Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Positional Behavior of Cercopithecus petaurista

  • Published:
International Journal of Primatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I studied the positional behavior and habitat use of Cercopithecus petaurista, the lesser spot-nosed monkey, in the Ivory Coast's Taï Forest for 15 months. I compare these data with similar information collected on sympatric groups of Cercopithecus diana and C. campbelli in order to examine further the relationships between locomotion, posture, support use, stratal use, body size, diet, activity patterns and foraging behavior. Spot-nosed monkeys are predominantly quadrupedal primates that frequent the top layer of the understory during all maintenance activities. Locomotion is characteristically slow and cautious; travel takes place on branches and boughs while foraging occurs on twigs and branches. Postural behavior of Cercopithecus petaurista reflects their reliance on more ubiquitously distributed, less mobile food items. The relationship between body size, climbing, leaping and support use among Taï guenons is weak; interspecific differences are more likely functions of strata use and overall behavioral characteristics, e.g. crypticity. I also compare the locomotion and support use of Cercopithecus petaurista with that of C. ascanius from Uganda's Kibale Forest (Gebo and Chapman, 1995a) in order to assess the behavioral similarity of members of the same superspecies. Although overall support use is quite similar, the monkeys differ significantly in frequencies of quadrupedism, leaping and climbing. I present possible reasons for and implications of these differences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Booth, A. H. (1956). The cercopithecidae of the Gold and Ivory Coasts: Geographic and systematic observations. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 9: 476-480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bshary, R., and Noë, R. (1997). Red colobus and diana monkeys provide mutual protection against predators. Anim. Behav. 54: 1461-1474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butynski, T. M. (1988). Guenon birth seasons and correlates with rainfall and food. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 284-322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cannon, C. H., and Leighton, M. (1994). Comparative locomotor ecology of gibbons and macaques: Selection of canopy elements for crossing gaps. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 93: 505-524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cant, J. G. H. (1987). Effects of sexual dimorphism in body size on feeding postural behavior of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 74: 143-148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cant, J. G. H. (1992). Positional behavior and body size of arboreal primates: A theoretical framework for field studies and an illustration of its application. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 88: 273-283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheney, D. L., and Seyfarth, R. M. (1990). How Monkeys See the World, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colyn, M. (1994). Donnees ponderales sur les primates Cercopithecidae d'Afrique Centrale (Bassin du Zaire/Congo). Mammalia 58: 483-487.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cords, M. (1984). Mating patterns and social structure in redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). Z. Tierpsychol. 64: 313-329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cords, M. (1987). Mixed-species association of Cercopithecus monkeys in the Kakamega forest. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 117: 1-109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dagosto, M. (1995). Seasonal variation in positional behavior of Malagasy lemurs. Int. J. Primatol. 16: 807-834.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dagosto, M., and Gebo, D. L. (1998). Methodological issues in studying positional behavior: Meeting Ripley's challenge. In Stasser, E., Fleagle, J., Rosenberger, A., and McHenry, H. (eds.), Primate Locomotion: Recent Advances, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 5-30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doran, D. M. (1992a). The ontogeny of chimpanzee and pygmy chimpanzee locomotor behaviors: A case study of paedomorphism and its behavioral contexts. J. Hum. Evol. 23: 139-158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doran, D. M. (1992b). A comparison of instantaneous and locomotor bout sampling methods: A case study of adult male chimpanzee locomotor behaviors and substrate use. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 89: 85-100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutrillaux, B., Muleris, M., and Couturier, J. (1988). Chromosomal evolution of Cercopithecinae. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 150-159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G. (1976). Locomotion and posture of the Malayan siamang and implications for hominoid evolution. Folia Primatol. 26: 245-269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G. (1977). Locomotor behavior and skeletal anatomy of sympatric Malaysian leaf monkeys (Presbytis obscura and Presbytis melalophos). Yearbook Phys. Anthropol. 20: 440-453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G. (1999). Primate Adaptation and Evolution, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., and Mittermeier, R. A. (1980). Locomotor behavior, body size, and comparative ecology of seven Surinam monkeys. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 52: 301-314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., Mittermeier, R. A., and Skopec, A. (1981). Differential habitat use by Cebus apella and Saimiri sciureus in central Surinam. Primates 22: 361-367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., Stern, J. T., Jungers, W. L., Susman, R. L., Vangor, A. K., and Wells, J. P. (1981). Climbing: A biomechanical link with brachiation and with bipedalism. In Day, M. H., (ed.), Vertebrate Locomotion. Symp. Zool. Soc. London 48: 359-375.

