Vervet Monkey Characteristics | Chlorocebus Pygerythrus Diet & Facts

Kingdom	Order	Family	Genus	Species
Animalia	Primates	Cercopithecidae	Chlorocebus	Chlorocebus pygerythrus

Common Name: Vervet Monkey
Taxonomy Classification Year: 1821
Monkey Size: 40 to 60 cm (15.75 to 23.62 in)
Skin Color(s): Whitish gray
Habitat: Forests, savannas, and shrublands
Diet: Omnivorous
Native Countries: Botswana, Burundi, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Vervet Monkey Distribution

Vervet Monkey Characteristics

The vervet monkey^[1] (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) is an Old World monkey of the Cercopithecidae family endemic to southern and eastern Africa.

The term “vervet” is also used to refer to any member of the genus Chlorocebus. The five different subspecies are mainly found in southern Africa and some eastern countries.
These medium-sized monkeys have long tails and white-gray fur. They have colored spots on their heads, backs, and sides.
The color of these patches varies depending on the subspecies in Mother Nature’s trendy balayage, from olive green and auburn to mottled black and gray. They have black feet, hands, and ears.
Their handsome faces are black accented with white hair on their browbones and white whiskers on their cheeks. They spot dark brown eyes that invite connection.
Vervet monkeys have sitting pads. These sitting pads (found on all Old-World Monkeys and gibbons) allow the monkey to sit comfortably and sleep upright.
They have long arms and legs, which they use to walk in quadrupeds. Males have a bold and distinctive red, white, and blue coloring of their genitals.
Females have a blue vulva, pink perineum, and no stripes. Babies are born with pink faces and black or brown hair.
By the third month, their faces darken and contrast with their white mustaches. They have their adult coloring at about 6 months.

What Do Vervet Monkeys Eat?

In the wild, the Vervet Monkey nourishes on these food sources but not limited to^[¶]:

What Eats Vervet Monkeys?

The primary predators of Vervet monkeys are Leopards (Panthera pardus), Brown Hyenas (Hyaena brunnea) and Lions (Panthera leo)^[§].

Vervet Monkey Facts

While most of their diet is plant-based, vervet monkeys, like humans, are opportunistic omnivores. The cute monkeys will eat whatever is available!
Not only can vervet monkeys skilfully navigate through the treetops, but they can also swim.
Vervet babies form special bonds with their grandmothers, favoring everyone else (except their mom).
Excavations indicate that there were vervet monkeys in the houses of ancient Egypt.
They are territorial and will defend their space by making loud calls and shaking branches against potential intruders.

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BioExplorer.net. (2024, November 19). Vervet Monkey. Bio Explorer. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/vervet-monkey/.

Key References

^[1] – “Vervet monkey – Wisconsin National Primate Research Center – UW-Madison”. Accessed November 15, 2022. Link.
^[¶] – Fricke, E.C., Svenning, J. Accelerating homogenization of the global plant-frugivore meta-network. Nature 585, 74-78 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2640-y.
^[§] – Middleton, O.S, Svensson, H, Scharlemann, J.P.W, Faurby, S, Sandom, C.J. CarniDIET 1.0: A database of terrestrial carnivorous mammal diets. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13296. Craig, Christie A., Eleanor I. Brassine, and Daniel M. Parker. “A record of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) diet in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana.” African Journal of Ecology55.4 (2017): 697-700.

Vervet Monkey