Greater spot-nosed monkey

Minor Spiritwell-documentedmodern scientific/natural-history traditionWest Africa

The greater spot-nosed monkey (Cercopithecus nictitans) is a small Old World guenon native to West Africa, typically found in forest–savannah transition zones. Described in zoological and natural-history sources, it is notable for its prominent white nose, small size among Old World monkeys, and complex vocal behaviour including combinatorial alarm calls.

Origin

Not applicable as a mythological origin: the provided sources treat the greater spot-nosed monkey as a biological species described by taxonomic and natural-history literature rather than as a figure in myth or cosmology. Its 'origin' in the available material is the standard biological account of a West African guenon species discussed in zoological and documentary sources.

Appearance

The species is characterized by a prominent white nose, which gives rise to its common names. It is one of the smaller Old World monkeys (a guenon); one source reports total length ranges and weight approximations (length roughly in the range reported as 43–70 cm and weight approximately 4–6.6 kg in the cited animalia.bio entry). The available descriptions emphasize the white-nosed facial marking and the small, arboreal body plan typical of guenons; other specific color-pattern details are not provided in the cited excerpts.

Abilities

Behavioural descriptions in the sources emphasize social group structure, arboreal habits, and vocal communication. Groups are typically composed of a single adult male with multiple adult females and their dependent offspring; the species is arboreal and often associates with other monkey species. Males produce at least three call types labeled 'booms', 'pyows', and 'hacks', and individuals combine calls into sequences whose meanings can differ from the component calls—alarm-call acoustics vary with predator type and sequences can convey compound information. Some sources note susceptibility to malaria infection in a research context.

Weaknesses & Wards

Weaknesses

  • condition
    susceptibility to malaria

Wards

None recorded.

Community Record

Sources
  1. [1]
    Greater spot-nosed monkey — Wikipedia. Wikipedia contributors, 'Greater spot-nosed monkey', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopediawiki
  2. [2]
    Greater Spot-Nosed Monkey - Animalia.bio. Animalia.bio, 'Greater Spot-Nosed Monkey - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures'other
  3. [3]
    Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections: Guenon (spot guenon). Brain Museum (Comparative Mammalian Brain Collections), specimen notes on guenonother
  4. [4]
    Old World Monkey Hybrids - Mammalian Hybrids. Macroevolution.net, 'Old World Monkey Hybrids'other
  5. [5]
    Hybrid Primates — Messy Beast. MessyBeast, 'Hybrid Primates'other
  6. [6]
    Malaria Milestone – Africa Answerman. Africa Answerman, 'Malaria Milestone' (popular-science commentary noting research on malaria in nonhuman primates)other
  7. [7]
    Greater Spot-Nosed Monkeys - AnimalCorner. AnimalCorner.org, 'Greater Spot-Nosed Monkeys - Facts, Information & Habitat'other
  8. [8]
    Greater spot-nosed monkey — Wikidata. Wikidata entry Q1193818 for Greater spot-nosed monkeywiki
  9. [9]
    BBC / natural-history archive references (documentary listings). Archive.org listing for BBC Earth 'Mammals' documentary materials (referenced for natural-history/video coverage of primates)other
  10. [10]
    Animal Alphabet (Archive.org VHSrip) — mentions in educational media. Archive.org 'Animal Alphabet' educational media listing (used as an educational/documentary source listing)other
well-documented