Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is dis­trib­uted in west­ern Africa, south and east of the Sanaga River. Its south­ern and east­ern lim­its are the banks of the Congo/Oubangi river sys­tem. How­ever, the re­gion where the Congo River emp­ties into the At­lantic Ocean is no longer a bar­rier since this species in now found in north­west­ern An­gola and east­ern De­mo­c­ra­tic Re­pub­lic of the Congo. It is not known when or how C. ce­phus was able to cross the river bar­rier at this lo­ca­tion, but it is not found much fur­ther from this cross­ing point. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus oc­curs in Equa­to­r­ial Guinea, Gabon, the Re­pub­lic of the Congo, south­ern Cameroon, south­west­ern Cen­tral African Re­pub­lic, north­west­ern An­gola, and east­ern De­mo­c­ra­tic Re­pub­lic of the Congo. (King­don, 1988)

• Biogeographic Regions
• ethiopian
  • native

Habi­tat

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus in­hab­its an array of forested re­gions in­clud­ing pri­mary rain­forests, sec­ondary rain­forests, and gallery forests. (King­don, 1988)

• Habitat Regions
• tropical

• Terrestrial Biomes
• rainforest

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus has a very col­or­ful face, bluish to vi­o­let with a bluish-white cres­cented stripe below the naked nose. Be­neath this “mous­tache” are black hairs along the bor­der of the upper lip and bright yel­low bushy whiskers on both sides of the face. The ears are black and the rest of the head is cov­ered with black­ish-brown hair. This black­ish-brown hair ex­tends dor­sally and lat­er­ally, with the ven­tral re­gion hav­ing ashy grey hair. The tail, which is longer than the rest of its body, is non­pre­hen­sile and is cov­ered in cop­pery-red hair. (Hill, 1966)

The av­er­age length of C. ce­phus is 520 mm (head to body) and its tail av­er­ag­ing 700 mm. The av­er­age mass is about 4 kg. The den­tal for­mula is 2/2, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3 = 32. (King­don, 1988; Vaughan, 1986)

Fe­males and males are alike in color. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is sex­ual di­mor­phic in size with the fe­male being rel­a­tively smaller. (Hill, 1966)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

• Average mass

  4 kg

  8.81 lb

• Average mass

  3585 g

  126.34 oz

  AnAge

• Average length

  520 mm

  20.47 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

Mat­ing in this species is polyg­y­nous, with one male gen­er­ally mat­ing in a group of 10 to 40 fe­males. A fe­male elic­its cop­u­la­tion by di­rect­ing her rump to­wards the male, in­form­ing him that she is ready for cop­u­la­tion.

In spite of this basic pat­tern, polyg­y­nan­drous mat­ing groups some­times occur. The break­down of the one-male group struc­ture may lead to be­tween 3 and 6 males at­tend­ing a group of fe­males on any one day. These males oc­ca­sion­ally leave such groups for a few hours to court and mate fe­males in neigh­bor­ing groups. The pres­ence of sev­eral males in the group co­in­cides with el­e­vated lev­els of sex­ual ac­tiv­ity. (Estes, 1991; King­don, 1988)

• Mating System
• polygynous
• polygynandrous (promiscuous)

In the trop­ics, where there is lit­tle an­nual vari­a­tion in day length and tem­per­a­ture, an­nual changes in rain­fall and nu­tri­tion are most im­por­tant in de­ter­min­ing the re­pro­duc­tive events of C. ce­phus. In areas of high rain­fall, some pop­u­la­tions dis­play year round mat­ing and birth. The ma­jor­ity of the C. ce­phus pop­u­la­tion has a mat­ing sea­son cen­tered around July, Au­gust, and Sep­tem­ber, with the birth sea­son cen­tered around De­cem­ber, Jan­u­ary, and Feb­ru­ary. Mat­ing and birth sea­sons usu­ally last three months or less when there is one wet sea­son, and three months or longer when there are two wet sea­sons each year. (King­don, 1988)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• fertilization
• viviparous

• Breeding interval

  Females are able to breed yearly.

• Breeding season

  Breeding takes place from July to September .

