Greater spot-nosed monkey

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Greater spot-nosed monkey[1]
Putty-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans).JPG

Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Cercopithecus
Species:
C. nictitans
Binomial name
Cercopithecus nictitans
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Cercopithecus nictitans distribution.svg
Geographic range
Synonyms

Simia nictitans Linnaeus, 1766

The greater spot-nosed monkey or putty-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans) 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 often associates with monkeys of other species.[3] Both their common names come from the monkeys' prominent white nose.

The greater spot-nosed monkey lives in groups consisting of one adult male, a number of adult females, and their dependent offspring.[4] Little recent research has been conducted into its behaviour, and most has concentrated on its auditory communication. Males use three call types which have been described as 'booms', 'pyows', and 'hacks'. These are used in a number of contexts including as alarm calls.

As in some other species of monkeys, the acoustical structure of greater spot-nosed monkey alarm calls it has been argued to vary according to the kind of predator spotted.[4] The monkey reportedly combines different sounds into a sequence, which has an entirely different meaning from the sounds out of which it is made.[5] For instance, the sound "pyow" alone means another animal, like a leopard, is lurking nearby, and "hack" means a flying animal, like an eagle, is flying nearby, but when the two are combined, as in the sequence "pyow pyow hack hack hack hack", they have an entirely different meaning: Let's get out of here and move to another place.

  • Young Putty-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans) on wood.JPG
  • Young Putty-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans).JPG

References[]

  1. ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Cronin, D.T.; Maisels, F.; Gadsby, E.L.; Gonedelé Bi, S.; Ikemeh, R.; Imong, I. (2020). "Cercopithecus nictitans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T4224A166615169. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T4224A166615169.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. ^ Eckardt, W.; Zuberbühler, K. (2004). "Cooperation and competition in two forest monkeys". Behavioral Ecology. 15 (3): 400–411. doi:10.1093/beheco/arh032.
  4. ^ a b Arnold, K. & Zuberbühler, K. (2006). "The alarm-calling system of adult male putty-nosed monkeys, Cercopithecus nictitans martini" (PDF). Animal Behaviour. 72 (3): 643–653. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.11.017.
  5. ^ Arnold, K. & Zuberbühler, K (2008). "Meaningful call combinations in a non-human primate". Current Biology. 18 (5): R202–R203. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.01.040. hdl:10023/5788. PMID 18334192.

External links[]

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