not seem to be a consensus around how many subspecies of the crested mona monkey are recognised and some which were formerly considered subspecies of this species are now regarded as species in their own right, e.g. Wolf's mona monkey Cercopithecus wolfi and Dent's mona monkey Cercopithecus denti. Three subspecies appear to be the most widely accepted treatment.
The subspecies and their ranges are:
- Cercopithecus pogonias grayi Fraser, 1850 (Gray's crested mona): Sangha River basin of southern Cameroon, southern Central African Republic through to the northern Democratic republic and Cabinda.
- Cercopithecus pogonias nigripes du Chaillu, 1860 (Black-footed crested mona): Endemic to Gabon and southwestern Republic of Congo.
- Cercopithecus pogonias pogonias Bennett, 1833 (Golden-bellied crested mona): Bioko and the adjacent parts of southern Nigeria, southern Cameroon.
The subspecies schwarzianus is not now generally recognised.
Cercopithecus pogonias on the Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has given this species the status of "Least Concern" because of its widespread occurrence and the low probability of its population declining rapidly in the future.
