Guenon

This article is about the monkey. For the French metaphysician, see René Guénon.

The guenons (UK: /ɡəˈnɒnz/, US: /ˈɡwɛn.ənz/) are Old World monkeys of the genus Cercopithecus (/ˌsɜːrkəˈpɪθəkəs/). Not all members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names — blue monkeys, De Brazza's monkeys, and Diana monkeys are all guenons.

Guenons[1]
Diana monkey (C. diana)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Subfamily:	Cercopithecinae
Tribe:	Cercopithecini
Genus:	Cercopithecus Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Simia diana Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text

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.

Guenons are sexually dimorphic, with males nearly twice the size of females. Most animals live in one-male groups, though males may live alone or spread out in bachelor groups.^[2]

Classification

The genus name Cercopithecus comes from Ancient Greek κέρκος (kérkos), meaning "tail", and πίθηκος (píthēkos), meaning "ape". It was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

Because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys previously included in this genus are no longer. Vervet monkeys and green monkeys, for example, were formerly considered as a single species in this genus (Cercopithecus aethiops) but are currently in the genus Chlorocebus.

In the English language, the word "guenon" is apparently of French origin.^[3] In French, guenon was the common name for all species and individuals, both males and females, from the genus Cercopithecus. In all other monkey and apes species, the French word guenon designates only the females.^[4] The three species such as the L'hoest's monkey, Preuss's monkey and the sun-tailed monkey were formerly included in the genus and now listed in a different genus Allochrocebus.^[1][5][6]

