- Zanzibar Red Colobus
Taxobox
name = Zanzibar Red ColobusMSW3 Groves | pages = 169-170]
status = EN
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = [IUCN2006 | assessors = Butynski, T. & Members of the Primate Specialist Group | year = 2000 | title = Procolobus kirkii | id = 39992 | downloaded =2007-01-22 ]
image_width = 220px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Primate s
familia =Cercopithecidae
genus = "Piliocolobus "
species = "P. kirkii"
binomial = "Piliocolobus kirkii"
binomial_authority = (Gray, 1868)The Zanzibar Red Colobus ("Piliocolobus kirkii") is a
species ofred colobus monkey endemic toUnguja , the main island of theZanzibar archipelago, off the coast of Tanzania. It is also known as Kirk's Red Colobus after Sir John Kirk (1832 -1922 ), the British Resident of Zanzibar who first brought it to the attention of zoological science. It is now classified as anendangered species and in the mid-1990s was adopted as theflagship species for conservation in Zanzibar. [cite book | author = Pakenham, R.H.W. | year = 1984 | title = The Mammals of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands | location = Harpenden | publisher = privately printed] The species has also been reclassified twice; it was previously in the genus "Colobus ", and more recently in the genus "Procolobus ".Description
This
Old World monkey has a coat that ranges from dark red to black, accented with a black stripe along the shoulders and arms, and a pale underside. Its black face is crowned with long white hair, and features a distinguishing pink mark on its lips and nose. Also, the Zanzibar Red Colobus has a long tail used for balancing. Females have little difference in their body size and colour from their male counterparts, and usually outnumber the males in their groups.Behaviour
The groups consist of up to four adult
male s and many adultfemale s. Young of varying ages also are incorporated in the group. The number of monkeys in a group can range from thirty to fifty individuals. The monkeys are very social animals, and can often be observed playing and grooming during the rest periods between meals.Feeding is also a group activity. It begins to feed in the morning, and are more active during the cooler parts of the day. Loud calls from males indicate the group is ready to move to another tree to feed. This monkey usually eat leaves, leaf shoots, seeds, flowers, and unripe fruit. It is one of the few species that do not eat ripe fruits; it has a four-chambered stomach, which cannot digest the sugars contained in the fruits. It also consumes charcoal, which is believed to aid their digestion of the
toxins in the leaves.The Zanzibar Red Colobus prefers drier areas over wet ones, such as
coast al thickets and coastal rag scrub, but can also be found in agricultural areas and in mangrove swamps. When found in agricultural areas, the monkeys are more used tohuman s and come closer to theground .References
External links
*ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Piliocolobus_kirkii/ images and movies of the Kirk's red colobus "(Piliocolobus kirkii)"]
* [http://www.dccff.com/ Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits & Forestry (DCCFF), Zanzibar]
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