Chlorocebus aethiops

Green monkeys are medium-sized monkeys, with adult males weighing 4-8 kg and an average body length of 500 mm; females weighing 3.5-5 kg ​​and about 450 mm. The whole body is covered with thick golden fur with green tones, which is also the source of the name green monkey. The cheeks are hairless, but are covered with soft white hair around, highlighting the outline of the dark blue skin. Like other monkeys, they have slender tails. Males and females are dimorphic. The scrotum of males is blue, and the penis is obviously red. The color combination presents a distinct "red, white, and blue" display.
The snout is prominent, the two jaws are thick, there are 32 teeth, the nostrils are close together facing forward and downward, and the hands and feet have 5 fingers and toes, with flat nails, and can all stand upright. Diurnal. The monkey subfamily has cheek pouches that can store food, low tooth tips, a relatively mixed diet, and usually the limbs are basically equal in lengt

Existing: Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Introduced: Barbados, Cape Verde, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Green monkeys live in tropical savannah areas near rivers and streams, and prefer tree-filled areas. Although green monkeys prefer specific environmental conditions, they can easily adapt to a variety of habitats. In Africa, green monkeys live in areas south of the Sahara Desert bordering forest-savannah. These areas generally have low, dense foliage and tall grasses. Green monkeys live near the edges of these transitional forests, where they occur between the forest edge and the savannah. They avoid the dense, humid interior of the forest. Green monkeys also live in coastal areas of West Africa, although living conditions here are worse, but these animals have been forced to move here due to the destruction of their original habitat and deforestation by humans. In the Caribbean, green monke

Green Monkey (scientific name: Chlorocebus aethiops) is also known as Green Monkey and Western Green Monkey in foreign languages. It has no subspecies.

Green monkeys often move on the ground. They are gregarious. They are good at climbing, running, and swimming. There are large differences in the size of the groups, ranging from 7 to 80. Female green monkeys will stay in the family group when they reach sexual maturity, while adult males will leave their original family. This helps to avoid inbreeding and increase the spread of required genes. Green monkeys have overlapping territories in many habitats. Male green monkeys determine dominance by fighting or showing their scrotums, and social hierarchy determines how much resources teammates get. The big brother of the green monkey restricts other males and females from mating, and defends his territory and fights back against males from other tribes entering his tribe. Such encounters are usually subject to environmental conditions and resource availability. Territorial violations only occur when food is scarce or habitats are becoming increasingly scarce.

Green monkeys are highly social animals. They like to live in groups and are very smart animals. Usually, group members often communicate emotions by raising eyebrows, squinting, pouting, etc. Green monkeys, like other monkeys, often groom each other and like to "catch lice" for each other to show intimacy. Usually, male monkeys groom male monkeys, and female monkeys groom female monkeys. It is rare for the two sexes to "catch lice" from each other. In the breeding season, males and females groom each other, which is a sign of intimacy between spouses.

Green monkeys are very vocal primates. Vocalization is mainly to alert members of the tribe that there is danger. Green monkeys can use different calls to distinguish various enemies and levels of danger, and males can also communicate through body language. Use brightly colored genitals. Or use more subtle communication methods through facial expressions. Studies have shown that facial expressions are related to emotional states. Anger, elation, and even emotional frustration show different facial expressions. Green monkeys use facial expressions to indicate danger or satisfaction, depending on the situation.

The Nakis Primate Research Center in northern Atlanta, Georgia, has conducted research on it. The results show that some green monkeys can not only speak, but also have "accents". Of course, they do not speak human language. The results of this study have surprised scientists at the complexity of the language communication system of primates. Scientists at the center believe: "The main component of language is the ability to specify things and how things are done. And green monkeys have this ability. Female cubs and their peers can express their meanings with different sounds and frequencies, from "Mom, my sister is pushing me!" to "A strange big monkey is hitting me! "In the wild, they make different screams for different dangers. One sound may mean that a leopard is lurking nearby, while another sound may mean that humans are threatening it. Because they live in the jungle covered by leaves, they can hear each other's shouting but cannot see each other, so they must be able to distinguish accents. Green monkeys from different families have subtle differences in accents, which is important. For example, if a female hears the cry for help from her cub, she will definitely rescue it faster than if she hears the cry for help from other cubs.

Green monkeys feed primarily on fruits and leaves. Food resources depend on the year and environmental conditions. During the dry season or after a fire, when only a small amount of fruit is available, green monkeys will forage for edible plants throughout the grasslands, including grass leaves and roots that have little nutrition. However, when rains are plentiful and fruit becomes more abundant, it is common to gather fruit, including wild bananas, papayas, and mangoes. In the wild, green monkeys often use cheek pouches to store and carry food. These cheek pouches are present in all members of the monkey family. This behavior protects them from retaining valuable food and allows the green monkeys to continue collecting food for longer periods of time.

The social structure of green monkeys is male-dominated and has a polygamous mating system. The breeding season is from April to June. Usually the areas where green monkeys live enter a heavy rainfall pattern. The abundant rainfall provides sufficient food sources and also increases the exponential growth of nutritional resources. This special breeding season is adapted to the advantages of abundant resources. Reproduction occurs once a year. Females reach sexual maturity in 2 years and males in 5 years. Infant mortality is high, with about 57% of newborns dying. From birth, mothers attach their offspring tightly to themselves. The care of the cubs lasts about 1 year until they are fully weaned and independent. Green monkeys live 11-13 years in captivity, which is considered to be the upper limit of the age of green monkeys in the wild.

Green monkeys are highly frugivorous animals and play a great role in the entire ecosystem, spreading plant seeds. In addition, their diet is mainly herbivorous, which does not compete with insects, birds, bats and other primate species. The large population density of green monkeys makes them a food source for many carnivores. Natural enemies include African cats and birds of prey, and sometimes baboons will also capture green monkeys. Parasites are common in green monkeys, and the most common in wild green monkeys are protozoan parasites and worms, which are troubles and harmful organisms faced by green monkeys.

Although there are many controversies about the origin of AIDS, one thing is internationally recognized, that is, this disease, which is still an incurable disease, was first discovered in Africa. As for how AIDS spread to humans, there are many theories. The more common view is that around the 18th and 19th centuries, the AIDS virus appeared in the bodies of primates in the tropical rainforests of Central Africa. The reason why the pathogen of AIDS appeared and existed for a long time in some parts of Africa is because there is a kind of monkey in Central Africa, the African green monkey. According to the sampling analysis of scientists, 70% of the 200 green monkeys carried pathogens similar to AIDS. Because green monkeys have a sound immune system and strong immunity, they can carry the virus and be safe and sound.

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2020 ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).

Listed in the CITES Appendix II of the Washington Convention as a protected animal.

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