Cercopithecus cephus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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 : 690

75.

Mustached Monkey

Cercopithecus cephus

French: Cercopitheque moustac / German: Blaumaulmeerkatze / Spanish: Cercopiteco bigotudo

Other common names: Moustached Guenon; Gray-tailed Mustached Monkey (cephodes), Red-tailed Mustached Monkey (cephus), White-nosed Mustached Monkey (ngottoensis)

Taxonomy. Simia cephus Linnaeus, 1758 ,

America (= West Africa).

C. cephus is a member of the C. cephus superspecies group as defined byJ. Kingdon in his 1997 Field Guide to African Mammals. It also includes C. petaurista , C. sclateri , C. erythrotis , C. ascanius , and C. erythrogaster . C. P. Groves in his 2001 Primate Taxonomy had the same composition for his cephus species group. Albinism has been reported. The subspecies cephus hybridizes with C. e. camerunensis in a small area just to the south of the Sanaga River nearits mouth, between Tinaso and Lake Tisongo. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

C.c.cephusLinnaeus,1758—SCameroon(SofSanagaRiver),extremeSWofCentralAfricanRepublic(EtotheMambéréRiver),EquatorialGuinea,NEGabon,mostoftheRepublicoftheCongo,andNWAngola.

C.c.cephodesPocock,1907—WGabonandWRepublicoftheCongo,incoastalregionsbetweentheOgoouéandKouilou-Niaririvers.

C. c. ngottoensis Colyn, 1999 — SW Central African Republic (S of the Mambéré-Kadéi Prefecture and Bangui), N Republic of the Congo (E to the Ubangi River), possibly in NW DR Congo.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 50-58 cm (males) and 44-50 cm (females), tail 65— 99 cm (males) and 60-76 cm (females); weight 3.8-5 kg (males) and 2—4 kg (females). The Mustached Monkey has a distinctive, chevron-shaped, white moustache that contrasts strongly with yellowish-orange cheek tufts and bare, dark blue skin of face. Coat is speckled reddish-brown, becoming uniformly dark gray toward extremities. Throat and belly are whitish gray. The “Red-tailed Mustached Monkey” (C. c. cephus ) is a small guenon, and its tail is much longer than its body. In the Red-tailed Mustached Monkey and the “White-nosed Mustached Monkey” (C. ¢. ngottoensis), tails are mostly blackishgray, except for the lower part, which is red. Tail of the “Gray-tailed Mustached Monkey” (C. c. cephodes) is brown and gray.

Habitat. Lowland tropical, gallery, and riparian forest. The Mustached Monkey will also tolerate secondary habitat types where scrub or forest is in the process of growing back after logging, fire, or some other major disturbance.

Food and Feeding. The Mustached Monkey is primarily frugivorous. Fleshy ripe fruit makes up ¢.80% ofits diet. It also seems to be relatively dependent upon nuts of oil palms because individuals are rare or totally absent in areas lacking such trees. Seeds, leaves, and arthropods are important constituents of the diet, and they occasionally eat eggs and fledglings.

Breeding. Although breeding may occur throughout the year, births in Gabon occur in December—February, peaking in January. Single young are born after a gestation of 5-6 months.

Activity patterns. Mustached Monkeys prefer the lower strata of the forest. They spend c.60% of their time below a height of 15 m above the ground. They are one of the smaller guenons and generally forage where there is dense forest cover.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Groups of Mustached Monkeys contain 4-35 individuals, commonly a single male, multiple females, and their young. No published information on movements or home rangesis available.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [IUCN Red List, including the subspecies cephus . The subspecies ngottoensis is classified as Data Deficient, and cephodes has not been assessed. The Mustached Monkeyis listed as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The Mustached Monkey is relatively common and widespread and is not currently facing any major threats to warrantlisting in a category of threat. Its main threats include habitat loss through deforestation and hunting for meat. As deforestation rates and the bushmeat trade continue to grow,it is possible that it will undergo substantial decline. The Mustached Monkey is able to adapt to secondary habitat and is also present in a number of protected areas in Gabon and southern Cameroon. The Gray-tailed Mustached Monkey is found in a number of protected areas and is therefore safeguarded to some extent from habitat loss. The White-nosed Mustached Monkey has not been discovered in any existing protected areas within its range. It is, however, found within the boundaries of the proposed Mbaere-Bodingue Park in the Central African Republic, which will hopefully provide a refuge in the future.

Bibliography. Brugiere et al. (2005), Butynski (2002b), Colyn (1999), Gautier-Hion & Brugiere (2005), Gautier-Hion et al. (1999), Groves (2001), Oates (2011), Oates, Gippoliti & Bearder (2008a), Struhsaker (1970).

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.c.cephusLinnaeus,1758—SCameroon(SofSanagaRiver),extremeSWofCentralAfricanRepublic(EtotheMambéréRiver),EquatorialGuinea,NEGabon,mostoftheRepublicoftheCongo,andNWAngola. C.c.cephodesPocock,1907—WGabonandWRepublicoftheCongo,incoastalregionsbetweentheOgoouéandKouilou-Niaririvers. C. c. ngottoensis Colyn, 1999 — SW Central African Republic (S of the Mambéré-Kadéi Prefecture and Bangui), N Republic of the Congo (E to the Ubangi River), possibly in NW DR Congo.