Miss Waldron's red colobus

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Miss Waldron's red colobus [1]
Status iucn3.1 CR.svg
Critically endangered, possibly extinct  (IUCN 3.1) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Piliocolobus
Species:
P. waldronae
Binomial name
Piliocolobus waldronae
(Hayman, 1936)
Miss-waldrons-red-colobus-range.svg
Miss Waldron's red colobus historic range shown in red

Miss Waldron's red colobus (Piliocolobus waldronae) [1] is a species of the red colobus native to West Africa. [3] [4] It had previously been described as a subspecies of the western red colobus, P. badius. It has not been officially sighted since 1978 and was considered extinct in 2000. However, new evidence suggests that a very small number of these monkeys may be living in the southeast corner of Côte d'Ivoire. The IUCN Red List notes Miss Waldron's red colobus as critically endangered. [2]

Contents

Miss Waldron's red colobus was discovered in December 1933 by Willoughby P. Lowe, a British Museum (Natural History) collector [5] who had shot eight specimens of the animal. Robert William Hayman named it after a fellow museum employee, Miss Fanny Waldron, who assisted in the expedition where Lowe collected the eight specimens.

Description

Black fur covers the majority of Miss Waldron's red colobus, but a distinctive pattern of bright red fur can be found on its forehead and thighs, allowing it to be distinguished from conspecifics. [6] An Old World monkey, it grows to a height of about 3 feet (1 m), with a head that is small for its frame. No photograph of a living Miss Waldron's red colobus is known to exist.

Ecology and status

High-canopy forests (rainforests) in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire serve as the exclusive habitat of Miss Waldron's red colobus. The monkey usually formed large family groups of 20 or more. It is a social and highly vocal animal, frequently communicating with others using loud calls, shrieks and chattering. Its strategy for safety depends on using the many eyes and ears of the group.

Fruit, seeds and foliage provide the primary food source of Miss Waldron's red colobus. The western red colobus frequently is hunted and eaten by larger carnivores, including common chimpanzees (specifically western chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus, in the range of P. b. waldronae), leopards, pythons, eagles and humans.

Decline to (near-)extinction

The monkey was frequently (and illegally) poached for bushmeat, with little interference by local governments. Habitat destruction also played a role in its decline. Miss Waldron's red colobus is the first primate to be suspected extinct in the 21st century, but there is considerable debate over whether this assessment is indeed correct.

A series of forest surveys, conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society from 1993 to 1999, failed to uncover any evidence of the monkey's existence, [7] [8] [9] and the animal was declared extinct a year later. [9] However, the IUCN and other authorities which compile Red Lists felt that the required criterion that "there is no reasonable doubt that its last individual has died" was not yet fulfilled. [2]

However, primatologist W. Scott McGraw from Ohio State University has been collecting evidence of the monkey's continued existence during his expeditions to Côte d'Ivoire over the past several years: [6] [10] [11]

Presumably, a relict population of the monkey still is found in the Ehy Forest (also Ehi or Tanoé Forest) near the mouth of the Tano River into Ehy Lagoon, at the border between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. [6] Miss Waldron's Red Colobus is among the 25 "most wanted lost" species that are the focus of Re:wild's "Search for Lost Species" initiative. [12]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana monkey</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Diana monkey is an Old World monkey found in the high canopy forests in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and western Côte d’Ivoire. Named for its white brow which is said to resemble the bow of the Roman goddess Diana, this black-grey guenon has a white throat, crescent-shaped browband, ruff and beard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zanzibar red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Zanzibar red colobus is a species of red colobus monkey endemic to Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, off the coast of Tanzania. It is also known as Kirk's red colobus after Sir John Kirk, the British Resident of Zanzibar who first brought it to the attention of zoological science. It is now classified as an endangered species and in the mid-1990s was adopted as the flagship species for conservation in Zanzibar. The population is still decreasing, and conservationists are attempting to work with the local government to devise a proper, effective strategy to protect the population and habitat. Challenges include the species' habitat, which is limited to the archipelago. The species has been reclassified three times; it was previously in the genus Colobus, then in the genus Procolobus, and later in the genus Piliocolobus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taï National Park</span> National park in Ivory Coast

Taï National Park is a national park in Côte d'Ivoire that contains one of the last areas of primary rainforest in West Africa. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its flora and fauna. Five mammal species of the Taï National Park are on the Red List of Threatened Species: pygmy hippopotamus, olive colobus monkeys, leopards, chimpanzees, and Jentink's duiker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mantled guereza</span> Species of mammal

The mantled guereza, also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black-and-white colobus, a type of Old World monkey. It is native to much of west central and east Africa, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Chad. The species consists of several subspecies that differ in appearance. It has a distinctive appearance, which is alluded to in its name; the long white fringes of hair that run along each side of its black trunk are known as a mantle. Its face is framed with white hair and it has a large white tail tuft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red colobus</span> Genus of Old World monkeys

