Continued habitat loss is anticipated to cause a loss of the Bujingijila Corridor that links two populations in the Mount Rungwe and Livingstone forests. Kipunji are East Africa’s rarest monkey and one of the world’s 25 most threatened primates. [5] The kipunji is the first new monkey genus to be discovered since Allen's swamp monkey in 1923. The species was independently discovered by two separate research teams in 2003 and then again in 2004, making it the first new monkey discovered in Africa in 20 years. Living in dispersed troops of several males and females, they rest between feeding bouts characteristically sprawled along branches or in tree forks. Several factors contribute to the projected decline of the species, including predation, habitat destruction, and hunting. Mangabey, any of nine species of slender, rather long-limbed monkeys of the genera Cercocebus and Lophocebus, found in African tropical forests. The Tana River mangabey, which numbers only 100–1,000 and is in danger of extinction, lives alongside rivers, where it benefits from periodic flooding to feed on fungi, insects, and seedlings. [1] Originally assigned to the genus Lophocebus,[1] genetic and morphological tests showed that it is more closely related to the baboons (genus Papio) than to the other mangabeys in the genus Lophocebus, and that Lophocebus was diphyletic, meaning that species with differing genealogies have been mistakenly lumped together. THREATS The forests of Tanzania’s Southern Highlands, where more than 90% of kipunji live, have been severely degraded by decades of unmanaged natural resource extraction. The Ndundulu forest is in better shape, but the population there is smaller. The kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji) was initially placed in the genus Lophocebus after its discovery in 2005; however, molecular analyses performed in 2006 determined that R. kipunji was more closely related to baboons than to mangabeys. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. The kipunji has only two known predators: crowned eagles (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and leopards (Panthera pardus). Pelage close to the hands and feet tends to be a medium to dark brown. The Ndundulu population may no longer be viable and the Rungwe-Kitulo population is highly fragmented, with isolated sub-populations in degraded habitat. These primates do not appear to show any sexual dimorphism in relation to pelage coloration. [6], The kipunji was independently discovered by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Georgia, and Conservation International, in December 2003 and July 2004, making it the first new African monkey species discovered since the sun-tailed monkey in 1984. [2], Zoologists were initially skeptical of the existence of the kipunji until its discovery, as traditional tales of the Nyakyusa people described the monkey as both real and mythical. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Species range in head and body length from about 40 to almost 90 cm (16–35 inches) and weigh up to about 11 kg (24 pounds) in males and 6 kg (13 pounds) in females; the tail is about as long as the head and body. [4][5], One feature, in combination with their pelage coloration, that helps to separate kipunjis from their Cercocebus and Lophocebus relativess is the broad crest of hair on the crown of their heads.[5]. The white-collared or red-capped mangabey (C. torquatus), the largest species, lives in west-central Africa and is gray with a white “collar” around the neck and a red crown. The species became known to science in 2003, although local communities had been long familiar with these large charismatic... © 2017-2020 New England Primate Conservancy. C This article has been rated as C-Class on the project's quality scale. The sooty mangabey (C. atys), a dark, uniformly gray species with a pale face, is found from the Nzo-Sassandra river system westward to Senegal. The Case of the Disappearing Habitat: The Candy Culprit-Get Started! [3] In 2008, a Wildlife Conservation Society team found that the monkey's range is restricted to just 6.82 mi2 (17.7 km2) of forest in the two isolated regions, the Ndundulu forest and the Rungwe-Livingstone forest. How You Can Help Wildlife; What You Can Do. ", "Newly Discovered Monkey Is Threatened with Extinction", National Science Foundation press release, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kipunji&oldid=947928547, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 29 March 2020, at 06:43. Updates? Four paler, browner species live in Central and East Africa: the agile mangabey (C. agilis), a slender monkey that has a small whorl of hair on the front of the crown and lives in Congo (Kinshasa) north of the Congo River westward into Gabon; the golden-bellied mangabey (C. chrysogaster), which lacks a whorl and has a bright golden orange underside and is restricted to the region south of the Congo River; the Sanje mangabey (C. sanjei), discovered quite unexpectedly in 1980 living in the Udzungwa Mountains and Mwanihana forest of Tanzania; and the Tana River mangabey (C. galeritus), a small species that has long crown hair diverging from a part and is found only in forests along the lower Tana River in Kenya. Mangabey classification at the species level and the affinities between many species remain unclear. The kipunji has a unique call, described as a "honk-bark", which distinguishes it from its close relatives the Grey-cheeked mangabey (Lophocebus albigena) and the Black crested mangabey (Lophocebus aterrimus), whose calls are described as … Their large front teeth enable them to bite into fruit that is too tough-coated for other monkeys. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The species was included in the list of "The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates" in 2006 and 2008. The kipunji (Rung­we­ce­bus kipunji), also known as the high­land mangabey, is a species of Old World mon­key that lives in the high­land forests of Tan­za­nia. The forest at Rungwe is highly degraded, and fragmentation of the remaining forest threatens to split that population into three smaller populations. We estimate a total kipunji population of 1,117 in 38 groups, with 15–39 per group (mean 29.39 ± SE 0.85, n = 38). The white-naped mangabey (C. lunulatus) is restricted to a small region between the Nzo-Sassandra river system in Côte d’Ivoire and the Volta River in Ghana. The kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji) was initially placed in the genus Lophocebus after its discovery in 2005; however, molecular analyses performed in 2006 determined that R. kipunji was more closely related to baboons than to mangabeys. Hands, feet, and face are all black. Mangabeys feed on seeds, fruit, and leaves. Though it was originally thought to be a member of the Lophocebus genus[4] genetic data later placed it as its own separate genus Rungwecebus. highland mangabey (yet it is not a mangabey). All areas where the kipunji is found are considered protected areas, but no management operations are currently in effect. Mangabeys of the genus Cercocebus are short-haired with speckled pale grayish brown to dark gray fur; they have light-coloured eyelids, often bright white. Noun . Kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji) CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED. Kipunjis are found only in Tanzania, and the two known populations, in the Ndundulu and Rungwe-Kitulo areas, are separated by 250 kilometers (155.3 … Mangabeys are fairly large quadrupedal monkeys with cheek pouches and deep depressions under the cheekbones. From Nyakyusa kipunji. Corrections? A little-known subspecies of the black mangabey, Opdenbosch’s mangabey (L. aterrimus opdenboschi) has a shorter crest, and the thick straight cheek whiskers are black like the body; it is confined to a few gallery forests on the rivers south of the Congo. They do not have white eyelids, and they carry their tails more upright, usually in a curve or question-mark shape. Mangabey classification at the species level and the affinities between many species remain unclear. The Rungwe-Livingstone forest is suspected to contain 1,042 individuals in Rungwe-Kitulo, ranging from 25 to 39 individuals per group. Mangabeys of the genus Lophocebus spend more time in the trees than Cercocebus and are long-haired with unspeckled black fur. They communicate vocally with one another through the use of a specialized vocal sac, and sometimes these vocalizations can be quite loud, especially from males. However, although we have only just discovered them, the kipunji monkey may be on the verge of extinction -- their habitat is shrinking, and there are only about 1,000 specimens in existence.