• Average number of offspring

  1

• Average number of offspring

  1

  AnAge

• Average gestation period

  5.6 months

• Average gestation period

  172 days

  AnAge

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  4 to 5 years

• Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  4 to 5 years

Lit­tle is doc­u­mented about the parental in­vest­ment of C. ce­phus, but close rel­a­tives of mous­tached guenons pro­duce young that are rel­a­tively well de­vel­oped at birth with open eyes and the means to sup­port their own weight and em­brace their mother. Moth­ers typ­i­cally care for their young, pro­vid­ing them with food and pro­tec­tion, for a year or longer. Males may be con­sid­ered to play some role in parental care in that they con­tribute to the de­fense of the so­cial group against preda­tors and rival males. This may help to pro­tect the off­spring. (Mac­Don­ald, 1984)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-independence
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• maternal position in the dominance hierarchy affects status of young

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Lit­tle is known about the lifes­pan of C. ce­phus in the wild or in cap­tiv­ity. How­ever, one known wild born C. ce­phus fe­male lived in cap­tiv­ity for 31 years and it is es­ti­mated that it was as old as 36 years. Close rel­a­tives of mous­tached guenons have lifes­pans in the wild av­er­ag­ing 22 years. ("Human Age­ing Ge­nomic Re­sources", 2006; "Human Age­ing Ge­nomic Re­sources", 2006; Mac­Don­ald, 1984)

• Average lifespan
  Status: captivity

  36 years

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  22 years

• Average lifespan
  Sex: male
  Status: captivity

  23.0 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

• Average lifespan
  Sex: female
  Status: captivity

  23.0 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Be­hav­ior

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is di­ur­nal and ar­boeal. These guenons move through the rain­for­est quadrupedally with great agility. Their sure-foot­ed­ness in rapid flight through an ar­bo­real habi­tat makes them re­mark­able tree to tree leapers. They can leap up to 20 me­ters with­out fal­ter­ing in pass­ing from one group of trees to an­other. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is known to use reg­u­lar routes through the branches, with each mon­key fol­low­ing the next along the same path. (Hill, 1966)

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus char­ac­ter­is­ti­cally ex­ists in two kinds of groups. One kind is a group com­pris­ing males only, and the other kind is a group of 10 to 40 fe­males with one adult male. Some­times the one-male group might have more males for a short pe­riod of time due to in­creased sex­ual ac­tiv­ity. If fe­male mem­bers of a group are un­happy with a male in­tru­sion, or even a fe­male in­tru­sion, they de­fend the group and chase away the soli­tary in­truder. (Estes, 1991; Estes, 1991)

• Key Behaviors
• arboreal
• scansorial
• diurnal
• crepuscular
• motile
• sedentary
• social
• dominance hierarchies

Home Range

No in­for­ma­tion is avail­able on the home range of mous­tached guenons. How­ever, groups of the closely re­lated Cer­co­p­ithe­cus as­ca­nius de­fend a home range of about 120 hectares. Mous­tached guenons prob­aby have some­what sim­i­lar home range sizes. (Smuts, et al., 1987)

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus has a great cu­ri­ousity that ac­counts for their fre­quent wan­der­ing, which leads them to ex­plore the edges of the for­est or along for­est tracts where tim­ber is being cut down. (Hill, 1966)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus uses a trilling call that is soft and os­cil­lates in a de­scend­ing pitch. These calls are emit­ted by subadults when ap­proached by an adult, there­fore com­mu­ni­cat­ing obe­di­ence. (Estes, 1991)

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus uses star­ing as a threat dis­play. In this case, a mon­key fixes its eyes on an­other in­di­vid­ual with eye­brows raised, scalp re­tracted, and fa­cial skin stretched by mov­ing the ears back. The color un­der­neath the eye­lids con­trasts sharply with the ad­ja­cent fa­cial color, con­tribut­ing to the vi­sual ef­fect of this threat. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus also stares with its mouth wide open but the teeth cov­ered. This threat ex­pres­sion is usu­ally ac­com­pa­nied by bob­bing the head up and down. (Estes, 1991)

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus also uses a nose-to-nose greet­ing, where two mon­keys ap­proach each other and touch noses. Such greet­ings are fre­quently fol­lowed by play or groom­ing. (Estes, 1991)

Al­though not doc­u­mented for this species, many old world pri­mates use some forms of scent-based com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus may use some chem­i­cal com­mu­ni­ca­tion as well.

