Chlorocebus tantalus (Ogilby, 1841)

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 : 672-673

51.

Tantalus Monkey

Chlorocebus tantalus

French: Vervet tantale / German: Tantalus-Griinmeerkatze / Spanish: Vervet de Tantalo

Other common names: Budgett's Tantalus (budgetti), Jebbel Marra Tantalus (marrensis)

Taxonomy. Cercopithecus tantalus Ogilby, 1841 ,

no type locality.

C. tantalus hybridizes with C. pygerythrus in the DR Congo and Uganda. There also may be some limited interbreeding with C. sabaeus in Ghana. Three subspecies are recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution. C.t.tantalusOgilby,1841—sub-SaharanAfricafromEBurkinaFasoandGhana(EofVoltaRiver)toCentralAfricanRepublicandNWDRCongo.

C.t.budgettiPocock,1907—NEDRCongo,Uganda,andNWKenya.

C. t. marrensis Thomas & Hinton, 1923 — W Sudan (W of White Nile) and South Sudan from the Imatong Mts in the S to Jebel Marra in the N (where it is isolated from other populations by desert).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 44-83 cm (males) and 30-50 cm (females), tail 58— 60 cm (males) and 41-66 cm (females); weight 4.3-6.4 kg (males) and 3.4-9 kg (females). The Tantalus Monkeyis the largest species of Chlorocebus . Back and crown are grizzled gold to greenish, limbs are grayish, and underside is white. Tip of the tail is creamy-white, and there is a small tuft of white fur at the base. Face is black. There is a pronounced but sinuous and tapered white band on the forehead, and long;stiff, yellowish (with black tips) cheek whiskers, the latter separated from the forehead band by a black stripe running from the corner of each eye back along temples. Scrotum is sky blue and surrounded by a zone of long orange hairs. Hairs on the Tantalus Monkey's hands and feet are not as dark as seen in the Vervet Monkey ( C. pygerythrus ); they tend to be light to medium gray. Some Tantalus Monkeys in southern Nigeria have such light-colored hands that they appear whitish. Tantalus Monkeysliving in higher elevations have thick coats. In C. t. tantalus , dorsal color tendsto be olive-green. The “Jebbel Marra Tantalus ” (C. t. marrensis) is generally a lighter olive-brown above than C. i. tantalus . “Budgett’s Tantalus ” (C. t. budgetti) is olive-brown dorsally with darker hands,feet, and tail tip. Cheek whiskers are markedly yellow with black speckling.

Habitat. Savanna, open woodland, montane forest, and forest-grassland mosaic, especially close to rivers. The Tantalus Monkey is extremely adaptable, residing in degraded habitats or forest edges (e.g. Togo and Benin), and it is found in rural and urban environments. They have been recorded up to ¢.1900 m above sea level.

Food and Feeding. The Tantalus Monkey has an eclectic diet, feeding on leaves,fruits, seeds, flowers, gums, eggs, invertebrates, and some small vertebrates. Their preferences for each category of food type vary greatly by season and study site. For example, in two studies in Cameroon, 61% of the diet was fruit in one study, while fruits made up only 26-8% of the diet in the other. Their terrestrial habits, combined with a wide selection offorest edge and grassland species, make Tantalus Monkeys key seeddispersers, an important consideration in forest regeneration of their habitats. They potentially disperse seeds as far as 1-5 km from the parent tree. Tantalus Monkeys readily raid crops and will often take handouts from tourists.

Breeding. Female Tantalus Monkeys do not exhibit a sexual swelling, and menstrual flow is often difficult to detect. Mating takes place over 3—4 days, and the gestation period is ¢.6 months. Hairs of neonates are uniformly dark gray, almost black, yet sparse. They acquire their adult coloration at c.4-5 months of age. As with other species of Chlorocebus (and many other genera of primates,in fact), the sex of a newborn is often difficult to assess; the clitoris can be relatively large and the labia have a blue tnt, reminiscent of testes. Proper identification can be made by ignoring these factors and focusing only on location (i.e. male genitalia are ventrally located and best ascertained when an infant stands bipedally).

Activity patterns. Tantalus Monkeys are diurnal and largely terrestrial. They spend c.20-25% of their time feeding, but this varies by sex, season, and location of study. Much of their feeding time is spent on the ground or relatively low in the trees. They tend to use the ground to move long distances rather than moving through trees.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Tantalus Monkeys live in large groups, often more than 70 individuals. A large group can occupy a home range ofas large as 90 ha, but there is seasonal variation and ranges depend on dispersion and abundance of key food sources. Individuals can move 2500 m/day. There are typically more adult females than adult males in a group. Tantalus Monkeys live in sympatry with Patas Monkeys ( Erythrocebus patas ) in much of their distribution.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The subspecies have not been assessed. The Tantalus Monkey islisted as Class B in the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It is common and widely distributed in appropriate habitats, and there are no major threats. The population is stable and possibly increasing due to forest clearing, which may provide it with more suitable areas in which to live. The subspecies tantalus is known to occur in 22 protected areas: Pendjari and West of the Niger national parks in Benin; Bénoué, Bouba-Ndjida, Kalamaloué, and Waza national parks, Faro Reserve, and Kimbe River and Mbi Crater game reserves in Cameroon; West of the Niger National Park in Niger ; Cross River, Gashaka-Gumti, and Kainji Lake national parks, Oban Hills and Olokemeji forest reserves, and Borgu, Kwiambana, Pandam, Upper Ogun, and Yankari game reserves in Nigeria; and Keran and Malfacassa reserves in Togo. Budgett’s Tantalus occurs in Murchison Falls and Ruwenzori national parks and Budongo and Kasokwa forest reserves in Uganda. The Jebbel Marra Tantalus is not found in any protected areas.

Bibliography. Agmen et al. (2010), Campbell, Teichroeb et al. (2008), Groves (2001), Kavanagh (1978, 1981), Kingdon (1997), Kingdon & Gippoliti (2008b), Nakagawa (1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2003), Oates (2011).

Figures

49. Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus patas), 50. Grivet Monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), 51. Tantalus Monkey (Chlorocebus tantalus), 52. Green Monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus), 53. Malbrouck Monkey (Chlorocebus cynosuros), 54. Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), 55. Bale Mountains Monkey (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis), 56. L’Hoest’s Monkey (Allochrocebus lhoesti), 57. Preuss’s 9 Monkey Allochrocebus (null), 58. Sun-tailed Monkey (Allochrocebus solatus)

Subspecies and Distribution. C.t.tantalusOgilby,1841—sub-SaharanAfricafromEBurkinaFasoandGhana(EofVoltaRiver)toCentralAfricanRepublicandNWDRCongo.