Green monkey

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Species of mammal

title: "Green monkey" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chlorocebus", "fauna-of-cape-verde", "fauna-of-saint-kitts-and-nevis", "mammals-described-in-1766", "animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus", "mammals-of-the-caribbean", "mammals-of-west-africa", "mammals-of-barbados"] description: "Species of mammal" topic_path: "general/chlorocebus" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_monkey" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of mammal ::

| name = Green monkey | image = Gambia06Bijilo0015 (5421078756).jpg | image_caption = Female with juvenile, Gambia | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = | genus = Chlorocebus | species = sabaeus | authority = (Linnaeus, 1766) | range_map = Green Monkey area.png | range_map_caption = Geographic range

The green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus), also known as the sabaeus monkey, is an Old World monkey with golden-green fur and pale hands and feet. Some authorities consider this and all of the members of the genus Chlorocebus to be a single widespread species, C. aethiops.

Physical description

The green monkey is a sexually dimorphic species, with males typically being slightly larger than females. Wild adult males weigh between 3.9 and and measure between 420 and, while the females usually weigh between 3.4 and and measure between 300 and.

Habitat and distribution

The green monkey can be found in a wide range of wooded habitats, ranging from very dry Sahel woodland to the edge of rainforests. It is also commonly seen in coastal regions, where known to feed on seashore foods such as crabs. It also takes a wide variety of other foods, including fruits and invertebrates.

The green monkey is found in West Africa from Senegal and The Gambia to the Volta River. An insular population can be found on the Bijagós Islands in Guinea-Bissau. It has been introduced to the Cape Verde islands off north-western Africa (islands of Santiago and Brava only) as early as the second half of the 16th century, and the West Indian islands of Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Martin, and Barbados,

Behavior

As other members of the genus Chlorocebus, the green monkey is highly social and usually seen in groups. They usually live in groups of 7 up to 80 individuals. Within these groups, there is distinct social hierarchy evidenced by grooming behaviors and gender relationships.

Green monkeys are known to communicate both verbally and non-verbally. They have distinct calls which they use to warn others in the group of predators, and even have specific calls for specific predators. Body language, such as the display of brightly colored genitalia, is also used to communicate danger, but can also be used as a way of establishing dominance. It has also been documented that green monkeys may use facial expressions to express their emotional state.

Reproduction

Green monkeys live in a polygynous society, revolving around the alpha males. The alpha males have control over social interactions and mating between other males and females in the group.

These monkeys are seasonal breeders, breeding during the April to June months (October and November in the Nyes area North West of Thies), during which rainfall is the heaviest. It is during these rainy seasons that fruit is most abundant, so it is speculated that green monkeys schedule their breeding around this time, when resources are most abundant. They breed about once a year, with males reaching sexual maturity in five years, females in two. Despite infant mortality being fairly high, at roughly 57%, green monkeys are known to be heavily invested in their offspring, with mothers taking care of their young for about a year before letting them venture out as individual adults.

Gallery

Chlorocebus perspective.jpg|Male|alt=Skull of male Green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus) with baby.jpg|The Gambia|alt=Female with baby, The Gambia Green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus) male.jpg|Male, Senegal Green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus).jpg|Young adult, The Gambia Green monkey (Chlorocebus sabaeus) male rear.jpg|Male, Senegal|alt=Rear of male, Senegal Chlorocebus sabaeus 0024.jpg|alt=Adult

Predation

In West Africa, leopards, martial eagles, and pythons (Python) are primary predators of green monkeys. In the Caribbean and the West Indies, humans are the only documented predators.

References

References

  1. {{MSW3 Groves
  2. Gonedelé Bi, S.. (2020). "''Chlorocebus sabaeus''".
  3. Kingdon, J.. (February 2015). ["The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals"](https://archive.org/details/kingdonfieldguid00jona }}{{page needed). [[Academic Press Limited]] (AP).
  4. Cawthon Lang, K. A.. (2006). "Primate Factsheets: Vervet (Chlorocebus) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology".
  5. (2024-12-13). "Genomic signatures of island colonization in highly diverse primates".
  6. (2011). "On the history of the green monkey ''Chlorocebus sabaeus'' (L., 1766) in the Cape Verde Islands, with notes on other introduced mammals". [[Zoologia Caboverdiana]].
  7. (20 May 2021). "Monkeys Living Near Florida Airport Connected to 1948 Zoo Escape".
  8. Matthew Keller, [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chlorocebus_sabaeus.html], "[[Animal Diversity Web]]", 3/26/12
  9. Chlorocebus sabaeus (green monkey). Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Chlorocebus_sabaeus/

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chlorocebusfauna-of-cape-verdefauna-of-saint-kitts-and-nevismammals-described-in-1766animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeusmammals-of-the-caribbeanmammals-of-west-africamammals-of-barbados