Red colobuses are Old World monkeys of the genus Piliocolobus. It was formerly considered a subgenus within the genus Procolobus, which is now restricted to the olive colobus. They are closely related to the black-and-white colobus monkeys, and some species are often found in groups with the blue monkey. The western red colobus is frequently hunted by the common chimpanzee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comoé National Park</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The western red colobus, also known as the bay red colobus, rust red colobus or Upper Guinea red colobus, is a species of Old World monkey in West African forests from Senegal to Ghana. All other species of red colobuses have formerly been considered subspecies of P. badius. It is often hunted by the common chimpanzee. In 1994, western red colobus monkeys infected many chimpanzees with Ebola virus when the chimpanzees hunted the monkeys as prey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The black colobus, or satanic black colobus, is a species of Old World monkey belonging to the genus Colobus. The species is found in a small area of western central Africa. Black colobuses are large, completely covered with black fur, and like all other Colobus monkeys, do not have a thumb. The species has faced large declines in population due to habitat destruction and hunting by humans, and was consequently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennant's colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

Pennant's colobus or Pennant's red colobus is a species of tree-dwelling primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to tropical Central Africa. Three subspecies have traditionally been recognised but its distribution is peculiarly disjunct and has been considered a biogeographical puzzle, with one population on the island of Bioko, a second in the Niger River Delta in southern Nigeria, and a third in east-central Republic of Congo. It is found in rainforests and marshy forests. It is threatened by habitat loss and hunting for bushmeat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tana River red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Tana River red colobus, also called the eastern red colobus, is a highly endangered species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to a narrow zone of gallery forest near the Tana River in southeastern Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The olive colobus monkey, also known as the green colobus or Van Beneden's colobus, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Its English name refers to its dull olive upperparts. It is the smallest example of all colobine monkeys and is rarely observed in its natural habitat because of its cryptic coloration and secretive nature. It is found in the rain forests of West Africa, ranging from southern Sierra Leone to Nigeria. The IUCN Red List classifies the olive colobus as vulnerable, with the cause of its decline attributed to habitat loss and hunting. Though much of the land within the range of the olive colobus has been affected by human activities, it retains its ability to thrive in small degraded forest fragments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central African red colobus</span> Common name for several monkey species

Central African red colobus is the traditional name for several species of red colobus monkey that had formerly been considered a single species, Piliocolobus foai. Central African red colobus monkeys are found in humid forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thollon's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

Thollon's red colobus, also known as the Tshuapa red colobus, is a species of red colobus monkey from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and lower Republic of the Congo. It is found south of Congo River and west of Lomami River. It had once been considered a subspecies of the P. badius. It was recognised as a distinct species by Dandelot in 1974, and this was followed by Groves in 2001, while others have suggested it should be considered a subspecies of P. rufomitratus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugandan red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Ugandan red colobus or ashy red colobus is an endangered species of red colobus monkey, recognised as a distinct species since 2001. There is disagreement however over taxonomy with many considering the Ugandan red colobus to be a subspecies. The Ugandan red colobus is an Old World monkey which is found in five different locations across Uganda and Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niger Delta red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

The Niger Delta red colobus is a critically endangered species of colobus monkey endemic to the western part of the Niger Delta. It is threatened by hunting and habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bouvier's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

Bouvier's red colobus is a species of colobus monkey rediscovered in the Republic of the Congo in 2015, after four decades without a confirmed sighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foa's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lang's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oustalet's red colobus</span> Species of Old World monkey

Oustalet's red colobus is a species of red colobus monkey. It lives in various types of forest in southern South Sudan, southern Central African Republic, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and northeastern Republic of the Congo. It eats leaves, fruit, flowers, buds and possibly seeds. Males have a head and body length of between 45.9 and 68 cm with a tail length of between 55.5 and 73 cm. Females have a head and body length of between 52 and 64 cm with a tail length of between 68 and 73 cm. Males weigh about 12.5 kg (28 lb) and females weigh about 8.2 kg (18 lb).

References

  1. 1 2 Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 169. ISBN   0-801-88221-4. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 Oates, J. F.; Struhsaker, T. & McGraw, S. (2019). "Piliocolobus waldronae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T18248A92650711. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T18248A92650711.en . Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. Zinner, D.; Fickenscher, G.H.; Roos, C. (2013). Mittermeier, Russell A.; Rylands, Anthony B.; Wilson, Don E. (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Volume 3, Primates. Lynx. pp. 705–706. ISBN   978-8496553897.
  4. Groves, C.P. (2016). "Species concepts and conservation". In Wich, Serge A.; Marshall, Andrew J. (eds.). An Introduction to Primate Conservation. pp. 45–47. ISBN   9780198703396.
  5. "Natural History Museum: Search Results". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 McGraw, W. Scott (June 2005). "Update on the Search for Miss Waldron's Red Colobus Monkey". International Journal of Primatology. 26 (3): 605–619. doi:10.1007/s10764-005-4368-9. S2CID   861418.
  7. "African monkey is pronounced extinct". CNN.com. 2000. Archived from the original on July 2, 2004. Retrieved 2006-02-26.
  8. McGraw, W. Scott (2000). "Looking for Lost Monkeys".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 Oates, John F.; Abedi-Lartey, Michael; McGraw, W. Scott; Struhsaker, Thomas T. & Whitesides, George H. (October 2000). "Extinction of a West African Red Colobus Monkey". The Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology. 14 (5). Archived from the original on 2005-12-26. Retrieved 2006-02-26.
  10. McGraw, W. Scott & Oates, John F. (2002). "Evidence for a surviving population of Miss Waldron's red colobus". Oryx . 36 (3): 223.
  11. "New Evidence Suggests That Monkey Thought Extinct Still Exists". ScienceDaily. 2004. Retrieved 2006-02-26.
  12. "The Search for Lost Species". Global Wildlife Conservation.

Further reading