White-throated Guenon

Taxobox
name = White-throated Guenon
status = VU
trend = down
status_system = iucn3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Primates
familia = Cercopithecidae
genus = "Cercopithecus"
species = "C. erythrogaster"
binomial = "Cercopithecus erythrogaster"
binomial_authority = Gray, 1866

The White-throated Guenon ("Cercopithecus erythrogaster"), also known as the Red-bellied Monkey and the Red-bellied Guenon, is a diurnal primate that lives on trees of rainforests or tropical areas of Nigeria and Benin.

The White-throated Guenon is usually a frugivore but insects, leaves, and crops are also in its diet. It usually lives in small groups of four to five individual monkeys however, there have been groups of 30 discovered, and in cases, some males wander alone. It is arboreal, living in moist tropical forest and the wettest parts of dry tropical forest, however it can also be found in secondary bush and old farmland.

Males weigh from 3.5–4.5 kg and females weigh 2–4 kg. Females give birth to one offspring, which is a factor of decreasing population.

The White-throated Guenon was once considered extinct due to constant hunting for the fur of its unique red belly and white front legs. Yet, a small group was found near the Niger River in 1988.

The White-throated Guenon is still considered an endangared species near extinction due to its decreasing population. Today, its territory is protected and regarded as a holy land, where hunting and logging is restricted. It is one of the species that live in the Guinean Forests of the West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot.

There are two subspecies of White-throated Guenon:
*Red-bellied Guenon, "Cercopithecus erythrogaster erythrogaster"
*Nigerian White-throated Guenon, "Cercopithecus erythrogaster pococki"

References

* Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is endangered and the criteria used
*MSW3 Groves|pages=156
* [http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/cerceryt.htm Animal Info 2004]
* [http://www.sths.org/students/project2000/kicma.htm St. Thomas High School Student Project 2000 ]