Miopithecus talapoin (Schreber, 1774)

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 : 669

47.

Southern Talapoin Monkey

Miopithecus talapoin

French: Talapoin d’Angola / German: Sudliche Zwergmeerkatze / Spanish: Talapoin meridional

Other common names: Angolan Talapoin Monkey

Taxonomy. Simia talapoin Schreber, 1774 ,

the type locality is unknown.

The genus Miopithecus was considered to be monotypic, with a distribution from southern Cameroon to northern Angola, until 1969 when A. B. Machado showed that it comprised two species: one north and the other south of the Congo River. The typical form, M. talapoin , and all names given to putative subspecies, referred to those individuals south of the river in Angola. |. Kingdon addressed the omission and gave the name M. ogouensis to the talapoin monkeys north of the Congo River. Miopithecus differs from Chlorocebus , Erythrocebus , and Cercopithecus in the distal reduction ofits third upper molar, the high degree of development of the facial gestures, and, as in Allenopithecus , the cyclical sexual swellings of the females. A. Tosi and colleagues in 2004 suggested that Miopithecus is an early evolutionary branch that differentiated after the separation of all the other guenons from Allenopithecus . Monotypic.

Distribution. SW DR Congo (both sides of the Kasai River and along the Mebrige, Loge, Cuanza, Nhia, Cuvo, and Cuangorivers) and NW Angola (from the coastal watersheds of the Congo River S to c.13° S).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 26-45 cm (males), tail ¢.53 cm; weight 1.2-1.3 kg (males) and 0-75.0-8 kg (females). The Southern Talapoin Monkey is the smallest of the Old World monkeys. Pelage is relatively long and coarsely banded yellow and black. Underside is contrasting white or off-white, and outer surfaces of limbs are yellowish, with less grizzling than on the back. Tail is relatively long; brown above and yellowish gray below; cheek hairs, covering suborbital fossae, are directed downward and backward. There are well-developed preauricular tufts, pointing upward and backward, that are olive yellow with a lighter central part. Ears are large, nose and bordering facial skin are black, giving the appearance of a mask, but the rest of the facial skin is pinkish ocher. Upperlip is lighter in the middle than at the sides. Scrotum is salmon-colored medially, pale blue laterally. Females have pink sexual swellings during their periovulatory periods.

Habitat. Strictly riparian areas: dense evergreen vegetation of gallery forests, seasonally flooded forest, mangroves, and swamps on riverbanks, including those flowing through miombo ( Brachystegia , Fabaceae ) woodland. Southern Talapoin Monkeys are increasingly found in and near cultivated areas where they benefit from dense secondary forest and reduced presence of predators. They rarely venture more than 450 m from a river. They occur at elevations from sea level to ¢.700 m.

Food and Feeding. Southern Talapoin Monkeys feed mainly on fruits (43% of the diet in one study) and also seeds, young foliage, flowers, and small animals, including reptiles and invertebrates (arthropods and freshwater shrimp). They also eat bird eggs. They raid crops and have been reported to take manioc roots that are left by farmers to soak.

Breeding. Female Southern Talapoin Monkeys reach sexual maturity at c.4 years old, and males as late as nine years old. The menstrual cycle is ¢.35 days. Females display a cyclical sexual swelling. The gestation period is 5-6 months. Births are generally of singletons. Average life span is c.27 years.

Activity patterns. Southern Talapoin Monkeys are diurnal and semi-terrestrial-semiarboreal. Locomotion is quadrupedal, with some climbing and leaping. They generally move and forage in lowerlevels of the forest understory and sometimes forage on the ground.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Groups of Southern Talapoin Monkeys travel 1500-3000 m/day. Home ranges are 122-500 ha. They live in large multimale-multifemale groups of 40-123 members. Groups living in close proximity to humans are reported to be double or even triple the sizes of groups living in more undisturbed forest. They form single sex groups, with males interacting with males, and females with females.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Southern Talapoin Monkeyis listed as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. There is very little known about its population status, but there are no obvious known threats in its range, and therefore no reason to expect that it would be declining at a rate that would warrant listing in a threatened category. It is generally not hunted because it is so small. Its occurrence in protected areas has not been documented.

Bibliography. Butynski (1982a, 1988), Gautier-Hion (1988), Groves (2000b, 2001), Grubb et al. (2003), Kingdon (1997), Machado (1969), Melnick & Pearl (1987), Napier, J.R. & Napier (1967), Napier, PH. (1981), Nowak (1999), Posada & Teelen (2011a), Oates (2011), Oates & Groves (2008b), Rowell (1988), Tosi, Buzzard et al. (2002), Tosi, Melnick & Disotell (2004), Wolfheim (1983), Wrangham et al. (1993).

Figures

On following pages: 41. Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus); 42. Olive Baboon (Papio anubis); 43. Guinea Baboon (Papio papio); 44. Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas); 45. Gelada (Theropithecus gelada).

Distribution. SW DR Congo (both sides of the Kasai River and along the Mebrige, Loge, Cuanza, Nhia, Cuvo, and Cuangorivers) and NW Angola (from the coastal watersheds of the Congo River S to c.13° S).