Description
This Old World monkey has a coat that ranges from dark red to black, accented with a black stripe along the shoulders and arms, and a pale underside. Its black face is crowned with long white hair, and features a distinguishing pink mark on its lips and nose. Also, the Zanzibar red colobus has a long tail used only for balancing — it is not prehensile. Sexual dimorphism is generally decreased in the species, meaning that females have little difference in their body size and colour from their male counterparts. Females usually outnumber the males in their groups. The species has a notably small cranium and rotund body shape, with males potentially reaching over twelve kilograms and females, ten kilograms. In adults, highly differentiated facial features help to distinguish each other in a group.
The word "colobus" comes from Greek ekolobóse, meaning "he cut short", and is so named because of the significant reduction in size, or complete lack of an opposable thumb in comparison to other primates. To make up for this, they have four long digits that align to form a strong hook, allowing them to easily grasp branches and climb.
Locals on the island have called the Zanzibar red colobus "kima punju" which means "poison monkey" in Swahili because of their strong smell unlike other monkeys. This has caused people to hold negative views against the monkey and even to say that it has an evil influence on trees that they feed on, ultimately killing the trees.
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