Cercopithecus nictitans — Details

Greater Spot-nosed Monkey learn more about names for this taxon

Overview

Brief Summary

Biology

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Noisy and gregarious, the tree-dwelling greater spot-nosed guenon generally lives in large groups of between 12 and 30 animals, comprising a single adult male, with several females and their young (1) (5).This species is frequently found in close association with related guenon species, such as the crowned guenon (Cercopithecus pogonias), forming large, mixed-species groups. This helps to protect against predation, and also allows the sharing of information about the best foraging locations (6). While the bulk of the greater spot-nosed guenon's diet consists of fruit, seeds and leaves, it will also eat insects and agricultural crops (2) (3). Male greater spot-nosed guenons produce a range of vocalizations including deep, booming calls to advertise status and presence, as well as “pyow” and “hack” alarm calls. Incredibly, the sequence of these two alarm calls can convey information to other greater spot-nosed guenons about what kind of predator is nearby, for example, whether it is a bird of prey or a leopard, allowing the group to take the appropriate evasive action (5). Greater spot-nosed guenon mating systems are usually polygynous, with the lone male in each group having exclusive breeding access to all the females (5) (7). Breeding is likely to occur throughout the year (7), with the females giving birth to a single young (2) after a gestation period of around five or six months (3) (7).
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Comprehensive Description

Description

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One of the larger guenon species, the greater spot-nosed guenon's name is derived from the striking, bright, white patch found on the nose (2). The coat is finely speckled dark olive and blackish-grey on the upperparts, while the extremities, belly and tail are black (2) (3).
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Distribution

Range Description

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This species is present as a disjunct population in Liberia and western Côte d'Ivoire, and then more continuously from the Osse River in western Nigeria south and east to the Congo River, across the Oubangui River as far east as Buta and Budjala (both Democratic Republic of the Congo) between the Congo River and Oubangui River. It is also present on the island of Bioko (Equatorial Guinea). This isolated western range is thought to be due to competion with C. diana.

There are two subspecies. The subspecies C. n. nictitans is distributed south of the Sanaga River, Cameroon through the eastern part of the species range. The systematic status of the subspecies C. n. martini is uncertain, and herein includes a number of forms sometimes recognized as distinct taxa. Animals currently allocated to this subspecies occur from north-west of the lower Sanaga River, Cameroon, into the western part of the species range, including the island of Bioko.
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Range

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Although the taxonomic status of this species is still unclear, there are currently two generally recognised subspecies of greater spot-nosed guenon, which are found in different locations. The most widespread subspecies, Cercopithecus nictitans nictitans is found from southern parts of Cameroon and the Central African Republic, southwards, through northern Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. In contrast, Cercopithecus nictitans martini is found north of the Sanaga River in Cameroon, and in western and southern Nigeria. Isolated populations also occur in Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and on the island of Bioko (1).
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Ecology

Habitat

Habitat and Ecology

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Habitat and Ecology
It is present in lowland and montane tropical moist forest, gallery forest and secondary forest; it is less common in swamp forest. This species generally lives in groups of between 12 and 30 animals.

Systems
  • Terrestrial
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Habitat

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The greater spot-nosed guenon is primarily found in lowland and montane primary tropical rainforest, but also occurs in forested areas bordering rivers, and in secondary forest (1) (2).
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Life History and Behavior

Life Expectancy

Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 31 years (captivity)
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Molecular Biology and Genetics

Molecular Biology

Barcode data: Cercopithecus nictitans

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The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species. 

 
There are 7 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
 
BSHMT090-09|0262|Cercopithecus nictitans| ---------------------------------------ACTCTATACCTACTGTTTGGTGCATGAGCTGGAGTCATAGGCACTGCTCTA---AGTCTTCTTATTCGAGCTGAGCTGGGTCAACCCGGTAGTCTATTGGGCAGT---GATCATATTTACAATGTTATCGTGACAGCCCATGCATTTATTATAATTTTCTTCATAGTTATACCCATTATAATTGGAGGGTTCGGGAACTGACTAGTCCCCTTAATA---ATTGGTGCCCCTGACATAGCATTTCCCCGTCTAAATAACATAAGCTTCTGGCTTCTCCCTCCCTCTTTTCTGCTACTAATAGCATCAACCGTGGTAGAGGCTGGTGCTGGTACAGGTTGAACAGTATACCCCCCTTTAGCAGGAAATCTCTCCCACCCAGGAGCCTCCGTAGACTTA---GTAATTTTCTCCCTCCATTTAGCAGGAATTTCCTCTATCCTAGGAGCCATCAACTTCATTACCACTATTATTAATATGAAACCCCCCGCTATATCCCAATATCAAACCCCCTTATTCGTTTGATCTGTCTTAATCACAGCAATTCTACTACTCCTCTCCCTACCAGTCTTGGCTGCC---GGTATCACCATACTATTAACAGACCGCAACCTCAACACTACTTTCTTTGACCCTACCGGAGGAGGAGACCCTATCCTA------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
-- end --

Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Cercopithecus nictitans

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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 7
Species: 7
Species With Barcodes: 1

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Conservation

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Assessment

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Red List Category
LC
Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version
3.1

Year Assessed
2008

Assessor/s
Oates, J.F. & Groves, C.P.

Reviewer/s
Mittermeier, R.A. & Rylands, A.B. (Primate Red List Authority)

Justification
This species is considered Least Concern because it is reasonably widespread, can withstand some degree of hunting pressure, and is not believed declining at a rate sufficient to warrant listing in a threatened category.

History
  • 2000
    Lower Risk/least concern
  • 1996
    Lower Risk/least concern
  • 1988
    Not Threatened
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Status

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Classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1) and listed on Appendix II of CITES (4). Subspecies: Cercopithecus nictitans martini classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1).
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Population

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Population
This species is rare in West Africa, but reasonably common in the eastern part of its range. On Bioko, numbers have undergone steep declines, exceeding 50% between the period 1986 to 2006 (Hearn et al. 2006).

Population Trend
Decreasing
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Threats

Threats

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Major Threats
This species may be locally threatened, especially in the west of its range, by habitat loss through deforestation for timber and agricultural land and by hunting for meat. Although it is hunted heavily (e.g., on Bioko), it still remains common in the central and eastern parts of its range.
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Threats

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The main threats faced by the greater spot-nosed guenon are habitat loss, through deforestation for timber and agricultural land, and hunting for meat. Currently these threats are most prevalent in the western part of this species' range, where the subspecies Cercopithecus nictitans martini occurs. In particular, on Bioko Island, where hunting pressure is severe, the population of Cercopithecus nictitans martini has undergone a severe decline, with 50 percent of the population lost between 1986 and 2006. As a result, this subspecies is considered to be more at risk than Cercopithecus nictitans nictitans, and is therefore classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN (1). A further concern for this species is the uncertainty about its taxonomic status. At present, there are a number of differing forms of greater spot-nosed guenon that are grouped under the subspecies Cercopithecus nictitans martini. Should these groups become recognised as distinct subspecies, many would be considered to be perilously close to extinction (1).
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Management

Conservation Actions

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Conservation Actions
This species is listed on Appendix II of CITES and on Class B of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It is known to occur in several protected areas, including Monte Alen National Park (Equatorial Guinea), Mbam Djerem National Park (Cameroon) and others. Further research is needed into the taxonomy of this species, particularly elucidate the status of forms currently included in C. n. martini, since many of them may represent truly threatened subspecies.
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Conservation

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The greater spot-nosed guenon occurs in a number of protected areas throughout its range, and is therefore safeguarded to some extent from habitat loss (1). In order to protect this species against unsustainable levels of international trade, the greater spot-nosed guenon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (3). In addition, this species is listed on Class B of the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and therefore legal hunting requires authorisation (1) (8). Despite these controls, the bushmeat trade for the greater spot-nosed guenon—along with many other species—continues to grow (9) (10). To combat this, on Bioko, the Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program is working to protect the island's threatened wildlife by patrolling protected areas to deter hunters, and by developing research and educational programs (9). At an international level, the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, a consortium of several conservation organisations, is working with governments, organisations and the general public in order to eliminate unsustainable and illegal bushmeat hunting practices worldwide (10).
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Wikipedia

Greater spot-nosed monkey

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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] There has been little recent research into its behaviour, and most of it 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, it has been argued that the acoustical structure of greater spot-nosed monkey alarm calls varies according to the kind of predator that has been spotted[4] It has also been suggested that the monkey 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 that another animal, like a leopard, is lurking nearby, and "hack" means that a flying animal, like an eagle, is flying nearby. But when the two are combined together, like 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.

References

  1. ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 157. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100484. 
  2. ^ Oates, J. F. & Groves, C. P. (2008). Cercopithecus nictitans. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 January 2009.
  3. ^ Eckardt, W., and Zuberbühler, K. (2004). "Cooperation and competition in two forest monkeys". Behavioural Ecology 15: 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". Animal Behaviour 72: 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. PMID 18334192. 
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