Cercopithecus kandti (Matschie, 1905)

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Cercopithecidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 550-755 : 695

80.

Virungas Golden Monkey

Cercopithecus kandti

French: Cercopitheque doré / German: Goldmeerkatze / Spanish: Cercopiteco dorado

Other common names: Bamboo Guenon, Golden Guenon, Golden Monkey

Taxonomy. Cercopithecus mitis kandti Matschie, 1905 ,

Virunga Volcanoes, DR Congo. Restricted by C P. Groves in 2001 (following W. C. O. Hill in 1966) to “near Lake Kivu.”

C. kandti is a member of the matis species group of guenons. J. Kingdon in his 1997 Field Guide to African Mammals, P. Grubb and colleagues in their review of 2003, and The Mammals of Africa of 2013, edited by T. Butynski and colleagues, place C. kandti as a subspecies of C. mitis . Groves in his 2001 Primate Taxonomy classified C. kandti as a distinct species, which is followed here. Hybridization has been reported with C. doggetti in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Monotypic.

Distribution. Endemic to the Albertine Rift, with confirmed presence in remnant Afromontane forests of E DR Congo and SW Uganda (Mt Sabinyo and Mt Mgahinga) in the W Virunga Volcanoes and in W Rwanda (Gishwati and Nyungwe forests); it is also believed to occur at Burunga and Rubengera in the E Virunga Volcanoes.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 57-65 cm, tail 79 cm; weight 8-10 kg (males) and 3.3-3.5 kg (females). Body, cheeks, and frontal diadem of the Virungas Golden Monkey are bright golden-yellow, with a contrasting black face, crown, shoulders, limbs, and terminal one-third of tail. Perineum and underside of base of tail are rusty-red. Hairs are yellow at their base, followed by four to seven pairs of alternating red and black bands; yellow bands are broader on flanks, and black bands broader on the back.

Habitat. Montane forest, with a preference for areas of vegetation with bamboo. Virungas Golden Monkeys also occur in remnant and secondary growth forest. They occur at high elevations of 2100-2384 m, with smaller and fewer groups at the higher elevations. Volcanoes National Park, where they were studied by D. Tuyisingize and colleagues in 2006, has an annual rainfall of 1811 mm.

Food and Feeding. Overall dietary diversity of Virungas Golden Monkeysis low, with the top five foods making up 81-85% of their diet. They are primarily folivorous, selecting especially young leaves. They eat fruit, but there is little available where they live. They also eat flowers and bark. Insects made up 16-4% of the diet in a study by D. Twinomugisha, but only 2:4% in a study site by Tuyisingize and colleagues in the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. Bamboo shoots are important seasonally, up to 27-9% of their time feeding. They raid potato crops and eat bird eggs and soil.

Breeding. There is no specific information for this species, but Virungas Golden Monkeys are thought to breed throughout the year.

Activity patterns. Virungas Golden Monkeys are diurnal and arboreal. Their locomotion has not been studied specifically, but it is probably similar to other guenons in the mitis species group.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Home ranges of Virungas Golden Monkeys are 60-74 ha, but one study in Volcanoes National Park in 1984 reported a group of eleven individuals inhabiting a home range of 250 ha. Daily movements are 263-898 m. Virungas Golden Monkeys live in male-dominated hierarchical groups. Multimale—multifemale and unimale—multifemale social groups have been reported, with extra males joining groups during the mating season. Group sizes are 3-62 individuals, averaging 30 individuals.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List (as C. mitis kandti ). The Virungas Golden Monkeyis listed as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Its distribution is very restricted, butits precise limits are unknown; the maximum extent of occurrence is estimated at less than 5000 km?. The Virungas Golden Monkey is very dependent on bamboo and its diet overlaps with the Virunga Buffalo (Syncerus mathewsi) and the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringer). Numbers of Virunga Buffalo are increasing in the area, slowing the rate of natural regeneration of the vegetation. Bamboo is illegally harvested despite the protected status of the forests where Virungas Golden Monkeys occur. There is also concern about the unknown effects of climate change on high-elevation forests. The Virungas Golden Monkey occurs in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga national parks in DR Congo.

Bibliography. Aveling (1984), Butynski (2008a), Butynski, Kingdon & Kalina (2013), Groves (2001, 2005b), Grubb et al. (2003), Hill (1966), Kingdon (1997), Tuyisingize, Fawcett & Twinomugisha (2011), Tuyisingize, Gasogo & Fawcett (2006), Twinomugisha et al. (2003).

Figures

77. Putty-nosed Monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans), 78. Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus matis), 79. Silver Monkey (Cercopithecus doggetti), 80. Virungas Golden Monkey (Cercopithecus kandi)

Distribution. Endemic to the Albertine Rift, with confirmed presence in remnant Afromontane forests of E DR Congo and SW Uganda (Mt Sabinyo and Mt Mgahinga) in the W Virunga Volcanoes and in W Rwanda (Gishwati and Nyungwe forests); it is also believed to occur at Burunga and Rubengera in the E Virunga Volcanoes.