Ruwenzori colobus

The Ruwenzori colobus (Colobus angolensis ruwenzori), also known as Ruwenzori black-and-white colobus, is a subspecies of the Angola colobus.[1] This primate is distributed from the Afromontane forests of the Ruwenzori Mountains across the mountains in Burundi and Rwanda to the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika.[2]

Ruwenzori black-and-white colobus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Colobus
Species:
C. angolensis
Subspecies:
C. a. ruwenzori[1]
Trinomial name
Colobus angolensis ruwenzori[1]
Thomas, 1901

Taxonomy

In 1901, Oldfield Thomas described two skins of Ruwenzori colobus zoological specimens that were collected at the northwestern slopes of the Ruwenzori Mountains in Bwamba Country of western Uganda. Thomas considered it a species using the scientific name Colobus ruwenzorii.[3]

Characteristics

The Ruwenzori colobus is black with hair on the shoulders between 23 and 33 cm (9.1 and 13.0 in) long. Its tail is also black and greyish-white at the end. It has white bushy tufts on the cheeks.[3] The white hair on the forehead forms a crest.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The Ruwenzori colobus occurs at Lake Nabugabo in Uganda.[4] Troops of 300 to 400 individuals inhabit Rwanda's Nyungwe National Park.[5]

Some authors reports indicate that it perhaps also occurs in some Tanzanian regions.[6]

Ecology and behaviour

The Ruwenzori colobus is a highly arboreal and acrobatic leaf-eater. Its diet consists of about two thirds of leaves and one third of fruit and seeds.[7]

Although all Colobus species are very sociable, they usually move on the troops of several hundred animals.[7]

References
  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). "Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 168. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. Groves, C. P. (2007). "The taxonomic diversity of the Colobinae of Africa" (PDF). Journal of Anthropological Sciences. 85: 7−34.
  3. Thomas, O. (1901). "On the more notable Mammals obtained by Sir Harry Johnston in the Uganda Protectorate". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 2 (2): 85−90.
  4. Arseneau-Robar, T. J. M.; Joyce, M. M.; Stead, S. M.; Teichroeb, J. A. (2018). "Proximity and grooming patterns reveal opposite-sex bonding in Rwenzori Angolan colobus monkeys (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii)". Primates. 59 (3): 267–279. doi:10.1007/s10329-017-0643-6. PMID 29270880.
  5. Ministère des Terres, de l’Environnement, de l’Eau, des Forêts et des Mines (2005). "Conditions propres aux pays" (PDF). Communication Nationale Initiale relative à la Convention – Cadre des Nations Unies sur les Changements climatiques. Kigali, Rwanda: Republique du Rwanda. pp. 25–48.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Anderson, J.; Cowlishaw, G.; Rowcliffe, J. M. (2007). "Effects of forest fragmentation on the abundance of Colobus angolensis palliatus in Kenya's coastal forests" (PDF). International Journal of Primatology. 28 (3): 637. doi:10.1007/s10764-007-9143-7.
  7. Philip Briggs; Janice Booth (2010-03-16). Rwanda. ISBN 978-1-84162-306-1.
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