Cercopithecus lomamiensis, Hart, Detwiler, Gilbert, Burrell, Fuller, Emetshu, Hart, Vosper, Sargis & Tosi, 2012

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 : 687

70.

Lesula

Cercopithecus lomamiensis

French: Cercopithéque lesula / German: Lomami-Meerkatze / Spanish: Cercopiteco del Lomami

Taxonomy. Cercopithecus lomamiensis J. A. Hart et al, 2012 ,

West Bank of Lomami River (S 1-02237° to S 1-4280°, E 24-42368° to E 25-03843°), Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Morphological and molecular data show that C. lomamiensis is closely related to, but distinct from, C. hamlyni . Aspects that are shared with C. hamlyni and distinguish them from other guenons include a distinctive skull shape, a prominent facial mane on the cheeks and crown of both sexes, a white-to-cream nose stripe, and boomcall choruses given in the early morning. Monotypic.

Distribution. EC Congo Basin in DR Congo, from the upper Tshuapa River (24° E) in the Sankuru District of Kasai Oriental Province to the Lomami River (25° E) in Maniema and Orientale provinces in the E; the N limits are unclear, but it apparently does not occur N of 1° S; in the S,its range extends the limits of the forest at c.3°30°S.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 47-65 cm (males, n = 2), tail 65-78 cm (males, n = 2); weight 4.7-1 kg (males); no measurements available for adult females. Diagnostic features of the Lesula are a mane of long grizzled blond hairs, framing a pale, naked, pinkish face and muzzle, with a distinct white-to-creamy nose stripe. Hairs over back are banded buff or amber with black. There is a prominent rufous-to-amber median stripe on distal half to one-third of back that extends onto base of tail. Tail is otherwise black. Anterior two-thirds of dorsum, including head and mane, is buff. Chin, throat, and upper ventrum are yellowish buff, contrasting with black lower ventrum and abdomen. Fur on shoulders and forelimbs is black. Face, circumocular region, and eyelids are pinkish. There is a buff diadem. Upper half of thighsis silvery-gray, the remainder is black. Hands and feet are black. Adult male Lesulas have a large, bright, pale-blue patch of skin on their perineum and buttocks. Scrotum is pale blue.

Habitat. Mature terra firma evergreen humid forests, including mixed forests and forests dominated by Gilbertiodendron dewevrei ( Fabaceae ), at elevations of 400-715 m. The Lesula is sometimes found in regenerating forest around settlements. It does not enter seasonally inundated forest or gallery forest in savannas in the southern part of its distribution.

Food and Feeding. The Lesula eats leaf petioles, ripe and unripe fruits, flower buds, and meristems of two species of terrestrial herbaceous Marantaceae .

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Lesula, like the Owl-faced Monkey ( C. hamlyni ), is semi-terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Lesula is not uncommon but is difficult to see, It was detected by researchers mainly by boom calls given as a dawn chorus,as is the habit of the closely related Owl-faced Monkey. Lesulas rarely produce these calls during the day, but sometimes at night. When seen, groups number 1-5 individuals. In eleven of 19 encounters, they were with groups of other primates: Wolf's Monkeys (C. wolfi ), Red-tailed Monkeys ( C. ascanius katangae), or Tshuapa Red Colobus ( Piliocolobus tholloni ). A little more than one-third of the individuals seen were on the ground, on some occasions scavenging food items dropped by monkeys foraging above them. In one observed encounter a crowned hawk-eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) attacked and fatally wound a subadult female Lesula.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. The Lesula has not been assessed on The IUCN Red List. The team that discovered and described the Lesula carried out a preliminary assessment and indicated that it should be classified as Vulnerable. The region where it occurs is restricted, and the extent of occurrence is believed to be c.17,000 km?. This area is remote, and forests remain largely intact. Hunting for subsistence and the bushmeat market (Kindu and Kisangani) since the turn of the century is the main threat. The Lesula is protected in Réserve Naturelle de Sankuru, which along with a proposed national park would cover a large part ofits natural distribution.

Bibliography. Hart et al. (2012).

Figures

69. Owl-faced Monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), 70. Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis), 71. Spot-nosed Monkey (Cercopithecus petaurista), 72. Red-bellied Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster), 73. Sclater’s Monkey (Cercopithecus sclateri), 74. Red-eared Monkey (Cercopithecus erythrotis), 75. Mustached Monkey (Cercopithecus cephus), 76. Red-tailed Monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius)

Distribution. EC Congo Basin in DR Congo, from the upper Tshuapa River (24° E) in the Sankuru District of Kasai Oriental Province to the Lomami River (25° E) in Maniema and Orientale provinces in the E; the N limits are unclear, but it apparently does not occur N of 1° S; in the S,its range extends the limits of the forest at c.3°30°S.