Pennant's Red Colobus Characteristics | Piliocolobus Pennantii Facts

Pennant's Red Colobus

Kingdom	Order	Family	Genus	Species
Animalia	Primates	Cercopithecidae	Piliocolobus	Piliocolobus pennantii

Pennant’s Red Colobus Distribution

Pennant’s Colobus^[1] or Pennant’s Red Colobus (Piliocolobus pennantii) is a species of arboreal primate in the Cercopithecidae family.

These African Old-monkeys are native to tropical Central Africa. One of the most distinctive characteristics of colobus monkeys is the lack of thumbs.
There is a bump where the thumb should be that looks like it was cut. The other fingers are extended to enable climbing, forming a hook to hold on to branches.
As with many climbing mammals, the limbs of Pennant’s red colobus are elongated. In general, Pennant Red Colobus males tend to be larger than females.
This species varies in mass from 7 to 11 kg. The length of the head and body generally varies between 53 and 63 cm, while the tail length varies between 60 and 70 cm.
The head is relatively small, and the belly is round. The subspecies of Pennant’s red colobus vary in coat coloration.
Shaggy hair varies between shades of brown and orange. The crown is usually dark red to almost black, and the hind legs and tail are usually dark brown.
The hair on the forehead is parted in the middle.

Like other red colobus monkeys, the Pennant’s red colobus lives in flocks that may consist of 12 to 80 individuals occupying a territory of 25 to 150 hectares.
They move nimbly through the canopy, jumping from tree to tree and using the elasticity of the branches.
Pennant’s red colobus monkeys have specialized teeth that can shred leaves and crack open rigid but flexible immature fruits and seeds embedded in the pulp.
The Pennant’s Red Colobus is also known for being quite noisy. Sounds described as “squawks” and “barks” can be critical auditory communications between individuals and troops.
The range of a group of Pennant’s colobus monkeys, often overlapping with other groups, can be 100 ha or more.