Guinea baboon [1] | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | Cercopithecidae |
Genus: | Papio |
Species: | P. papio |
Binomial name | |
Papio papio (Desmarest, 1820) | |
Guinea baboon range |
The Guinea baboon (Papio papio) is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. Some (older) classifications list only two species in the genus Papio , this one and the hamadryas baboon. In those classifications, all other Papio species are considered subspecies of P. papio and the species is called the savanna baboon.
The Guinea baboon inhabits a small area in western Africa. Its range includes Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, southern Mauritania and western Mali. Its habitat includes dry forests, gallery forests, and adjoining bush savannas or steppes. It has reddish-brown hair, a hairless, dark-violet or black face with the typical dog-like muzzle, which is surrounded by a small mane, and a tail carried in a round arc. It also has limb modifications that allow it to walk long distances on the ground. The Guinea baboon is one of the smallest baboon species, weighing between 13 and 26 kg (28.6–57 lbs). Their life spans are generally between 20 and 50 years.
It is a diurnal and terrestrial animal, but sleeps in trees or high rocks at night, away from predators. The number of suitable sleeping trees limits the group size and the range. It lives in troops of up to 200 individuals, each with a set place in a hierarchy. Group living provides protection from predators such as the lion and various hyena species. Like all baboons, it is an omnivorous highly opportunistic feeder, eating fruits, buds, roots, bark, grasses, greens, seeds, tubers, leaves, nuts, cereals, insects, worms, birds and small mammals. Because it will eat practically anything available, the Guinea baboon is able to occupy areas with limited resources or harsh conditions. Its presence may help improve habitats because it digs for water and spreads seeds in its waste, encouraging plant growth.
The Guinea baboon is a highly communicative animal. It communicates by using a variety of vocalizations and physical interactions. In addition to vocalizations to each other, this animal has vocal communications apparently intended to be received and interpreted by predators.
Due to its small range and the loss of its habitat, the Guinea baboon is classified as "near threatened" by the IUCN.
Baboon refers to the large-bodied primates with marked sexual dimorphism and having females and young that are dependent on males for protection. [3] Guinean baboons have a red tone to their fur, and are sometimes referred to as the red baboon. They lack hair on their hindquarters, and their faces are black with yellow-brown sideburns. Females' rumps are pink in color and males have a mane of fur around their heads and shoulders. A characteristic feature of baboons is their long molars and broad incisors. The long canines are evidence of sexual dimorphism in baboon species. Their forelimbs and hindlimbs are nearly equal in length and their digits on their hands and feet are relatively short and stout, making it difficult for them to climb. [4]
Baboons are one of the largest groups of monkeys and are sexually dimorphic in body size (meaning the males and females have differing body sizes). [4] They can range in weight from 13 and 26 kg (28–57 lbs), making them among the smallest of the baboon species.
Generally found in woodland savannas, Guinea baboons seasonally congregate near permanent water sources, breaking off in the wet season into smaller groups. Although baboon species are all allopatric, some of their ranges do overlap, and interbreeding does occasionally occur. [4] These baboons are found in a wide range across Africa in savannah habitats including Guinea, Senegal, Gambia, southern Mauritania and western Mali. Most typically they are in the savannah and forests of sub-Saharan Africa. They can also be found in grasslands, rain forests, and other open areas. [4]
Guinea baboons are diurnal, living on the ground instead of in trees, and typically sleep in trees at the terminal ends of branches. [5] Their group size is widely variable and ranges from 30 to 200. However, the most common troop size is 30–40 individuals. Often, a pronounced male hierarchy and fierce competition for females happens within the group. This competition leads to sexual dimorphism among the species. [4] When it comes to feeding, they are independent foragers, and females are always paired with males when foraging so they can be protected. Females may choose to follow the same males from year to year. [3]
Like other baboon species, Guinea baboons will eat any available foods, but their main sources are fruits, roots, tubers, grass, seeds and leaves. They also will eat insects, worms, spiders, small mammals, birds and invertebrates. [4]
Socially, Guinea baboons have more in common with Hamadryas baboons than other baboon species, living in one male units, consisting of one dominant male, several females and juveniles, and often a follower male. These groups are usually small, but join with larger groups to form a troop; these groups sleep or forage together. The Guinean troops are large multiple-male, multiple-female troops with 50–300 baboons. The harems consist of two to five females which mate with the dominant male. [6] However, despite their similarities, Guinea baboon social behaviour has a few noticeable differences from that of Hamadryas baboons. Male guinea baboons are not as rigidly dominant as hamadryas baboon males, and unlike female Hamadryas baboons, female guinea baboons exert a more active role in leading the group. [7] Males are also unusually tolerant of one another, and there is very little aggression in this species. Unusually for baboons (and old world monkeys in general), Guinea baboons also share food. [8] Guinea baboon troops are very fluid in their structure, as female guinea baboons sometimes spend lengthy periods of time away from males in temporary, all-female groups, and several males may gather together and cooperate with one another with little bickering. This flexibility has led some to compare guinea baboon behaviour to that of early human ancestors. [9]
