Foa's red colobus (''Piliocolobus foai'') or the Central African red colobus, is a species of
red colobus monkey found in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Taxonomy
Several other species of red colobus were formerly considered subspecies of ''Piliocolobus foai'' by at least some authors but have since been elevated to full species. These include:
*
Lang's red colobus
Lang's red colobus (''Piliocolobus langi'') is a species of red colobus monkey. Historically it had been treated as a subspecies of the Central African red colobus, (''P. foai'') but more recent taxonomies generally treat it as a separate speci ...
(''P. langi'')
*
Ulindi River red colobus (''P. lulindicus'')
*
Oustalet's red colobus
Oustalet's red colobus (''Piliocolobus oustaleti'') 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 Re ...
(''P. oustaleti'')
*
Lomami red colobus (''P. parmentieri'')
*
Tana River red colobus
The Tana River red colobus (''Piliocolobus rufomitratus''), 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 sout ...
(''P. rufomitratus'')
*
Semliki red colobus (''P. semlikiensis'')
*
Ugandan red colobus
The Ugandan red colobus (''Piliocolobus tephrosceles'') 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 Uganda ...
(''P. tephrosceles'')
It was previously thought that Foa's red colobus was made of two formerly separate species, one originally from highlands and the other originally from lowlands, which interbred into a single species. The highland species has since been split into ''P. foai
sensu stricto
''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...
'', while the lowland species has been split into ''
P. lulindicus''.
Distribution
Foa's red colobus is known only from two widely separated regions in the
Itombwe Mountains of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. It likely once had a larger range throughout the
Albertine Rift in the past, but past
deforestation in the area is thought to have led to a major range contraction.
Description
Foa's red colobus has long red and black fur on its back and head, with light underparts.
[ Males have a body length excluding tail of between with a tail that is between long.][ Males typically weigh between and females typically weigh between . It has smaller teeth than most other red colobus species.][
]
Behavior
Foa's red colobus is arboreal and diurnal.[ It has a varied diet which includes leaves, buds, fruit and flowers.][ It is frequently hunted for ]bushmeat
Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents
a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...
.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q189980
Foa's red colobus
Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Endemic fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Foa's red colobus
Taxa named by Eugène de Pousargues