Piliocolobus bouvieri, Rochebrune, 1887

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Cercopithecidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 550-755 : 708

93.

Bouvier’s Red Colobus

Piliocolobus bouvieri

French: Colobe de Bouvier / German: Bouvier-Stummelaffe / Spanish: Colobo rojo de Bouvier

Taxonomy. Piliocolobus bouvieri Rochebrune, 1887 ,

“Gambia” (selected by |. A. Allen in 1939). But according to R. E. Moreau and colleagues in 1946, “Mongo, right bank of the Congo, two daysjourney by boat above the mouth of the Alima River.”

Modern taxonomic arrangements of the colobus monkeys either divide the red colobus and the Olive Colobus into two genera, Piliocolobus and Procolobus , respectively, or consider them to belong to one genus, Procolobus , with two subgenera ( Procolobus for the Olive Colobus and Piliocolobus for the red colobus). We follow here C. P. Groves in his publications of 2001 and 2007 in using two genera. Monotypic.

Distribution. E Republic of the Congo in a small area on the right bank of the Congo River, from the mouth of the Likouala-aux-Herbes River, E of the Sangha River,to the lower reaches of Alima River, both tributaries of the lower Congo (c.0°-1° S). Records from Inoni, Lefini Faunal Reserve (3° S, 15° 30’E), some distance S of the known distribution, require confirmation.

Descriptive notes. Head—body ¢.58 cm (females), tail ¢.76 cm (females); no measurements for males or body weight data for either sex are available. Judging by measurements ofjust two specimens, Bouvier’s Red Colobus is a fairly small species, with a rather long-tail. Fur is glossy-red above, with a narrow, blackish, unbanded mantle extending to the middle of the back. Underparts are paler (partly brown and rufous), and thighs are yellower rufous like the flanks. Tail is dark at the root, turning goldenbrown to brownish-rufous distally. Crown is red and without whorls. There is a stuff black, superciliary band, a small tuft behind each ear, and a black brow-band bordering the forehead whorl, extending laterally onto the temples. Face is light slaty, with large pink eye-rings. The light face of Bouvier’s Red Colobus is quite unique;it varies from flesh-colored with blackish cheekbones and brows to darker with only nose and lips light colored. Those who have seen this form in the wild agree on the distinctiveness of the light face, which Rochebrune, in the type description, described as “rosyflesh” with blue-black cheekbones and eye-rings, and pale, rosy-tinted ears and black brows. Chin is covered with white hairs. Ischial callosities are pink. There are no DNA analyses for Bouvier’s Red Colobus .

Habitat. Swamp forest.

Food and Feeding. Diets include young leaves and mature leaves, fruit, flowers, buds, and possibly seeds.

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. Bouvier’s Red Colobusis diurnal and arboreal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List (as Procolobus pennantii bouvieri ). Bouvier’s Red Colobus is listed as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. There appear to have been no reliable sightings of Bouvier’s Red Colobus since the 1970s, and it may in fact be extinct. Heavy hunting for bushmeat and loss of habitat have caused declines of many wildlife species. Bouvier’s Red Colobus was at least formerly known to occur in the Lefini Faunal Reserve in the Republic of the Congo. Urgent investigations are needed to clarify the status of the very poorly known Bouvier’s Red Colobus .

Bibliography. Allen (1939), Gautier-Hion et al. (1999), Groves (2001, 2007b), Grubb et al. (2003), Moreau etal. (1946), Oates, Abedi-Lartey et al. (2000).

Figures

Distribution. E Republic of the Congo in a small area on the right bank of the Congo River, from the mouth of the Likouala-aux-Herbes River, E of the Sangha River,to the lower reaches of Alima River, both tributaries of the lower Congo (c.0°-1° S). Records from Inoni, Lefini Faunal Reserve (3° S, 15° 30’E), some distance S of the known distribution, require confirmation.