Sooty mangabey

The sooty mangabey (Cercocebus atys) is an Old World monkey found in forests from Senegal in a margin along the coast down to Ghana. While overall rated as Vulnerable, the eastern race lunulatus, also known as the white-crowned,white-naped or white-collared mangabey (leading to confusion with the collared mangabey), is considered Endangered by the IUCN.

Habitat and ecology

The sooty mangabey lives in both old growth and secondary forests as well as in flooded, dry, swamp, mangrove, and gallery forests. The primate is arboreal and diurnal. They are omnivores whose diet includes primarily fruits and seeds, sometimes feeding on small animals. They live in social groups of four to twelve individuals, but occasionally groups as large as 95 individuals have been recorded.

Taxonomy

There are two distinctive subspecies of this mangabey, and it is possible they should be considered separate species. Both were formerly considered subspecies of a widespread Cercocebus torquatus.