Lophocebus albigena

(L. a. albigena / L. a. osmani / L. a. johnstoni)

C. albigena albigena

            1850                 Presbytis albigena by Gray

            1903                 Lophocebus by Palmer

            1911                 Cercocebus albigena zenkeri by Schwarz

            1913                 Cercocebus (Leptocebus) albigena weynsi by Matschie

C. albigena osmani

            1903                 Lophocebus by Palmer

            1974                 Cercocebus albigena zenkeri by Dr. Osman Hill (this subspecies was named in his honor)

C. albigena johnstoni

            1900                 Semnocebus albigena johnstoni by Lydekker

            1903                 Lophocebus by Palmer

            1906                 Cercocebus jamrachi by Pocock

            1913                 Cercocebus (Leptocebus) albigena ituricus by Matschie

                                    Cercocebus (Leptocebus) albigena ugandae by Matschie

1917                       Cercocebus albigena mawambicus by Lorenz

1978     Moved from Cercocebus to Lophocebus by Groves

2006     L. albigena by IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group

The English translation for the Latin "albigena"; "album" is "white" and "gena" is "cheek", hence one of the common names, White-cheeked Mangabey.

In French the common name is “ cercocèbe à joues grises”

In German the common name is “schopfmangabe”

In Spanish the common name is “mangabey moro onegro”

Information From the Wild

  The great majority of the published research from the wild is on L. albigena johnstoni in Uganda. Distribution of L. a. albigena is from the Cameroon coast to the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.  L. a. osmani ranges further north, in Cameroon.  The distribution of L. a. johnstoni is from Burundi, north to Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Uganda (Groves, 1978). Arboreal "form" of mangabey with slight sexual dimorphism (as compared to Cercocebus).  L. albigena occurs in a rather narrow range of habitat types, principally tall primary and secondary forests (Jones, Sabater Pi, 1969; Chalmers, 1968). Kingdon (1981) estimated that body weight ranges from 7 kg (15 lb) to 11 kg (24 lb)

  Although fruit is preferred, buds, shoots and leaves are also eaten (Jones, Sabater Pi, 1968). L. albigena was observed both in single-male and multi-male groups ranging in group size from 9 to 25 individuals (Jones, Sabater Pi, 1968; Chalmers, 1968).  Chalmers (1968) estimated home range to be between 0.05 mi² and 0.1 mi² with a population density of 200 individuals per mi². Communication is mainly vocal (grunts, chuckles, screams, barks and whoop-gobble calls) because they live in dense foliage where facial displays other than those involving the teeth or open mouth are of minimal value (Wallis, 1981).

  Chalmers (1968) described facial displays as stares (with or without open mouth), yawns, lip smacking (grooming or agonistic encounters) and presenting.  Head shaking makes the lip smacking more visible, bobbing the head makes the stare more conspicuous and the length of the tail accentuates the presenting (Chalmers, 1968).  Also, the mantle of hair around the shoulders has been observed by Wallis (1981) to pilo-erect, giving the head and shoulders a much more massive appearance during agonistic encounters.

  At a look over 20 years of research in the Kibale Forest, Uganda (Oluput, Chapman, Brown and Wasser, 1994) mangabey densities have increased (6-7 per km² in 1971 to 13-14 per km² in1991) – a net increase in group size and number of young animals represented in the population. This population increase reflects the regeneration of selectively felled forests as well as increased use by mangabeys of regenerating native trees. Larger groups move farther than smaller groups each day, suggesting that there is a cost to large group membership.

Description

  C. a. albigena:  The head and body is a mat black color with a brown underside.  The mantle of hair over the shoulders is a light gray, sometimes with blond tones and the midline of the nape and withers are noticeably browner, darker.  The cheeks are a cream-white.  The hair on the crown is approximately 47 - 74 mm long and often forms two tufts over the brows (Groves, 1978). Possess no non-pigmented areas on the upper eyelid areas (unlike Cercocebus).

  C. a. osmani:  The head is jet black in color and the body is black with a brown tinge with a yellow-gray underside.  The mantle is a rust-brown.  The upper arm and the outer surface of the forearms are the color of the mantle but the hands and feet are black.  The cheeks are gray or golden-white and the crown hair is swept back (Groves, 1978). Possess no non-pigmented areas on the upper eyelid areas (unlike Cercocebus).

  C. a. johnstoni:  The head is black in color and the body and the mantle are a brown-black with a dark brown underside.  The cheeks are a light gray-brown, changing to white lower down by the jaw.  The crown hair is approximately 36 mm to 55 mm in length, backswept like C. a. osmani but with long eyebrow tufts (Groves, 1978). Possess no non-pigmented areas on the upper eyelid areas (unlike Cercocebus).

 In Captivity - North American Region