Tantalus monkey

Tantalus monkey
Conservation status
Least Concern Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Genus:	Chlorocebus
Species:	C. tantalus
Binomial name
Chlorocebus tantalus (Ogilby, 1841)
File:Tantalus Monkey area.png
Geographic range map

The tantalus monkey (Chlorocebus tantalus) is an Old World monkey from Africa that ranges from Ghana to Sudan. It was originally described as a subspecies of the grivet (Chlorocebus aethiops). All species in Chlorocebus were formerly in the genus Cercopithecus. It is a common species with a wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Subspecies

This species has three recognized subspecies:

• C. t. tantalus
• C. t. budgetti
• C. t. marrensis

Description

File:Budgett's Tantalus Monkey (Chlorocebus tantalus budgetti) male eating jackfruit (17542356113).jpg

Male C. t. budgetti eating jackfruit

A medium-sized species, the tantalus monkey has a black face and a long tail. There is a distinctive undulating white or yellowish browband above the eyes. The cheeks and temples are white, the long hairs being swept backwards and often covering the ears in older individuals. The crown and dorsal surface of the body is grizzled and greenish or golden. The underparts are white and the tail and outer surfaces of the limbs grey. The tail may have a whitish tip. The male is larger than the female and has a bright blue scrotum surrounded by orange hairs.

Distribution and habitat

This monkey is found in tropical central Africa. Its native range includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo and Uganda. It is an adaptable species able to inhabit open woodland, savannah, forest-grassland mosaic and riverside forest. It is at home in secondary forest and rural and urban locations.

Ecology

Tantalus monkeys live in troops averaging about thirty individuals, with up to ten adult males and eighteen adult females, and varying numbers of juveniles and young. Some adult males move about singly. There is a social hierarchy within the group. These monkeys are demi-terrestrial and spend much of their time on the ground. The troop maintains a territory, defending it with vocalizations and threats, but some groups are less aggressive than others and share part of their territory with a neighbouring troop. Breeding takes place at different times of year in different parts of the range. A single offspring is the norm, with females giving birth for the first time when about five years old.