  • Galat, G., and Galat-Luong, A. (1985). La communuate de primates diurnes de la foret de Tái, Cote d'Ivoire. Review de Ecologie (Terre Vie) 40: 3-32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garber, P. A., and Pruetz, J. D. (1995). Positional behavior in moustached tamarin monkeys: Effects of habitat on locomotor variability and locomotor stability. J. Hum. Evol. 28: 411-426.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartlan, J. S., and Struhsaker, T. T. (1972). Polyspecific associations and niche separation of rain-forest anthropoids in Cameroon, West Africa. J. Zool. 168: 221-266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gautier, J. P. (1988). Interspecific affinities among guenons as deduced from vocalizations. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 194-226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gautier-Hion, A. (1978). Food niches and coexistence in sympatric primates in Gabon. In Chivers, D. J., Herbert, J., (eds.), Recent Advances in Primatology, Vol. II. Academic Press, New York, pp. 270-286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gautier-Hion, A. (1988a). The diet and dietary habits of forest guenons. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 257-283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gautier-Hion, A. (1988b). Polyspecific associations among forest guenons: Ecological, behavioral, and evolutionary aspects. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 452-476.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gautier-Hion, A., and Gautier, J. P. (1974). Les associations polyspecifiques des Cercopitheques du plateau de M'passa, Gabon. Folia Primatol. 26: 165-184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebo, D. L. (1992). Locomotor and postural behavior in Alouatta palliata and Cebus capucinus. Am. J. Primatol. 26: 277-290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebo, D. L. (1996). Climbing, brachiation, and terrestrial quadrupedalism: Historical precursors of hominid bipedalism. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 101: 55-92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebo, D. L., and Chapman C. (1995a). Positional behavior in five sympatric Old World monkeys. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 97: 49-76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebo, D. L., and Chapman, C. A. (1995b). Habitat, annual, and seasonal effects on positional behavior in red colobus monkeys. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 96: 73-82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebo, D. L., and Sargis, E. J. (1994). Terrestrial adaptations in the postcranial skeletons of guenons. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 93: 341-371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddow, A. J. (1952). Field and laboratory studies of an African monkey, Cercopithecus ascanius schmidti. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 122: 297-394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, K. R. L., and Gartlan J. S. (1965). Ecology and behavior of the vervet monkey, Cercopithecus aethiops, Lolui Island, Lake Victoria. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 145: 37-57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, A. C. (1988). Guenon evolution and forest history. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 13-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, C. M. (1994). The role of female diana monkeys, Cercopithecus diana, in territorial defense. Anim. Behav. 47: 425-431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holenweg, A., Noë, R., and Schabel, M. (1996). Waser's gas model applied to associations between red colobus and diana monkeys in the Taý¨ National Park, Ivory Coast. Folia Primatol. 67: 125-136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honer, O. P., Leumann, L., and Noë, R. (1997). Dyadic associations of red colobus and diana monkey groups in the Taý¨ National Park, Ivory Coast. Primates 38: 281-291.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, K. D. (1992). Positional behavior of Pan troglodytes in the Mahale mountains and Gombe Stream National Parks, Tanzania. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 87: 83-106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, K. D., Cant, J. G. H., Gebo, D. L., Rose, M. D. Walker, S. E., and Youlatos, D. (1996). Standardized descriptions of primate locomotor and postural modes. Primates 37: 363-387.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isbell, L. A. Cheney, D. L., and Seyfarth, R. (1990). Costs and benefits of home range shifts among vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 27: 351-358.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jungers, W. L. (1977). Hindlimb and pelvic adaptations to vertical climbing and clinging in Megaladapis, a giant subfossil prosimian from Madagascar. Yearbook Phys. Anthropol. 20: 508-524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kavanagh, M. (1978). The diet and feeding behavior of Cercopithecus aethiops tantalus. Folia Primatol. 30: 30-63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, J. (1980). The role of visual signals and face patterns in African forest monkeys (guenons) of the genus Cercopithecus Trans. Zool. Society, Lond. 35: 425-475.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, J. (1988). Comparative morphology of hands and feet in the genus Cercopithecus. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 184-193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, Academic Press, NewYork.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, J. A. (1998). Primate frugivory in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and its implications for human use of forest resources. Afr. J. Ecol. 36: 234-240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leakey, M. (1988). Fossil evidence for the evolution of guenons. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 7-12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lernould, J. M. (1988). Classification and geographical distribution of guenons: A review. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 54-78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackinnon, J. R., and Mackinnon, K. S. (1980). Niche differentiation in a primate community. In Chivers, D. (ed.), Malayan Forest Primates, Plenum Press, New York. pp. 167-190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manaster, B. J. (1979). Locomotor adaptations within the Cercopithecus genus: A multivariate approach. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 50: 169-182.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrossin, M. L., Benefit, B. R., Gitau, S. N., Palmer, A. K., and Blue K. T. (1998). Fossil evidence for the origins of terrestriality among Old World higher primates. In Strasser, E., Fleagle, J., Rosenberger, A., and McHenry, H., (eds), Primate Locomotion: Recent Advances, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 353-396.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, W. S. (1996). Cercopithecid locomotion, support use, and support availability in the Taï Forest, Ivory Coast. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 100: 507-522.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, W. S. (1998a). Comparative locomotion and habitat use of six monkeys in the Taï Forest, Ivory Coast. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 105: 493-510.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, W. S. (1998b). Locomotion, support use, maintenance activities, and habitat structure: The case of the Taï Forest cercopithecids. In Strasser, E., Fleagle, J., Rosenberger, A., and McHenry, H., (eds), Primate Locomotion: Recent Advances, Plenum Press, New York, pp.79-94.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, W. S. (1998c). Posture and support use of Old World monkeys (Cercopithecidae): The influence of foraging strategies, activity patterns, and the spatial distribution of preferred food items. Am. J. Primatol. 46: 229-250.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGraw, W. S. (1998d). Three monkeys nearing extinction in the forest reserves of eastern Cote d'Ivoire. Oryx 32: 233-236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, D. J. (1989). Terrestrial Adaptations in the Feet of African Cercopithecines. Ph.D. Dissertation, SUNY at Stony Brook, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum, D. J. (1991). Kinematics of the cercopithecine foot on arboreal and terrestrial substrates with implications for the interpretation of hominid terrestrial adaptations. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 84: 273-289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noë, R., and Bshary, R. (1997). The formation of red colobus-diana monkey associations under predation pressure from chimpanzees. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 64: 253-259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oates, J. F. (1988). The distribution of Cercopithecus monkeys in West African forest. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 79-103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oates, J. F. (1996). Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: African Primates. IUCN/ SSC Primate Specialist Group.

