Patas monkey
TAXONOMY
Suborder: Haplorrhini Infraorder: Simiiformes Superfamily: Cercopithecoidea Family: Cercopithecidae Subfamily: Cercopithecinae Genus: Erythrocebus Species: E. patas Other names: Patas, red guenon, red monkey, military monkey, nisnas, Aïr patas, Aïr red, black-nosed patas, west African patas, west African red monkey, blue nile hussar monkey, dancing red monkey, nile patas, Ikoma patas or red hussar monkey; engabwor (Ateso); cercopitheque patas, le singe rouge, patas (French); husarenaffe (German); elwala (Karamajong); naggawo (Luganda); ayom (Lwo); akahinda (Runyoro); husarapa or patasapa (Swedish).MORPHOLOGY

Erythrocebus patas
RANGE
CURRENT RANGE MAPS (IUCN REDLIST): Erythrocebus patas Patas monkeys occur in a broad band across central Africa, between the Sahara in the north and the equatorial rain forests in the south (Chism & Rowell 1988). They occur from Senegal on the west coast of Africa all the way east to the Sudan and south to Lake Tanganyika, one of Africa’s Great Lakes (Tappen 1960). Kenya, the Congo, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and northern Tanzania form the southern border of the patas’ range. To the north, their range extends into Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad (Rowe 1996). There is some debate as to the easternmost extent of their territory with some extending their range into Somalia (Kingdon 1971). Other countries in the patas range include Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda. Within their range, populations are sometimes spotty with gaps where no patas are to be found, however the greatest population densities are in west central Africa (Gartlan pers. comm. cited in Wolfheim 1974). An artificially introduced population of patas in Puerto Rico was brought to the locality for research by the Caribbean Primate Research Center in the 1960s (Gonzalez-Martinez 1998). This population is allowed to be free-ranging and a number of individuals migrated to mainland Puerto Rico where a breeding population of unknown size lives (Gonzalez-Martinez 1998). The first study of wild patas monkeys was undertaken by K.R.L. Hall in Uganda during the 1960s. Since, there have been several other studies of wild and semi-wild patas in Cameroon, Kenya and Puerto Rico, in addition to a number of captive studies. Other notable patas researchers include Janice Chism, Karin Enstam, Lynne Isbell, and Naofumi Nakagawa.HABITAT
Open country is the domain of the patas monkey, but they adapt well and tolerate several types of habitat (Tappen 1960). The patas monkey habitat can range from savanna and steppe to woodland and thorn scrub, and from true desert to relatively moist areas (Hall 1965, Chism et al. 1984). The patas monkey prefers wide open areas and ventures only into those woodlands near open areas (Gartlan, pers. comm. 1974 cited in Wolfheim 1983). In one study, patas were demonstrated to prefer grassland in the wet season and they preferred to sleep in woodlands to avoid predators (Nakagawa 1999). Their habitat can also be classified as having moderate to low rainfall and marked dry seasons (Hall 1965, Gartlan 1974). When offered a choice between short and tall trees, patas monkeys prefer taller trees and spend more of their time in them (Enstam and Isbell 2004). Patas have been studied in three discrete areas of their broad range, Uganda, Kenya and Cameroon. Ugandan patas are found in a range of vegetation zones including steppe, woodland, thicket, and grass and wooded savanna (Hall 1965). Within this area of patas occupation is a great variety of climate and vegetation ranging from a dichotomy of hot, dry winters and rainy summers to areas where it can rain year-round. As a result, the rainfall totals for the Uganda patas habitat vary quite a bit also, from 500 to 1250 mm (19.7 to 49.2 in) per year on average (Hall 1965). The Kenyan habitat, near the southeastern end of their range, contains patas populations that were observed to reside in areas anywhere from treeless grassland to dense woodland to savanna woodland. Rainfall in these areas averaged 630 mm (24.8 in) per year with the most rain falling between April and November and the least in January (Chism & Rowell 1988). In Cameroon, the patas monkey has been studied in the African Sahel, a semi-desert ecosystem with annual rainfall of less than 508 mm (20 in) and a prolonged dry season (Tappen 1960). The most important trait of the Sahel is its precipitation which is low and seasonal (Gartlan 1974). The water sources in the Sahel areas are vitally important for all of the mammals living there, including the patas monkey. A patas must drink two or three times a day during the dry season (Gartlan 1974).ECOLOGY
The patas monkey’s diet varies with changes in food availability due to the seasonality of its environment. It is most aptly described as omnivorous, relying on plant material, insects, and animal material for sustenance. During the rainy season, it will eat plant materials including fruits, flowers, leaves, stems and gums as well as insects, other animal material, and fungi (Nakagawa 1989; Hall 1965). It is suggested that their rainy season diet choice reflects the life cycle of the plants on which they rely which produce fruit and berries during this time (Nakagawa 1989). Patas do the majority of their feeding on the ground, with up to 85% of feeding activity occurring terrestrially (Gartlan 1974). Also of importance to the patas is the inclusion of insects in their diet, as evidenced by the relatively high expenditure of foraging time to obtain them. Grasses play a surprisingly unimportant dietary role as one would expect a resource as available as grass to comprise at least some part of patas subsistence (Chism & Rowell 1988). In one study in Kenya, the patas diet was observed to be almost two-thirds gum and arthropods, which would make them by far the physically largest primarily exudativorous or insectivorous primate (Isbell 1998). Patas have been observed catching and eating lizards and even robbing eggs from the nests of birds in trees (Hall 1965). Further, patas will take immature weaver bird chicks from their nests and eat them (K. Enstam, pers. comm.). There are also instances in which patas were observed catching and eating fish out of evaporating natural pools in Senegal (Galat-Luong 1991). In habitats near cultivated areas, there is a high instance of crop-raiding by patas (Chism & Rowell 1988).
Erythrocebus patas
Content last modified: December 18, 2006
Written by Kurt Gron. Reviewed by Karin Enstam.
Cite this page as: Gron KJ. 2006 December 18. Primate Factsheets: Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology . <http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/patas_monkey/taxon>. Accessed 2020 July 15.
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND BEHAVIOR

