Black and white colobus

A primate in black and white

Colobus guereza is found in various regions of equatorial Africa. This species is found in the rainforest.

It has only four fingers on each hand, the thumb being absent or represented by a small knuckle that sometimes bears a nail. The loss of the thumb may be an adaptation for rapid movements through trees.

Their saculate stomachs and highly efficient extraction of nutrients from their food allow them to survive on a less nutritious diet than monkeys lacking bacterial fermentation.

They live in sexually mixed groups averaging 8 to 15 individuals, usually with only one adult male and three or four breeding females, adolescents and infants. Sometimes, several males are present in mixed groups, but only temporarily. They breed every 20 months and the female gives birth to a young after six months of gestation.

The population size of black and white monkeys is currently declining in many localities due to hunting and deforestation by humans.

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the wild

Critically endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near threatened

Least concern

Insufficient data

Not evaluated