Moustached guenon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Moustached guenon
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Cercopithecidae
Genus:	Cercopithecus
Species:	C. cephus
Binomial name
Cercopithecus cephus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Moustached guenon range
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Synonyms
Simia cephus Linnaeus, 1758

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The moustached guenon (Cercopithecus cephus), also called the moustached monkey, is a type of primate. It belongs to the monkey family called Cercopithecidae. You can find these monkeys in parts of Africa, including Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.

These monkeys are medium-sized and live mostly in trees. They eat a variety of foods, making them omnivores. The IUCN Red List says there are many moustached guenons. This means their population is quite large.

About the Moustached Guenon

What's in a Name?

The moustached guenon is part of the Cercopithecus group of Old World monkeys. It gets its name from the unique "moustache" of fur on its face. This special look helps scientists tell it apart from other monkeys.

There are three types, or subspecies, of moustached guenons:

• The Red-tailed moustached monkey (C. cephus cephus)
• The Gray-tailed Moustached Monkey (C. cephus cephodes)
• The White-nosed Moustached Monkey (C. cephus ngottoensis)

Where They Live

Moustached guenons usually live in untouched forests. They are hard to spot on the ground because they spend most of their time in trees. These monkeys are active during the day. They are amazing jumpers, able to leap up to 20 meters (about 65 feet) from one tree to another!

You can find them widely across Gabon and Northern Congo. Their main home stretches from the south and east of the Sanaga River to the Ubangi River areas. These places are mostly lowland tropical rainforests. However, they also live in gallery forests, flooded forests, and mangrove forests.

Size and Lifespan

Adult male moustached guenons usually weigh about 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds). Females are a bit smaller, weighing around 3.6 kilograms (8 pounds).

Males are about 58 centimeters (23 inches) long from head to body. Females are about 49 centimeters (19 inches). Their tails are very long! Males have tails around 78 centimeters (31 inches), and females have tails about 69.5 centimeters (27 inches).

In the wild, these monkeys live for about 22 years. If they live in zoos or special care, they can live much longer, up to 36 years.

Their Unique Faces

The moustached guenon has a very special face. They have strong cheekbones. Their "moustache" is usually a white stripe of fur right under their nose. The fur around it is black, which makes the white stripe stand out. This strong color contrast helps them recognize each other.

Their main face color is greyish-blue, and their eyes are a copper color. Both male and female guenons have similar face patterns. Like other Old World monkeys, they also have a hairless pad on their bottom. This helps them sit comfortably.

Moustached Guenon Behavior

Monkey Friendships

Moustached guenons often team up with other monkey species, like the greater spot-nosed monkey (C. nictitans) and the red-eared guenon (C. pogonias). They help each other stay safe. For example, if the moustached guenons, who live lower in the trees, see an eagle, they will make loud alarm calls. This warns the other monkey groups. In return, the other monkeys warn the guenons if they see danger from above.

Scientists believe these friendships help them survive. They also help the monkeys find food. Moustached guenons mostly eat fruit, but they also enjoy insects and leaves. These groups of monkeys can share the same living area because they work together. Sometimes, up to six different guenon species can live in the same place!

Finding Food and Staying Safe

Moustached guenons start their day at sunrise and finish at sunset. They spend a lot of time looking for food. They have surprisingly large cheek pouches. These pouches can hold as much food as their stomach! This allows them to gather lots of fruit and eat it later in a safer spot. They often go to sleep with full stomachs.

To stay safe from predators, especially those on the ground at night, these monkeys prefer to sleep high up in the crown of a large tree.

Monkey Families

A group of moustached guenons is called a troop. Each troop usually has one main male and 10 to 40 females. The average troop size is about 22 monkeys. Sometimes, a male from outside the group might try to join and mate with a female. However, if it doesn't work out, the female will lead him out of their territory.

Moustached guenons use sounds, visual signals, and touch to communicate. They can make loud, continuous sounds and move quickly, which helps them send clear messages to each other.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Moustached guenons usually start having babies when they are between 4 and 5 years old. They often give birth at the end of the rainy season. This is because there is lots of food available after the rain. In places where it rains all year, they can have babies at any time.

Moustached Guenons and Science

Learning About Health

Scientists study moustached guenons to learn about different diseases. For example, they can get sick from a virus called poliomyelitis. This virus can also affect other monkeys like the Rhesus macaque. Studying how these monkeys react to viruses helps scientists understand how diseases spread and affect different species.

Genetic Studies

Scientists also study the DNA of moustached guenons. This helps them understand how different monkey species are related. They look at special parts of their DNA to see how these monkeys have changed over time. This research helps us learn about the history of monkey evolution in Africa.

Malaria Research

In Gabon, researchers have studied moustached guenons to understand how malaria parasites spread. They found that these monkeys can get infected with certain malaria parasites. This research helps us learn about how diseases can pass between different animals, sometimes with the help of mosquitoes.

Ebola Virus Research

Scientists also test moustached guenons for antibodies to the Ebola virus. Antibodies show if an animal has been exposed to a virus before. Studies have shown that moustached guenons might carry the Ebola virus without getting very sick. This means they could be "intermediate hosts," which is important to know for preventing the spread of diseases. This is especially true in places where people might trade or hunt monkeys.

SIVmus and Monkey Health

SIVmus is a virus that affects monkeys, similar to HIV in humans. Moustached guenons can easily get SIVmus. Scientists study different types of SIVmus found in these monkeys. This research helps us understand how viruses change and spread among animals. It also highlights the importance of safe practices when humans interact with wild animals, especially in markets where animals are traded.

Protecting Moustached Guenons

Human Impact

Human activities can affect moustached guenons. They are often hunted for food in some parts of Western Africa. Young monkeys are also sometimes caught and sold as pets.

Roads and Forests

Building new roads in Western Africa can break up the forests where these monkeys live. This makes it harder for them to move around and find food. Roads can also make it easier for hunters to reach areas that were once hard to get to.

Scientists try to study how roads affect animals. However, in many places, these studies are not done well. This means that the impact of roads on monkeys like the moustached guenon might not be fully understood. This can put them at risk, even though their population is currently large. It's important to protect their homes to keep them safe and healthy.