- Golden monkey
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Not to be confused with Golden Snub-nosed Monkey.This article is about the monkey. For the tea, see Golden Monkey tea.
Golden monkey[1] Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Cercopithecidae Tribe: Cercopithecini Genus: Cercopithecus Species: C. kandti Binomial name Cercopithecus kandti
Matschie, 1905The golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) is a species of Old World monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, including four national parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is restricted to highland forest, especially near bamboo.
This species was previously thought to be a subspecies of the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis),[1] and the two are similar overall, but the Golden Monkey has a golden-orange patch on the upper flanks and back. The golden monkey inhabits a small area which overlaps the territory of one group of the mountain gorilla.[specify]
Not much is known about the golden monkey's behaviour. It lives in social groups of up to 30 individuals. Its diet consists mainly of leaves and fruit, though it is also thought to eat insects.
Due to the gradual destruction of their habitat and recent wars in their limited habitat, the golden monkey is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.[2]
References
- ^ a b Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 156. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100472.
- ^ a b Butynski, T. M. (2008). Cercopithecus mitis ssp. kandti. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 January 2009.
External links
Categories:- IUCN Red List endangered species
- Mammals of Africa
- Cercopithecine monkeys
- Animals described in 1905
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