Sooty Mangabey
Encyclopedia
The sooty mangabey is an Old World monkey
found in forests from Senegal
east to Ghana
. It is famous for being believed to be the monkey that HIV
-2 might have originated in before jumping species. While overall rated as Vulnerable
, the eastern race lunulatus, also known as the white-crowned, white-naped or white-collared mangabey (leading to easy confusion with the collared mangabey
), is considered Endangered by the IUCN.
(SIV) jumped from this species to human
s to become the HIV-2
virus
. The HIV-1
strain came from the common chimpanzee
strain of SIV.
The sooty mangabey can also contract leprosy
, as can humans, the Nine-banded Armadillo
, the common chimpanzee
, and the crab-eating macaque
.
and secondary forest
s as well as in flooded, dry, swamp, mangrove
, and gallery forests. The primate is arboreal and diurnal. They are omnivore
s 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.
of this mangabey, and it is possible they should be considered separate species. Both were formerly considered subspecies
of a widespread Cercocebus torquatus.
Old World monkey
The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade Catarrhini. The Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting a range of environments from tropical rain forest to savanna, shrubland and mountainous...
found in forests from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
east to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. It is famous for being believed to be the monkey that HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-2 might have originated in before jumping species. While overall rated as Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
, the eastern race lunulatus, also known as the white-crowned, white-naped or white-collared mangabey (leading to easy confusion with the collared mangabey
Collared Mangabey
The collared mangabey , also known as the red-capped mangabey, white-collared mangabey , or cherry-crowned mangabey, is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family of Old World monkeys. It formerly included the sooty mangabey as a subspecies...
), is considered Endangered by the IUCN.
Disease
It is believed that a strain of the Simian Immunodeficiency VirusSimian immunodeficiency virus
Simian immunodeficiency virus , also known as African Green Monkey virus and also as Monkey AIDS is a retrovirus able to infect at least 33 species of African primates...
(SIV) jumped from this species to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s to become the HIV-2
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
. The HIV-1
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
strain came from the common chimpanzee
Common Chimpanzee
The common chimpanzee , also known as the robust chimpanzee, is a great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee , though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy...
strain of SIV.
The sooty mangabey can also contract leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
, as can humans, the Nine-banded Armadillo
Nine-banded Armadillo
The nine-banded armadillo , or the nine-banded, long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos...
, the common chimpanzee
Common Chimpanzee
The common chimpanzee , also known as the robust chimpanzee, is a great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee , though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy...
, and the crab-eating macaque
Crab-eating Macaque
The Crab-eating macaque is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. It is also called the "long-tailed macaque", and is referred to as the "cynomolgus monkey" in laboratories.-Etymology:...
.
Habitat and ecology
The sooty mangabey lives in both old growthOld growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
and secondary forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
s as well as in flooded, dry, swamp, mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
, and gallery forests. The primate is arboreal and diurnal. They are omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
s 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 subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of this mangabey, and it is possible they should be considered separate species. Both were formerly considered subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of a widespread Cercocebus torquatus.
- Cercocebus atys atys (west of the Sassandra RiverSassandra RiverThe Sassandra River is a river of western Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Tienba River, which originates in the highlands of northwestern Côte d'Ivoire, and the Gouan River , which originates to the west in the highlands of Guinea...
) - White-collared (or White-crowned) mangabey, Cercocebus atys lunulatus (east of the Sassandra River)