Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus

Description

With a body of 61-64 cm,a tail of 75-81 cm and about 9.9 kg of weight,the veal colobus is predominantly black in color,and shows fewer areas covered with white hairs than all other species of the genus Colobus (except,of course,of the black colobus,C.satanas,entirely of this color).The white areas are arranged around the head to form a sort of white beard that joins above the eyebrows in a thin strip of the same color;white are also a strip present on the thighs and the tail,slightly bushy.It is believed that the black and white coloring of this animal helps to break its profile in the shady vault of the forest.The little ones are born covered with a completely white fur,which begins to change color around three months.The body is slender,with a long tail and large is chiatic calluses (the areas of thickened bare skin on the back).As in other African colobos,the thumb is reduced to a small stump,but the other fingers are long and when the hand holds a branch they form a sort of hook that allows the animal a good grip.In the past this species was considered a subspecies of the wild colobus ( C.polykomos ),but was elevated to the species rank in 1983.