Cercopithecus petaurista (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 : 687-688

71.

Spot-nosed Monkey

Cercopithecus petaurista

French: Cercopitheque blanc-nez / German: Kleine WeilRnasenmeerkatze / Spanish: Cercopiteco menor de nariz blanca

Other common names: Lesser Spot-nosed Guenon, Lesser White-nosed Guenon; Eastern Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey (petaurista), Western Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey (buettikoferi)

Taxonomy. Simia petaurista Schreber, 1774 ,

Guinea.

C. petauristais a member of the C. cephus superspecies group,as defined by J. Kingdon in his 1997 Field Guide to African Mammals. This group also includes C. cephus , C. sclateri , C. erythrotis , C. ascanius , and C. erythrogaster . C. P. Groves in his 2001 Primate Taxonomy gave the same composition for his cephus species group. Two extant subspecies are divided from one another by the Sassandra River (Ivory Coast), with some hybridization/intergradation reported on the right bank of the Nzo River. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

C.p.petauristaSchreber,1774—C&EIvoryCoast(EoftheSassandraRiver),Ghana,andWTogo;possiblyinBenin.

C. p. buettikofer: Jentink, 1886 — SE Senegal, S Guinea-Bissau, S Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and W Ivory Coast (W of the Nzo-Sassandra River system).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-53 cm (males) and 40-44 cm (females), tail 57— 79 cm (males) and 52-68 cm (females); weight 2:5—4-5 kg (males) and 2.3-8 kg (females). The distinguishing characteristic of the Spot-nosed Monkeyis, as its name suggests, a noticeable spot of white hair on the nose. This light patch of hair contrasts strongly against a dark face. A black brow band extends around face and behind ears to form a border around the crown, which is speckled yellow and black. There are bushy white whiskers on lower cheeks, and throat has a ruff of white hair. Ears are prominent and have conspicuous fringes of white hairs. On each side of the head, a linear tuft, or “flash,” of white hair extends laterally below each ear. Back and flanks are agouti-brown, and underside (chest and belly) is white. Limbs are pale on inner surfaces and speckled like the body on outside lower segments. Dorsal surface oftail is also a speckled agouti-brown, becoming darker toward tip, while its undersurface is grayish-white. Scrotum is blue. The two subspecies are very similar in appearance. The “Eastern Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey” (C. p. petaurista ) has a black brow band extending around its face and behindits ears, but the “Western Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey” (C. p. buettikoferi) does not. Some individual Western Lesser Spot-nosed Monkeys have bilateral patches of creamy-speckled hairs on their cheeks; however, this seems to be a variable characteristic because the cheek patch in some individuals is not obvious or is instead silvery.

Habitat. Primary and secondary forest, riparian and gallery forest, woodland savanna, coastal bushland, plantations, and gardens. The Spot-nosed Monkey flourishes in disturbed forest, including “farmbush” (secondary growth and scrub on farmland), where it is often more abundant than in mature high forest. Spot-nosed Monkeys prefer thick, young secondary growth.

Food and Feeding. Major foods of the Spot-nosed Monkey include leaves, fruits, shoots, flowers, and insects. In the Tai Forest, these monkeys spend 40% of their feeding time eating foliage (young leaves and new stems from lianas being most frequently eaten foliage items) and 34% eating fruits (with fruit of the canopy tree Dialium aubrevillei, Fabaceae , being the most popular item offruit). Spot-nosed Monkeys also occasionally raid maize and cacao crops.

Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species.

Activity patterns. The Spot-nosed Monkey is highly arboreal and rarely goes to the ground. In the Tai Forest, nearly 70% of an individual's time is spent in the forest understory. Individuals rarely use upper parts of the main forest canopy and hardly ever enter crowns of tall emergent trees. Spot-nosed Monkeys climb quadrupedally on branches, twigs, and climber stems, avoiding large boughs. In the Tai Forest, they spend 45% of their time feeding and foraging, 26% moving, 24% resting, and the remainder engaging in other activities.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Group sizes of Spot-nosed Monkeys are 4-24 individuals, although most groups are relatively small, with an average of eleven individuals. Groups generally comprise a single adult male with a number of adult females and young. In Tai, there are groups with more than one adult male. Group members interact very little; females occasionally groom other females, males, and young. A group will travel 500-1800 m/day, with an average of c¢.1000 m/day. Annual home ranges of social groups are 40-100 ha. Home range overlap is high among groups of Spot-nosed Monkeys. Aggression by both sexes occurs when groups meet, especially at feeding trees.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red Lust, including both subspecies. The Spot-nosed Monkey is listed as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Although it faces threats from habitat loss through deforestation and human settlement,it is evidently able to survive in variously degraded habitats. Its preference for regrowth forest over mature high forest has so far enabled it to withstand human pressures across its distribution. The hunting of Spot-nosed Monkeys is also not as severe due to its small size and its habit of hiding in thick undergrowth where it is difficult to shoot. A high visual acuity also means that individuals are often able to detect the approach of people well in advance of a threat. The Western Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey occurs in Tai Forest National Park, Monogaga Classified Forest, and Kabéoula and Gouléako II community reserves in Ivory Coast, and the Eastern Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey occurs in Digya National Park in Ghana. The Spot-nosed Monkey is a common and widespread species. Although facing threats from habitat loss and hunting, the subspecies are also well able to persist in a wide range of degraded habitats.

Bibliography. Buzzard (2004, 2006), Buzzard & Eckardt (2007), Galat & Galat-Luong (1985), Gartlan & Struhsaker (1972), Gautier-Hion (1980), Gonedelé Bi et al. (2012), Groves (2001), Grubb et al. (1998), McGraw (2000), Oates (1988b, 2011), Oates & Whitesides (1990), Oates, Hart, Butynski & Groves (2008), Struhsaker (1969), Tutin et al. (1997).

Figures

69. Owl-faced Monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), 70. Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis), 71. Spot-nosed Monkey (Cercopithecus petaurista), 72. Red-bellied Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster), 73. Sclater’s Monkey (Cercopithecus sclateri), 74. Red-eared Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrotis), 75. Mustached Monkey (Cercopithecus cephus), 76. Red-tailed Monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius)

Subspecies and Distribution. C.p.petauristaSchreber,1774—C&EIvoryCoast(EoftheSassandraRiver),Ghana,andWTogo;possiblyinBenin. C. p. buettikofer: Jentink, 1886 — SE Senegal, S Guinea-Bissau, S Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and W Ivory Coast (W of the Nzo-Sassandra River system).