Erythrocebus patas

Erythrocebus patas

Erythrocebus patas
REPRODUCTION
Patas monkeys have a clearly defined conception and birth season. Typically conception occurs in the summer wet season and births occur in the winter dry season (Struhsaker & Gartlan 1970; Nakagawa et al. 2003; Chism et al. 1983). Patas are able to obtain more nutrition in the dry season than in the wet and this may be one explanation for the seasonality of their reproduction (Nakagawa 2000). Another potential reason for such profound birth seasonality may be the availability of food during the breeding season which allows the prior year’s infant to be weaned, enabling the mothers to become pregnant again (Chism et al. 1984). In captivity, the patas monkey does not display this reproductive seasonality (Sly et al. 1983). In addition, wild patas monkeys typically give birth during the day which may be an adaptation to reduce the risks associated with nocturnal predators. Patas monkeys are vulnerable to nocturnal predators and rely on concealment at night to avoid said predators (Chism et al. 1983).
Erythrocebus patas

Erythrocebus patas
PARENTAL CARE
All patas females participate in allomothering. At present, it is not obvious what the benefits of allomothering are, although they may be related to social hierarchy based on who receives allomothering and who does the allomothering (Muroyama 1994; Nakagawa 1995). This behavior may also be related to an altruistic relationship between adult females (Nakagawa 1998). On at least one occasion in Cameroon, patas females of one group were observed to kidnap an infant from a different group, allomother it for a while and eventually abandon it (Nakagawa 1995). Allomothering may also serve to strengthen social interactions and group cohesion. In captivity, infant patas females were observed to receive significantly more allomothering from non-kin females that the male patas infants (Loy & Loy 1987). This preference to allomother female infants serves to integrate and reinforce relationships within the female natal group and to drive the males to their position at the periphery of the group. In captive studies, patas adult males seldom interact with mothers with infants and their behavior could even be described as avoidant (Chism 1986). Patas monkeys demonstrate one of the shortest interbirth intervals of any Cercopithecine, averaging about one year between births (Chism et al. 1984; Nakagawa et al. 2003). The patas infant must be fully independent by one year of age as it will be displaced by a new infant. Orphaned patas infants have been observed to survive in the wild without being adopted as early as seven months of age (Chism et al. 1984). In captivity, from birth until the fourth month of life, male and female infants receive comparable amounts of grooming and attention from their mothers. After this period of time, there is a marked increase in grooming and attention paid to female infants while grooming of the male infants remains the same (Loy & Loy 1987). This again shows the strong matrilineal bonds between adult females. After the fifth month of life, contact between the mother and her infant of either sex decreases steadily (Chism 1986). During this time the infant will continue to nurse at night, but represents only a small energetic cost to the mother. This nursing is merely a supplemental food source as the infant is quickly learning how to forage on its own. Complete weaning of the infant only occurs when the mother gives birth to a new infant, typically around one year of age (Chism 1986).
Erythrocebus patas
COMMUNICATION
Patas vocalize infrequently and tend to move quietly (Chism & Rowell 1988). They are a relatively silent species with few physical cues that rely on visual communication to avoid agonistic interactions within groups (McNeilis & Boatright-Horowitz 1998). Visual contact serves to transfer information about important occurrences within the patas environment quickly through constant monitoring of not only the environment, but other patas within a group as well (Rowell & Olson 1983). Patas rely on an “adaptive silence” and prefer not to give away their locations to predators (Hall 1967). Patas exhibit a low frequency of contact calling between individuals which may be as a result of the open nature of their habitat which facilitates visual contact instead (Nakagawa 1992). Patas alarm calls are the best documented of their vocalizations. These calls are directed to warn other patas of a threat and are uttered mainly in response to mammalian predators. There are various alarm calls which in many cases are predator specific however males only utter the “bark grunt” in response to all predators. This type of grunt is also vocalized by males in response to the approach