Males frequently use reconciliation gestures to reduce male-male aggression and encourage cooperation, allowing troops to grow to large size and adapt to different circumstances. [9] While male Hamadryas baboons forcibly acquire females for their harems by kidnapping them and utilizing neck-bites to condition them to stay near, female guinea baboons select males at their own leisure, males typically using facial expressions and gestures to guide their movement and grooming them to win over their loyalty. In Guinea baboons, Harem masters are noticeably less strict with their female consorts than Hamadryas baboon harem masters. Female Guinea baboons not only fraternize with females from other harems but even other males without being reprimanded by their male consort. Females approach males to initiate mating behaviour as they please and even mate with more than one male (although they mate with the harem master the most), a far cry from the more "faithful" female Hamadryas baboons. As seen in chimpanzees, olive baboons and various macaque species, this promiscuity most likely is practiced to hide the paternity of their infants as a counter strategy against male infanticide, which occurs in Hamadryas baboons but hasn't yet been observed in Guinea baboons (although male Guinea baboons have been observed temporarily kidnapping and then returning infants). Competition for females between males is noticeably reduced or absent. [10]
Unlike Hamadryas baboons and some other species, Guinea baboons are not very good climbers and favor trees, rather than high rocks or cliffs for sleeping. The more dominant males sleep on the heavier, thicker branches near the trunk of the tree and lower ranking members and juveniles sleep on the smaller and weaker branches further from the trunk. During daylight hours, they spend the majority of their time foraging on the ground, running along in quadrupedal patterns. [3] [4]
The Guinea baboons have a host of vocal, visual, and tactile communications. Their several vocal calls each convey several different messages, and consist of predator warnings, signaling friendly intentions, submissive calls, and anger or frustration vocalizations. Many of these calls can be used in combination with either each other or with some other form of visual or tactile communication. Visual communications serve many of the same purposes as the vocal calls, and are often accompanied by some sort of vocal call. Lower ranking animals appease more dominant ones with an "ack ack" vocalization and "wahoo" alarm calls are uttered if a threat presents itself. Tactile communication is usually tied to visual communication and can range from mouth-to-mouth touching to biting or slapping. [11] Male Guinea baboons are unlike other baboons species, as they form intimate friendships with other males, fondling each other's genitals as a gesture of greeting, as well as mounting each other and huddling together. [12]
Female Guinea baboons exhibit sexual swelling that begins about 10 to 12 days before it peaks and remains consistent for about eight days afterwards. Females then participate in the social behavior of presenting, which is when she signals to the males in the group she is ready for copulation. [11]
The mean gestation period is about six months and nursing continues until about six to eight months. [11] Females rebuff a male's advances by shrieking at him and often climbing up a tree.
The mandrill is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males have a larger body, longer canine teeth and brighter coloring. It is the largest monkey in the world. Its closest living relative is the drill, with which it shares the genus Mandrillus. Both species were traditionally thought to be baboons, but further evidence has shown that they are more closely related to white-eyelid mangabeys.
Mandrillus is a genus of large Old World monkeys distributed throughout central and southern Africa, consisting of two species: M. sphinx and M. leucophaeus, the mandrill and drill, respectively. Mandrillus, originally placed under the genus Papio as a type of baboon, is closely related to the genus Cercocebus. They are characterised by their large builds, elongated snouts with furrows on each side, and stub tails. Both species occupy the west central region of Africa and live primarily on the ground. They are frugivores, consuming both meat and plants, with a preference for plants. M. sphinx is classified as vulnerable and M. leucophaeus as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The gelada, sometimes called the bleeding-heart monkey or the gelada baboon, is a species of Old World monkey found only in the Ethiopian Highlands, living at elevations of 1,800–4,400 m (5,900–14,400 ft) above sea level. It is the only living member of the genus Theropithecus, a name derived from the Greek root words for "beast-ape". Like its close relatives in genus Papio, the baboons, it is largely terrestrial, spending much of its time foraging in grasslands, with grasses comprising up to 90% of its diet.
The olive baboon, also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending from Mali eastward to Ethiopia and Tanzania. Isolated populations are also present in some mountainous regions of the Sahara. It inhabits savannahs, steppes, and forests. The common name is derived from its coat colour, which is a shade of green-grey at a distance. A variety of communications, vocal and non-vocal, facilitate a complex social structure.
The yellow baboon is a baboon in the family of Old World monkeys. The species epithet means "dog-head" in Greek, due to the dog-like shape of the muzzle and head. Yellow baboons have slim bodies with long arms and legs along with yellowish-brown hair. They resemble the Chacma baboon, but are somewhat smaller and with a less elongated muzzle. Their hairless faces are black, framed with white sideburns. Males can grow to about 84 cm, females to about 60 cm. They have long tails which grow to be nearly as long as their bodies. The average life span of the yellow baboon in the wild is roughly 15–20 years; some may live up to 30 years.
