The Cercopithecinae are a subfamily of the

Old World monkey Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...

s, which comprises roughly 71 species, including the

baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ...

s, the macaques, and the

vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct ...

s. Most cercopithecine monkeys are limited to sub-Saharan Africa, although the macaques range from the far eastern parts of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

through northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, as well as on

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Characteristics

The various species are adapted to the different terrains they inhabit.

Arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

species are slim, delicate, and have a long tail, while

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

species are stockier and their tails can be small or completely nonexistent. All species have well-developed thumbs. Some species have ischial callosities on their rump, which can change their colour during their mating periods. These monkeys are diurnal and live together in social groups. They live in all types of terrain and climate, from rain forests,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

h, and bald rocky areas, to cool or even snowy mountains, such as the

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...

. Most species are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, with diets ranging from fruits, leaves, seeds, buds, and mushrooms to insects, spiders, and smaller vertebrates. All species possess cheek pouches in which they can store food. Gestation lasts around six to seven months. Young are weaned after three to 12 months and are fully mature within three to five years. The life expectancy of some species can be as long as 50 years.

Classification

The Cercopithinae are often split into two

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

, Cercopithecini and

Papionini Papionini is a tribe of Old World monkeys that includes several large monkey species, which include the macaques of North Africa and Asia, as well as the baboons, geladas, mangabeys, kipunji, drills, and mandrills, which are essentially from sub- ...

, as shown in the list of genera below. * Family Cercopithecidae ** Subfamily Cercopithecinae *** Tribe Cercopithecini **** Genus '' Allenopithecus'' - Allen's swamp monkey **** Genus '' Miopithecus'' - talapoins **** Genus '' Erythrocebus'' - patas monkeys **** Genus '' Chlorocebus'' - vervet monkeys, etc. **** Genus ''

Cercopithecus The guenons (, ) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Cercopithecus'' (). Not all members of this genus have the word "guenon" in their common names; also, because of changes in scientific classification, some monkeys in other genera may have ...

'' - guenons *** Tribe

**** Genus '' Macaca'' - macaques **** Genus ''

Lophocebus The crested mangabeys are West African Old World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Lophocebus''. They tend to have dark skin, eyelids that match their facial skin, and crests of hair on their heads. Another genus of mangabeys, ''Cercocebus'', was ...

'' - crested mangabeys **** Genus ''

Rungwecebus 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 kipunji has a unique call, described as a 'honk-bark', which distinguishes it from i ...

'' - highland mangabey **** Genus '' Papio'' - baboons **** Genus '' Theropithecus'' - gelada **** Genus '' Cercocebus'' - white-eyelid mangabeys **** Genus ''

Mandrillus ''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 und ...

'' - drill and mandrill ** Subfamily

Colobinae The Colobinae or leaf-eating monkeys are a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 61 species in 11 genera, including the black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications s ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q220848 Mammal subfamilies Old World monkeys Taxa named by John Edward Gray Taxa described in 1821

Characteristics

Classification

See also

References

External links