• Communication Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is pri­mar­ily fru­giv­o­rous. This species has adapted to live on the pulp of oil palm nuts, and as a re­sult, it is only found in re­gions where there is a con­stant sup­ply of this fruit. In order to com­pete ef­fec­tively with other pri­mate species, C. ce­phus ar­rives at a fruit­ing tree be­fore dawn. Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus may also feed on fruits in the early evening after other pri­mate species have re­treated. In ad­di­tion to oil palm nuts, mous­tached guenons con­sume seeds, leaves, in­sects, and eggs. (Estes, 1991; Hill, 1966)

• Primary Diet
• herbivore
  • frugivore

• Animal Foods
• eggs
• insects

• Plant Foods
• leaves
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit

Pre­da­tion

Preda­tors of C. ce­phus in­clude leop­ards, snakes, birds of prey, and hu­mans who oc­ca­sion­ally cap­ture these mon­keys. (King­don, 1988)

Male mous­tached guenons pro­duce a dis­tinc­tive warn­ing tone, which is de­scribed as a sharp, stac­cato, rhyth­mi­cally re­peated bark. A ke-ke-ke call is also used by both sexes, which in­di­cates fear. (Hill, 1966)

• Known Predators

  • Leopards Panthera pardus
  • Snakes
  • Birds of prey
  • Humans Homo sapiens

Ecosys­tem Roles

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is ac­com­pa­nied by sneaky and silent birds (Trop­i­cranus al­bocrista­tus cassini), which ben­e­fit from the in­sects, nu­mer­ous seeds, and other veg­etable prod­ucts dis­turbed by the mon­keys. This is com­men­sal­ism. Be­cause C. ce­phus is a fru­gi­vore, it un­doubt­edly aids in the dis­per­sal of the seeds of fruit trees. (Hill, 1966)

• Ecosystem Impact
• disperses seeds

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is some­times kept as a pet. This guenon is usu­ally friendly to­ward hu­mans and is full of cu­rios­ity. How­ever, as is true of all wild an­i­mals, C. ce­phus can bite. (Hill, 1966)

• Positive Impacts
• pet trade

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

In the wild, C. ce­phus is not re­ported to have any ad­verse ef­fects on hu­mans. How­ever, when kept as pets, their cu­rios­ity often leads these mon­keys to de­struc­tion of prop­erty. As men­tioned pre­vi­ously, they are also ca­pa­ble of bit­ing. (Hill, 1966)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is not en­dan­gered.

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

• State of Michigan List

  No special status

Other Com­ments

Cer­co­p­ithe­cus ce­phus is com­monly called a mous­tached guenon or a mous­tached mon­key. ("Human Age­ing Ge­nomic Re­sources", 2006; Estes, 1991)

Con­trib­u­tors

Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Juan Miretti (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Mu­seum of Zo­ol­ogy, Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Nancy Shef­ferly (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Ref­er­ences

2006. "Human Age­ing Ge­nomic Re­sources" (On-line). AnAge Data­base. Ac­cessed April 18, 2006 at http://​genomics.​senescence.​info/​species/​entry.​php?​species=Cercopithecus_​cephus.

Estes, R. 1991. The Be­hav­ior Guide to African Mam­mals. Berke­ley, Cal­i­for­nia: Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia Press.

Hill, W. 1966. Pri­mates, Com­par­a­tive Anatomy and Tax­on­omy. New York: In­ter­science Pub­lish­ers, Inc..

King­don, J. 1988. A Pri­mate Ra­di­a­tion. New York: Cam­bridge Uni­ver­sity Press.

Mac­Don­ald, D. 1984. En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Mam­mals. New York: Facts on File Pub­li­ca­tions.

Smuts, B., D. Ch­eney, R. Wrang­ham, T. Struh­saker. 1987. Pri­mate So­ci­eties. Chicago, Illi­nois: The Uni­ver­sity of Chicago Press.

Vaughan, T. 1986. Mam­mal­ogy. Or­lando, Florida: Har­court Brace Jo­vanovich.