The Niger Delta red colobus (''Piliocolobus epieni'') is a

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

species of

colobus monkey Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Colobus'', native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus '' Piliocolobus''. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subs ...

endemic to the western part of the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

. It is threatened by hunting and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Taxonomy

From the time it first became known to science (in 1993) until 2007 or 2008, it was considered a subspecies of the

western red colobus The western red colobus (''Piliocolobus badius''), 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 ...

(''Procolobus badius'') and more recently

Pennant's colobus Pennant's colobus or Pennant's red colobus (''Piliocolobus pennantii'') 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 their d ...

(''Procolobus pennantii''), and its trinomial name was ''Procolobus badius epieni'' or ''Procolobus pennantii epieni''.

Colin Groves Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was professor of biological anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Education Born in Englan ...

recognized the Niger Delta red colobus as a full species in 2007, although Groves considered all the red colobus monkeys, including the Niger Delta red colobus to be in the genus ''

Piliocolobus 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 monk ...

'', rather than '' Procolobus'' (this nomenclature has been followed here). However, other authors consider ''Piliocolobus'' to be a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

of ''Procolobus''.

Description

The Niger Delta red colobus is black on top from the head to the rump, becoming orange-brown on the sides and outer legs. The undersides and inner legs, and most of the arms are white. The hands and feet are black. The tail is red-brown on top and chestnut or maroon below, becoming darker towards the tip. It has white whiskers.

Distribution

The Niger Delta red colobus is found only in the western part of the

. It is restricted to marsh forest, that is, forest with a high

water table The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...

year round but no significant flooding. It shares this habitat with several other

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

species, including the Nigerian white-throated guenon (''Cercopithecus erythrogaster pococki''), the

red-capped mangabey The collared mangabey (''Cercocebus torquatus''), also called red-capped mangabey and white-collared mangabey, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae of Old World monkeys. It formerly included the sooty mangabey as a subspecies. A ...

(''Cercocebus torquatus''), the putty-nosed monkey (''Cercopithecus nictitans''), the

mona monkey The mona monkey (''Cercopithecus mona'') is an Old World monkey that lives in western Africa between Ghana and Cameroon. The mona monkey can also be found on the island of Grenada as it was transported to the island aboard slave ships headed to ...

(''Cercopithecus mona''), and maybe also the olive colobus (''Procolobus verus'').

Status

When it was first discovered, the Niger Delta red colobus was locally common but under some pressure from deforestation, especially logging of ''

Hallea ledermannii ''Mitragyna stipulosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Se ...

'', which is an important food tree for the monkey. Since then, pressure from

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...

hunting and logging has increased. Red colobus monkeys generally appear to be particularly sensitive to hunting and habitat disturbance, hence concerns that the species may be on the verge of extinction. The Niger Delta red colobus was still found in the

Edumanom Forest Reserve The roots of Edumanom Forest Reserve trace back to 1970 when it was singled out as one of the proposed Forest Reserves by the Rivers State Government, a compilation encompassing 11 distinct regions. At that time, the Governor of Rivers State, actin ...

in 2008. However, as of 2008, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN) considers it

, due a reduction in population of more than 80% over the past 30 years largely caused by hunting and habitat loss. In 2010, the Niger Delta red colobus was included in the list of

The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates is a list of highly endangered primate species selected and published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Primate Specialist Group (PSG), the I ...

, published by the IUCN and other organizations.

References

{{Authority control Niger Delta red colobus Niger Delta red colobus Niger Delta red colobus Niger Delta red colobus Niger Delta red colobus Critically endangered fauna of Africa Niger Delta red colobus Primates of Africa Taxa named by Peter Grubb