The hamadryas baboon is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region of the Arabian Peninsula. These regions provide habitats with the advantage for this species of fewer natural predators than central or southern Africa where other baboons reside. The hamadryas baboon was a sacred animal to the ancient Egyptians and appears in various roles in ancient Egyptian religion, hence its alternative name of 'sacred baboon'.
The chacma baboon, also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviours, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology. In general, the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, trapping, and accidents kill or remove many baboons from the wild, thereby reducing baboon numbers and disrupting their social structure.
A harem is an animal group consisting of one or two males, a number of females, and their offspring. The dominant male drives off other males and maintains the unity of the group. If present, the second male is subservient to the dominant male. As juvenile males grow, they leave the group and roam as solitary individuals or join bachelor herds. Females in the group may be inter-related. The dominant male mates with the females as they become sexually active and drives off competitors, until he is displaced by another male. In some species, incoming males that achieve dominant status may commit infanticide.
The sooty mangabey is an Old World monkey found in forests from Senegal in a margin along the coast down to the Ivory Coast.
The brown-mantled tamarin, also known as Spix's saddle-back tamarin, is a species of saddle-back tamarin. This New World monkey is found in the Southern American countries of Bolivia, Brazil and Peru. This omnivorous member of the Callitrichidae family is usually found in smaller groups ranging between 4 and 15 individuals. This species communicates vocally and largely rely their olfactory system. The brown-mantled tamarin is considered as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, despite a decreasing population and being threatened by poaching, habitat loss and capture for the illegal pet trade.
The spectral tarsier is a species of tarsier found on the island of Selayar in Indonesia. It is apparently less specialized than the Philippine tarsier or Horsfield's tarsier; for example, it lacks adhesive toes. It is the type species for the genus Tarsius. While its range used to also include the population on nearby southwestern Sulawesi, this population has been reclassified as a separate species, Tarsius fuscus. Some of the earlier research published on Tarsius spectrum refers to the taxon that was recently reclassified and elevated to a separate species, the Gursky's spectral tarsier.
Display behaviour is a set of ritualized behaviours that enable an animal to communicate to other animals about specific stimuli. Such ritualized behaviours can be visual, but many animals depend on a mixture of visual, audio, tactical and chemical signals. Evolution has tailored these stereotyped behaviours to allow animals to communicate both conspecifically and interspecifically which allows for a broader connection in different niches in an ecosystem. It is connected to sexual selection and survival of the species in various ways. Typically, display behaviour is used for courtship between two animals and to signal to the female that a viable male is ready to mate. In other instances, species may make territorial displays, in order to preserve a foraging or hunting territory for its family or group. A third form is exhibited by tournament species in which males will fight in order to gain the 'right' to breed. Animals from a broad range of evolutionary hierarchies avail of display behaviours - from invertebrates such as the simple jumping spider to the more complex vertebrates like the harbour seal.
The Gabon talapoin, also known as the northern talapoin, is a small species of African monkey native to riparian habitats in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the western Republic of the Congo and the far western Democratic Republic of Congo. It may have been introduced to Bioko and the Canary Islands. Classified in the genus Miopithecus, it was given the name Miopithecus ogouensis, based on the River Ogooué, distinguishing it from the other species, the Angolan talapoin, also known as Miopithecus talapoin.
Baboons are primates comprising the genus Papio, one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys, in the family Cercopithecidae. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma baboon. Each species is native to one of six areas of Africa and the hamadryas baboon is also native to part of the Arabian Peninsula. Baboons are among the largest non-hominoid primates and have existed for at least two million years.
Female copulatory vocalizations, also called female copulation calls or coital vocalizations, are produced by female primates, including human females, and female non-primates. Copulatory vocalizations usually occur during copulation and are hence related to sexual activity. Vocalizations that occur before intercourse, for the purpose of attracting mates, are known as mating calls.
Polygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male. Systems where several females mate with several males are defined either as promiscuity or polygynandry. Lek mating is frequently regarded as a form of polygyny, because one male mates with many females, but lek-based mating systems differ in that the male has no attachment to the females with whom he mates, and that mating females lack attachment to one another.
Sexual selection in mammals is a process the study of which started with Charles Darwin's observations concerning sexual selection, including sexual selection in humans, and in other mammals, consisting of male–male competition and mate choice that mold the development of future phenotypes in a population for a given species.
Sexual coercion among animals is the use of violence, threats, harassment, and other tactics to help them forcefully copulate. Such behavior has been compared to sexual assault, including rape, among humans.
The drill is a primate of the family Cercopithecidae, related to baboons and even more closely to mandrills.
Primate sociality is an area of primatology that aims to study the interactions between three main elements of a primate social network: the social organisation, the social structure and the mating system. The intersection of these three structures describe the socially complex behaviours and relationships occurring among adult males and females of a particular species. Cohesion and stability of groups are maintained through a confluence of factors, including: kinship, willingness to cooperate, frequency of agonistic behaviour, or varying intensities of dominance structures.