Kipunji

Kipunji Monkey ( Rungwecebus kipunji )

The Kipunji Monkey ( Rungwecebus kipunji ), also referred to simply Kipunji or Hochlandmangabe, is a primate of the group of the Cercopithecidae ( Cercopithecidae ). It was first described scientifically in 2005 and occupied only a small area in southern Tanzania.

Features

Kipunji monkeys probably reach a body length of 85 to 90 centimeters, what is still more or less equally long tail. The weight is 10 to 16 kilograms. Their fur is relatively long and usually colored gray-brown or reddish brown. The forearms are dark, the hands and feet black, and the belly and the rear half of the tail are white. The black face is framed by long back hair and a long head of hair at the crown.

Distribution and habitat

These primates are known from two localities in southern Tanzania. First, they occur in the area of Mount Rungwe and the Livingstone Mountains ( Rungwe Livingstone region), on the other, 350 km away in the Udzungwa Mountains. Their habitat are mountain forests in the Udzungwa Mountains 1300-1750 meters above sea level and in the Rungwe Livingstone region 1750-2450 meters above sea level. The long fur represents an adaptation to the partially low temperatures in the highlands

Way of life

Over the life of these animals, little is known. They are arboreal and live in groups of 30-36 animals. Unique among primates are their cries, which are described as honk - bark ( " horn - barking "). The females show as the other baboon -like a control swelling.

Kipunji monkeys and humans

Two independent research team discovered in the years 2003 and 2004, a population of previously unknown primate. The first description was in 2005, it was the first primate species discovered in Africa since the sun tail monkey 1984. The name " Kipunji " comes from the name of the people living in the Rungwe Livingstone Nyakyusa for these animals.

As soon discovered, the Kipunji Monkey is already threatened with extinction again. In their range they are threatened by deforestation and mining. The remaining habitat includes the Rungwe Livingstone region only about 70 km ², in the Udzungwa Mountains even just 3 km ². The total population is estimated at around 500 individuals, 16 groups are known in the Rungwe Livingstone region and 3 groups in the Udzungwa Mountains. The IUCN lists the species as " threatened with extinction " ( critically endangered ).

System

In its first description the species was classified in the genus of Schwarzmangaben ( Lophocebus ) and referred to as Hochlandmangabe. However, a study by T. Davenport and others came to the conclusion that this type is the only representative of a new genus, Rungwecebus, which is closer to the genre of baboons (Papio ) is used. The genus name is derived from the locality of the holotype, Mount Rungwe from.