  • Oates, J. F., Whitesides, G. H., Davies, A. G., Waterman, P. G., Green, S. M., Dasilva, G. L., and Mole, S. (1990). Determinants of variation in tropical forest primate biomass: New evidence from West Africa. Ecology 71: 328-343.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oates, J. F., and Whitesides, G. H. (1990). Association between olive colobus (Procolobus verus), diana guenons (Cercopithecus diana), and other forest monkeys in Sierra Leone. Am. J. Primatol. 21: 129-146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickford, M., and Senut, B. (1988). Habitat and locomotion in Miocene cercopitheoids. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 35-53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Remis, M. (1998). The gorilla paradox: The effects of body size and habitat on the positional behavior of lowland and mountain gorillas. In Strasser, E., Fleagle, J., Rosenberger, A., and McHenry, H., (eds), Primate Locomotion: Recent Advances, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 95-108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rollinson, J., and Martin, R. D. (1981). Comparative aspects of primate locomotion, with special reference to arboreal cercopithecines. Symp. Zool. Soc. Lond. 48: 377-427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, M. D. (1974). Postural adaptations in New and Old World Monkeys. In Jenkins, F. A., (ed.), Primate Locomotion, Academic Press, New York, pp. 201-222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, M. D. (1977). Interspecific play between free ranging guerezas (Colobus guereza) and vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops). Primates 18: 957-964.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, M. D. (1978). Feeding and associated positional behavior of black and white colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza). In Montgomery, G., (ed.), The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores, Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, DC, pp. 253-262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, M. D. (1979). Positional behavior of natural populations: some quantitative results of a field study of Colobus guereza and Cercopithecus aethiops. In Morbeck, M. E., Preuschoft, H., and Gomberg, N. (eds.), Environment, Behavior and Morphology: Dynamic Interactions in Primates, Gustav Fischer, New York, pp. 75-93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruvolo, M. (1988). Genetic evoution in the African guenons. In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 127-139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R., and Rohlf F. J. (1981). Biometry, W. H. Freeman, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, J. T. (1971). Functional myology of the hip and thigh of cebid monkeys and its implications for the evolution of erect posture. Bibliotheca Primatologica, No. 14, Karger, Basel.