Species list

Genus Cercopithecus – Linnaeus, 1758 – nineteen species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Blue monkey	C. mitis Wolf, 1822 Sixteen subspecies C. m. albogularis (Sykes' monkey) C. m. albotorquatus C. m. boutourlinii (Boutourlini's blue monkey) C. m. doggetti (silver monkey) C. m. erythrarchus C. m. heymansi (Lomami River blue monkey) C. m. kandti (golden monkey) C. m. kolbi C. m. labiatus C. m. manyaraensis C. m. mitis (Pluto monkey) C. m. moloneyi C. m. monoides C. m. opisthostictus C. m. stuhlmanni (Stuhlmann's blue monkey) C. m. zammaranoi	Sub-Saharan Africa	Size: 31–70 cm (12–28 in) long, plus 55–109 cm (22–43 in) tail[7] Habitat: Forest[8] Diet: Fruit and leaves, as well as invertebrates[9]	LC  Unknown [8]
Campbell's mona monkey	C. campbelli Waterhouse, 1838	Western Africa	Size: 36–55 cm (14–22 in) long, plus 49–85 cm (19–33 in) tail[10] Habitat: Forest, savanna, and shrubland[11] Diet: Fruit, leaves, seeds and grains, as well as birds, bird eggs, small reptiles, and insects[10]	NT  Unknown [11]
Crested mona monkey	C. pogonias Bennett, 1833 Three subspecies C. p. grayi (Gray's crested mona) C. p. nigripes (Black-footed crested mona) C. p. pogonias (Golden-bellied crested mona)	Central Africa	Size: 34–55 cm (13–22 in) long, plus 48–87 cm (19–34 in) tail[12] Habitat: Forest[13] Diet: Fruit and seeds, as well as leaves, flowers and insects[13]	NT  Unknown [13]
De Brazza's monkey	C. neglectus Schlegel, 1876	Central Africa	Size: 39–60 cm (15–24 in) long, plus 47–79 cm (19–31 in) tail[14] Habitat: Inland wetlands and forest[15] Diet: Fruit, as well as leaves, flowers, mushrooms, beetles, termites, and worms[16]	LC  Unknown [15]
Dent's mona monkey	C. denti Thomas, 1907	Central Africa	Size: 40–70 cm (16–28 in) long, plus 70–90 cm (28–35 in) tail[17] Habitat: Forest[18] Diet: Fruit and arthropods, as well as flowers, caterpillars, shoots, and leaves[18]	LC  Unknown [18]
Diana monkey	C. diana (Linnaeus, 1758)	Western Africa	Size: 40–55 cm (16–22 in) long, plus 50–75 cm (20–30 in) tail[19] Habitat: Forest[20] Diet: Fruit, flowers, leaves, insects, and other invertebrates[19]	EN  Unknown [20]
Greater spot-nosed monkey	C. nictitans (Linnaeus, 1766) Five subspecies C. n. insolitus C. n. ludio C. n. martini C. n. nictitans C. n. stampflii	Western Africa	Size: 40–57 cm (16–22 in) long, plus 56–100 cm (22–39 in) tail[21] Habitat: Forest[22] Diet: Fruits and seeds, as well as leaves and insects[23]	NT  Unknown [22]
Hamlyn's monkey	C. hamlyni Pocock, 1907 Two subspecies C. h. hamlyni C. h. kahuziensis	Central Africa	Size: 43–63 cm (17–25 in) long, plus 49–63 cm (19–25 in) tail[24] Habitat: Forest[25] Diet: Shoots, leaves, plants, and herbs, as well as fruit and seeds[26]	VU  Unknown [25]
Lesser spot-nosed monkey	C. petaurista (Schreber, 1774) Two subspecies C. p. buettikoferi C. p. petaurista	Western Africa	Size: 29–53 cm (11–21 in) long, plus 57–78 cm (22–31 in) tail[27] Habitat: Forest[28] Diet: Fruit as well as insects[27]	NT  Unknown [28]
Lesula	C. lomamiensis Hart et al., 2012	Central Africa	Size: 40–65 cm (16–26 in) long, plus 40–65 cm (16–26 in) tail[29] Habitat: Forest[30] Diet: Leaves, fruits and flowers[31]	VU  Unknown [30]
Lowe's mona monkey	C. lowei Thomas, 1923	Western Africa (in green)	Size: 36–55 cm (14–22 in) long, plus 54–85 cm (21–33 in) tail[32] Habitat: Forest and savanna[33] Diet: Fruit and insects[32]	VU  10,000 [33]
Mona monkey	C. mona (Schreber, 1774)	Western Africa	Size: 32–53 cm (13–21 in) long, plus 67–90 cm (26–35 in) tail[34] Habitat: Forest[35] Diet: Fruit, sprouts, leaves, and invertebrates[34]	NT  Unknown [35]
Moustached guenon	C. cephus (Linnaeus, 1758) Three subspecies C. c. cephodes C. c. cephus C. c. ngottoensis	Western Africa	Size: 44–60 cm (17–24 in) long, plus 66–99 cm (26–39 in) tail[36] Habitat: Forest[37] Diet: Fruit, as well as seeds, leaves, insects, and eggs[38]	LC  Unknown [37]
Red-eared guenon	C. erythrotis Waterhouse, 1838 Two subspecies C. e. camerunensis (Cameroon Red-eared Monkey) C. e. erythrotis (Bioko Red-eared Monkey)	Western Africa	Size: 36–55 cm (14–22 in) long, plus 46–77 cm (18–30 in) tail[39] Habitat: Forest[40] Diet: Fruit, as well as leaves, shoots and arthropods[40]	VU  Unknown [40]
Red-tailed monkey	C. ascanius (Audebert, 1799) Five subspecies C. a. ascanius C. a. atrinasus C. a. katangae C. a. schmidti C. a. whitesidei	Central Africa	Size: 34–55 cm (13–22 in) long, plus 67–92 cm (26–36 in) tail[41] Habitat: Forest[42] Diet: Fruit, as well as leaves, insects, flowers, buds, and tree gum[43]	LC  Unknown [42]
Roloway monkey	C. roloway (Schreber, 1774)	Western Africa	Size: 44–62 cm (17–24 in) long, plus 70–91 cm (28–36 in) tail[44] Habitat: Forest[45] Diet: Insects, as well as seeds, fruit, and leaves[44]	CR  Unknown [45]
Sclater's guenon	C. sclateri Pocock, 1904	Western Africa	Size: 32–38 cm (13–15 in) long, plus 61–85 cm (24–33 in) tail[46] Habitat: Forest[47] Diet: Fruit, as well as insects, flowers and leaves[48]	EN  Unknown [47]
White-throated guenon	C. erythrogaster Gray, 1866 Two subspecies C. e. erythrogaster (Red-bellied guenon) C. e. pococki (Nigerian white-throated guenon)	Western Africa	Size: 38–46 cm (15–18 in) long, plus 58–70 cm (23–28 in) tail[27] Habitat: Forest and inland wetlands[49] Diet: Fruit[49]	EN  Unknown [49]
Wolf's mona monkey	C. wolfi Meyer, 1891 Three subspecies C. w. elegans C. w. pyrogaster C. w. wolfi	Central Africa	Size: 44–52 cm (17–20 in) long, plus 69–83 cm (27–33 in) tail[50] Habitat: Forest[51] Diet: Fruit, leaves, seeds, and flowers[50]	NT  Unknown [51]

Hybrids

The red-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius) is known to hybridize with the blue monkey (C. mitis) in several locations in the wild in Africa.^[52]