of extra-group male patas (Enstam & Isbell 2002). Patas monkeys other than adult males exhibit several discrete alarm calls which they use to warn the group of danger. In response to jackals and wildcats, a “cough” alarm call is uttered. “Loud chutter” is the alarm call associated with baboons, domestic dogs, jackals and wildcats. A “nyow” alarm call is the response to baboons, domestic dogs and lions. Finally, a “quiet chudder” or a “gecker” are calls both associated with snakes and the “gecker” may also be used to warn of raptors (Enstam & Isbell 2002). Other types of vocalization used by patas monkeys are those used in allomothering interactions. These consist of the allomother’s “moo” and the infants’ “want” call. The infant’s “want” call serves to attract related, unrelated, and even unfamiliar allomothers. The allomother’s “moo” is typically uttered when approaching the infant to be allomothered (Nakagawa 1998). Another type of possible communication is that of olfactory communication. In captivity, patas were observed to occasionally approach another individual and perform a discrete “nose to mouth” gesture with the ostensible purpose of ascertaining what the other individual had been eating (Rowell & Olson 1983). One documented captive patas communicative display is that of the Grimace-Gecker in which the patas displays its teeth to another. Originally suggested to be a submissive/appeasement signal, this display has been argued not to convey such a message. Regardless, the display appears to be discrete and to serve some unknown communicative purpose (Jacobus & Loy 1981; Loy et al. 1993)Content last modified: December 18, 2006
Written by Kurt Gron. Reviewed by Karin Enstam.
Cite this page as: Gron KJ. 2006 December 18. Primate Factsheets: Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) Behavior . <http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/patas_monkey/behav>. Accessed 2020 July 15.
INTERNATIONAL STATUS
For individual primate species conservation status, please search the IUCN Red List. Also search the current scientific literature for primate conservation status (overall as well as for individual species), and visit CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Erythrocebus patas
CONSERVATION THREATS
Threat: Harvesting (hunting/gathering)
In areas where bushmeat has economic importance, patas monkeys are reported to be taken as such (Bowen-Jones & Pendry 1999). Due to their large numbers, this practice has not as of yet substantially affected their numbers. However, like any species taken for bushmeat, as human populations grow and the importance of bushmeat to local and national economies grows, the threat can only increase. Patas monkey remains can also be found in markets of traditional medicine in Nigeria and this use may represent another threat to their populations (Sodeinde & Soewu 1999).Threat: Persecution
In East African areas where patas ranges abut cropland, patas monkeys occasionally participate in crop raiding and use their high speed to escape when spotted by farmers (Lee & Priston 2005). Crop raiding by patas may result in retaliatory killing and represents a conflict trend that will increase with additional human land use (see Chism 2005).LINKS TO MORE ABOUT CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION INFORMATION
- No current links for Erythrocebus patas
- Links for all species
CONSERVATION NEWS
- No current links for Erythrocebus patas
- Links for all species
ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN Erythrocebus patas CONSERVATION
Content last modified: December 18, 2006
Written by Kurt Gron. Reviewed by Karin Enstam.
Cite this page as: Gron KJ. 2006 December 18. Primate Factsheets: Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) Conservation . <http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/patas_monkey/cons>. Accessed 2020 July 15.
REFERENCES
Bercovitch F. 1996. Testicular function and scrotal coloration in patas monkeys. J Zool 239(1): 93-100. Carlson A, Isbell L. 2001. Causes and consequences of single-male and multimale mating in free-ranging patas monkeys, Erythrocebus patas. Anim Behav 62(6): 1047-58. Chism J. 1986. Development and mother-infant relations among captive patas monkeys. Int J Primatol 7(1): 49-81.
Erythrocebus patas
Content last modified: December 18, 2006
IMAGES
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne & Ron Carlson |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Anne Zeller |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Bryan Lenz |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Irwin S. Bernstein |
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Erythrocebus patas Photo: Richard Frazier |
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