  • Stern, J. T. (1975). Before bipedality. Yearbook. Phys. Anthropol. 19: 59-68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strasser, E. (1988). Pedal evidence for the origin of and diversification of cercopithecid clades. J. Hum. Evol. 17: 225-246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1967). Behavior of vervet monkeys. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 82: 1-64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1978). Food habits of five monkey species in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. In Chivers, D. J., and Herbert, J., (eds.), Recent Advances in Primatology, Vol. II, Academic Press, New York, pp. 225-248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1980). Comparison of the ecology or red colobus and redtail monkeys in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Afr. J. Ecol. 18: 33-51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Struhsaker, T. T. (1988). Male tenure, multimale influxes, and reproductive success in redtail monkeys (Cercopithecus ascanius). In Gautier-Hion, A., Bourliere, F., Gautier, J. P., and Kingdon, J. (eds.), A Primate Radiation: Evolutionary Biology of the African Guenons, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 340-363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Susman, R. L. (1984). The locomotor behavior of Pan paniscus in the Lomako Forest. In Susman, R. L., (ed.), The Pygmy Chimpanzee, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 369-393.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terborgh, J. (1983). Five New World primates: A Study in Comparative Ecology, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuttle, R. H. (1969). Knuckle-walking and the problems of human origins. Science 166: 953-961.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuttle, R. H. (1974). Darwin's apes, dental apes, and the descent of man. Current Anthropol. 15: 389-426.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuttle, R. H. (1975). Parallelism, brachiation, and hominoid phylogeny. In Luckett, W. P., and Szalay, F. S. (eds.), Phylogeny of Primates, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 447-480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ungar, P. S. (1995). Feeding height and niche separation in sympatric monkeys and apes. Folia Primatol. 67: 163-168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vilensky, J. A., and Gankiewicz, E. (1990). Effects of growth and speed on hindlimb joint angular displacement patterns in vervet monkeys. (Cercopithecus aethiops). Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 81: 441-449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vilensky, J. A., Moore-Kuhs M., and Moore A. M. (1990). Angular displacement patterns of leading and trailing limb joints during galloping in monkeys. Am. J. Primatol. 22: 227-239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wachter, B., Schabel, M. and Noë, R. (1997). Diet overlap and polyspecific associations of red colobus and diana monkeys in the Taý¨ National Park, Ivory Coast. Ethology 103: 514-526.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuberbuhler, K., Noë, R. and Seyfarth, R. (1997). Diana monkey long-distance calls: Messages for conspecifics and predators. Anim. Behav. 53: 589-604.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University, Mansfield Campus, 1680 University Drive, Mansfield, OH, 44906

    W. Scott McGraw

Authors
  1. W. Scott McGraw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

McGraw, W.S. Positional Behavior of Cercopithecus petaurista. International Journal of Primatology 21, 157–182 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005483815514

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005483815514

Search

Navigation