Piliocolobus foai (de Pousargues, 1899)

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Cercopithecidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 550-755 : 710

98.

Foa’s Red Colobus

Piliocolobus foai

French: Colobe de Foa / German: Luvua-Stummelaffe / Spanish: Colobo rojo del Ouroua

Taxonomy. Colobus foai de Pousargues, 1899 ,

Democratic Republic of Congo, Ouroua Mountains, between south-west shore of Lake Tanganyika and upper Congo-Lualaba.

Modern taxonomic arrangements of the colobus monkeys either divide the red colobus and the Olive Colobus into two genera, Piliocolobus and Procolobus , respectively, or consider them to belong to one genus, Procolobus , with two subgenera (Procolobus for the Olive Colobus and Piliocolobus for the red colobus). We follow here C. P. Groves in his publications of 2001 and 2007 in using two genera. Two subspecies may perhaps be recognized: foa: in the mountains along the western side of Lake Tanganyika and lulindicus in the lowland forest east of the Lualaba River. Considered monotypic here.

Distribution. EC DR Congo, lowlands E of the Lualaba River from the Lowa and Oso rivers in the N to the Elila River in the S, and Mts between the Lowa and Oso rivers in the N to ¢.6° Sin the S, along the W side of Lake Tanganyika.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 50-69 cm (males), tail 62-67 cm (males); weight 9-13 kg (males) and 7-9 kg (females). Foa’s Red Colobus has long fur and a relatively short tail. Furis essentially red above, with a bit of black on the proximal part of the dorsum (although it may also be black, red, or black and red). Underparts are smoky-gray to yellowish-white. There is a crest on the forehead or anterior crown, and a prominent tuft at the base of each ear. Crown including the crest is red, contrasting with a black brow band and light colored cheeks. Limbs are wholly red, and hands and feet are generally dark to black. There is a prominent tuft of hair, or “panache,” on either side of the base ofthe tail. Teeth are small compared with most other species of red colobus. All Central African taxa of red colobus (excluding those south ofthe Grand Cuvette) are all curiously variable and contrast greatly with all other taxa that are noticeably homogeneous. It has been opined that Foa’s Red Colobus consists of two different taxa (one highland and one lowland) that have fused, and, if so, the components cannot now readily be disentangled, although there are average differences between highland and lowland populations and they may be recognized as subspecies. Analysis of mtDNA places Foa’s Red Colobus alongside mainly other species from East and Central Africa.

Habitat. [.owland tropical rainforest in the west (on the right bank of the LLualaba) and montane rainforest in the east (Itombwe Mountains).

Food and Feeding. Diets include young leaves and mature leaves, fruit, flowers, buds, and possibly seeds.

Breeding. Female Foa’s Red Colobus displays a substantial pink sexual swelling during the periovulatory period.

Activity patterns. Foa’s Red Colobusis diurnal and arboreal

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species in the wild.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Foa’s Red Colobus has not been assessed on The IUCN Red List. It is heavily hunted for the bushmeat trade, but otherwise no information is available concerning its conservation status.

Bibliography. Gautier-Hion et al. (1999), Groves (2001, 2007b), Grubb et al. (2003).

Figures

Distribution. EC DR Congo, lowlands E of the Lualaba River from the Lowa and Oso rivers in the N to the Elila River in the S, and Mts between the Lowa and Oso rivers in the N to ¢.6° Sin the S, along the W side of Lake Tanganyika.