Cercocebus atys (Audebert, 1797)

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 : 652-653

27.

Sooty Mangabey

Cercocebus atys

French: Mangabey fuligineux / German: Rulmangabe / Spanish: Mangabey gris

Other common names: Smoky Mangabey

Taxonomy. Simia atys Audebert, 1797 ,

Afrique occidentale.

In his 1958 review of the zoogeography of West Africa, A. Booth reported the possibility of distributional overlap and hybridization of C. atys and C. lunulatus in a small area between the Sassandra and Nzo rivers. Complete albinism has been reported. Monotypic.

Distribution. SW Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, W & SE Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and W Ivory Coast (E boundary is the Nzo-Sassandra river system).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 43-6-58:0 cm (males) and 47.4-53.0 cm (females), tail 52-60 cm (males) and 53.0-64.5 cm (females); weight 9.5-11.4 kg (males) and 5.6-7.0 kg (females). The grayish appearance of the Sooty Mangabey gives it its common name. It is generally smoky iron-gray above and paler ventrally, with darker hands and feet. Some individuals show a trace of a darker dorsalstripe. Face is dark grayish-pink, with a black muzzle and ears, and cheek whiskers are elongated and lighter than the body. There is generally no whorl on the crown. Nuchal markings are weakly expressed. The Sooty Mangabey is somewhat less sexually dimorphic than other mangabeys.

Habitat. A variety of primary and secondary forest types including dry, swamp, mangrove, and gallery forest in the Guinean forest zone. The Sooty Mangabey is often found in estuaries among the root systems of mangroves. It also occurs in woodland savanna in Guinea and tropical moist evergreen rainforest in Tai Forest National Park, Ivory Coast. Groups occasionally raid farms and rice paddies. In the absence of hunting, Sooty Mangabeys are tolerant of some degree of habitat degradation.

Food and Feeding. Sooty Mangabeys eat mainly fruits, seeds, and nuts, along with some animal prey. In the Tai Forest, diets contain 68% fruits and seeds and 26% invertebrates. Elsewhere, plants make up a higher proportion of their diets (e.g. 98-7% plant foods and only 1-:3% animal foods). Of the 98-7% plant foods, the vast majority was fruit, with small amounts of leaves, flowers, and miscellaneous plant parts. The Sooty Mangabey regularly eats frog eggs.

Breeding. In captivity, female Sooty Mangabeys have their first perineal swelling at 2:5-3-3 years of age, and their first births usually occur at c.4-7 years of age, which is most likely earlier than in the wild. Captive females have a mean 34-5day ovarian cycle, with receptivity signaled by a conspicuous, pink genital swelling. The interbirth interval in captivity averages 1-4 years. Post-conception swellings have also been reported, which peak 49 days after conception. Usually a single offspring is born after a gestation of 167 days. Instances of infanticide have been reported. In the wild, Sooty Mangabeys have discrete and distinct mating seasons. Females utter copulation vocalizations during intercourse. Usually the alpha male of the group tries to monopolize copulations, but sneak copulations are common. During common group encounters in the wild, receptive females have been observed copulating with non-resident males and solitary non-group males. Individuals may live up to 18 years.

Activity patterns. Sooty Mangabeys are diurnal and mainly terrestrial. It moves and forages mainly on the ground but will also use the forest canopy. In the Tai forest, 38-8% of the Sooty Mangabey’s time is spent feeding, 24-5% foraging 18:5% resting, 10-3% traveling, and 7-9% engaging in social activities.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The home range of the Sooty Mangabeyis estimated at 4-6-5 km*. Home ranges are known to overlap extensively in the wild. Intergroup encounters are common and typified by avoidance, each group ignoring the other or engaging in aggressive interactions. Daily movements average 2:2 km. Sooty Mangabeys live in large groups of up to 120 individuals, with multiple males and multiple females. Two categories of males occur in groups in the Tai forest: some males are full-time residents, while others are more transient, alternating several weeks of residence in the group and several weeks of absence. Male Sooty Mangabeys disperse from their natal group, while females tend to stay, forming matrilines of closely related females. Males and females each establish linear dominance hierarchies, with adult males usually outranking females.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Sooty Mangabey is listed as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Habitat destruction and hunting are the two most profound threats to the survival of the Sooty Mangabeys. It is known to occur in several protected areas: Tai Forest National Park and Monogaga Classified Forest in Ivory Coast; Sapo National Park and North Loma, Gola, and Grebo national forests in Liberia; Outamba-Kilimi National Park and Tiwai Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Sierra Leone; and Diécké Forest Reserve and Massif du Ziama Biosphere Reserve in Guinea. The Sooty Mangabey does not appear to be common in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. In the absence of hunting, the Sooty Mangabey used to be relatively widespread in farmbush and secondary forest in Sierra Leone.

Bibliography. Barrie et al. (2007), Bergmdiller (1998), Bernstein (1971, 1976), Bernstein et al. (2007, 2008), Booth (1956a, 1958a, 1958b), Busse & Gordon (1983, 1984), Cooke et al. (2004), Daegling & McGraw (2007), Daegling et al. (2011), Dupuy (1971), Ehardt (1988a, 1988b), Fimbel (1994), Fruteau, Lemoine et al. (2011), Fruteau, van de Waal et al. (2011), Galat (1983), Galat & Galat-Luong (1985), Gippoliti & Dell’'Omo (2003), Gonedele Bi et al. (2012), Gordon & Busse (1984), Gordon et al. (1991), Groves (1978, 2001, 2005b), Grubb (2006), Grubb, Butynski et al. (2003), Grubb, Jones et al. (1998), Gust (1991, 1994a, 1994b, 1995a, 1995b), Gust & Gordon (1991, 1993, 1994), Gust, Busse & Gordon (1990, 1998), Gust, Gordon & Gergits (1995), Hadidian & Bernstein (1979), Harding (1984), Herbinger & Tounkara (2004), Hill (1974), Janmaat et al. (2006b), Jolly (2007), Kingdon (1997), Kyes (1988), Maestripieri et al. (1997), McGraw (1996b, 1998c), McGraw & Bshary (2002), McGraw & Fleagle (2006), McGraw, Pampush & Daegling (2010), McGraw, Vick & Daegling (2010), McGraw, Zuberblhler & Noé (2007), O'Higgins & Jones (1998), O'Higgins, Bromage et al. (1991), O'Higgins, Chadfield & Jones (2001), Oates (2011), Oates et al. (1990), Range (2005, 2006), Range & Fischer (2004), Range & Noé (2002, 2005), Range et al. (2007), Refisch & Koné (2005a, 2005b), Robertson (2001), Rodel et al. (2002), Shultz & Thomsett (2007), Smith & Jungers (1997), Stahl (1998), Stahl & Kaumanns (2003), Stevenson (1973), Struhsaker (1971), Swedell (2011), Tahiri-Zagret (1976), Vogel (1964), Whitten & Russell (1996).

Figures

On following pages: 16. Arunachal Macaque (Macaca munzala); 17. Tibetan Macaque (Macaca thibetana); 18. Stump-tailed Macaque Macaca arctoides); 19. Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis); 20. Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta); 21. Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata); 22. Taiwanese Macaque (Macaca cyclopis).

Distribution. SW Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, W & SE Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and W Ivory Coast (E boundary is the Nzo-Sassandra river system).