User:Xingyu 101/Moustached guenon

The moustached guenon belongs to the genus Cercopithecus, also known as the Old World monkeys and in the cephus group among all guenon monkeys. It is named by its unique moustachded face in the monkeys, which has three recognized subspecies: (1) Red-tailed moustached monkey (C. cephus cephus); (2) Gray-tailed Moustached Monkey (C.cephus cephodes); (3) White-nosed Moustached Monkey (C. cephus ngottoensis). However, the cephus group also includes many other long tailed monkey that have other unique morphological patterns except the moustache, for example the regular red-tailed monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius), the red-bellied monkey (C. e. erythrogaster) and the white-throated monkey (Cercopithecus erythrogaster). In addition, it is not the only primate genus with the "moustached" patterns (see also moustached tamarins).

This monkey is an arboreal, omnivorous, and medium-sized mammal. The average weight of this species is around 4.1 kg for males and 2.9kg for females. According to the IUCN, the population of the moustached monkeys is considered to be large; therefore, they are widely used in biological labs.

Habitat and Distribution
Cercopithecus cephus usually live in undistributed forests, and they are not easy to be recorded by ground-level cameras because they are arboreal. The C.cephus are dinural and share vertical spaces with other species.

Studies about the C.cephus 's susceptibility to poliomyelitis virus
The C.cephus can be fatally overwhelmed by the poliomyelitis virus (e.g., Hartford and SK strains), and can easily generate cross-contamination with other species, such as the rhesus monkeys. The susceptibility of the cephus monkeys to getting infected by poliomyelitis is similar to the green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethips sabaeus) and the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

Serological Survey and Ebola virus
=== SIVmus ===

Polyspecific associations
The C. cephus cooperates with the C. nictitans and the C. pogonias ships; for example, the cephus monkeys alert the other two groups when they observe the eagles because they live lower than the other two groups, which will give loud vocal alerts to the cephus monkeys when they feel an aerial danger. Studies have shown that these types of association did not randomly occur in the evolution process. And these susrviving tactic and foraging strategies were mainly shaped by the eagle predation. The diet of C.cephus include fruit, insects and leaves respectively; fruit is the dominant food resource for this species. The polyspecific associations are the main reason that these three species can share the same living area. Up to six guenon species can share the same living area, but four guenon species generally share a common area.

Colour patterns in the Cercopithecus provides unique visual identities for each genus which allowed the development of the polyspecific association of the guenon communities. For the red-tailed and the nose-spotted moustached monkeys, the most observable differences are on their faces; however, genital colour contrasts and head movements are some of the less observable differences.

=== Guenon hybridizations and adaptive radiation === The moustached monkey's vocal performance is similar to the C. ascanius and C. erythrotis, and the hydridization exists among the three genra. Therefore, Thomas Struhsaker suggested to categorize these three species as one species. However, hybridization also increases the risk guenon's adaptive advantages, that said, they might lose their visual patterns during the hybridization.

Conservation
=== Impacts from human activities ===

Poaching and bushmeat market in Western Africa
The moustached monkeys are the main target in the primate poaching activities and the main victim in the western Africa bushmeat market.

==== Road constructions ====

Road construction have fragmented the undisturbed areas in the Western Africa, which threatens the Cercopithecus living conditions in general beause many of them are sympatric.

On ther other hand, the Road-effect zones (REZs) were rarely caculated for the areas where the primates usually present in the Western Africa. Moreover, studies have shown that the distribution of roads can affect primated living areas and population size significantly; for example, the new built road may facilitate poaching activites in terms of transportation and access to more undisturbed areas.