Africa lacks nothing in terms of its ecological value thanks to its long history as the Earth’s oldest body of land, having stood as the foundation of Pangaea and remaining in place while other continents have shifted and moved across the globe over millions of years.  Ancient history has been recorded on its soil, as evident by its rich fossil deposits that show the rise of nonhuman primates and further suggest the origination of modern humans as Africans. The continent itself is stunning and blessed with a variety of habitats from the deserts of the Sahara to the lush tropical rain forests that house a plethora of nonhuman primate species.  What primatologist doesn’t dream of the trip of a lifetime to go on safari and witness baboons on the savannahs or a group of gorillas in the mist?  Unfortunately, any discussion of this beautiful continent cannot commence without recognition of the problems facing Africa.  Even though every major grouping of primate can be found there, many African nonhuman primates are in danger of becoming extinct as they face severe habitat degradation due to human activity. Negative human activity is affecting the human population as well, as numerous people in Africa face imminent threats each day, from disease, lack of pure drinking water, and civil wars taking millions of lives a year.  Conserving human beings in Africa must be a priority in order for animal conservation to be both ethical and attainable.  Your support of charitable organizations such as the Red Cross, Action Against Hunger, and Save the Children are invaluable towards preserving both human and nonhuman primates.

Despite recent population losses primarily due to habitat loss, primates historically have been quite successful animals in Africa, spreading throughout the continent and proving to be some of the most intriguing prosimians, monkeys, and apes seen worldwide.

Primate Groups of Africa

Prosimians

Several species of prosimians dwell on the African continent, though they differ somewhat in both size and appearance from their lemur relatives living out east in Madagascar.  All African prosimians are all generally nocturnal, scouring their tree habitats for tasty food items such as fruit, tree gums, and insects, and many of their features correspond with this “open-all-night” lifestyle. One grouping of African prosimians is the pottos, which are found in both Central Africa and along the western coast. And, if slowly, slowly goes the sloth, then “softly, softly” goes the potto, as indicated by the African meaning of the name.

Pottos are types of lorids, slow and careful creepers that make every move with uttermost caution. Their unusual hands reflect this means of movement which requires incredibly strong grasping ability, and the potto’s pointer fingers are virtually nonexistent, allowing the thumb and middle finger to come together something like a crab pincher. This grip is so strong, even from birth, and baby pottos are often left dangling from branches by their mothers when mom goes out to forage.  (Please don’t try this with your own infant. It wouldn’t be comical, not in the least.)

How do these slow moving primates avoid being eaten?  The pattern of fur on their bodies is camouflaged to blend in perfectly with their habitat, making their slow movements virtually undetectable by most predators. If a predator does come along, the potto has an unusual defense, since its neck bones have spiny protrusions that stick out and are covered with thick fur and skin. Pottos will use this unusual anatomy to bump predators off trees and send them toppling to the ground. Another type of prosimian living in Africa is the Angwantibo (Arctocebus calabarensis). Sometimes referred to as the Golden Potto, these guys and gals are small and thin relative to other pottos and are only found in a small portion of west central Africa.

Like the pottos, bushbabies (galagos) are nocturnal prosimians living in Africa, but differ from pottos in the way they look and behave. Registering extremely high on the cuteness scale, bushbabies can be easily recognized by their disproportionately large ears (great for detecting the music of the night), long tails (used to help balance while leaping about), and small body size (squirrel-like). Rather than slow, cumbersome climbing, bushbabies are great leapers, hurling their tiny bodies 20 feet or more as they move from tree to tree looking for tasty insects and fruit to gobble.

And now, without further ado, we’d like to take the time to announce the winners of our Annual Galagos Pageant!  Oooh…Aaah!  (Ok, so maybe it’s just a once in a lifetime event, but we’ll see how it catches on.) Though there are at least 11 species of galagos, only a few were able to beat out their competitors for these coveted recognitions. We’re proud to announce this year’s awards:

Biggest Baby………………………………Thick tailed-bushbabies (Otolemur crassicaudatus)

Claim to fame: they are the largest galagos found throughout southern and eastern parts of Africa and measuring a little under the average man’s foot length at 10.5 inches. They’d like to thank their mothers at this time for never making fun of their big ears.

Wandering Baby……………..….…..……Senegal bushbabies (Galago senegalensis)

These buddies have really spread themselves around! Ranging from the western parts of Senegal all the way to the eastern portions of Africa, Senegal bushbabies take full advantage of Africa’s diverse array of habitats. They’d like to give props to their elongated ankle bones for providing their transportation.

Baby with the Biggest Heart………..…Demidoff’s bushbabies (Galagoides demidoff)

It’s only natural that the galago with the smallest stature would get the award for courage and fortitude. Despite only weighing 60 grams or so (that equals half a cup of flour), these tiny primates boldly go out alone at night in search of a scrumptious insect dinner and often make loud calls announcing their presence, tiny as that presence may be.  At this time, the dwarf galagos would like to show appreciation for the beetles that gave their lives to serve as bushbaby sustenance and help boost them over the 50 gram mark.

Nonconformist Award……..…………….Needle-clawed bushbabies (Euoticus elegantulus)

Defying the traditional primate pattern with their claw-like nails, and forcing many a primatologist to ponder, what exactly is the difference between a nail and a claw anyway?  The needle-clawed bushbaby is a pro at using their claw-like nails to stick into trees while ripping the bark apart with sharp teeth to get at the sweet gum underneath. These guys would not like to thank anyone at this time since they were unable to pass through the security screening at the airport.

Thank you, thank you everyone for attending this celebrated event and congratulations go out to our winners, and not just the winners, but all bushbabies of the world for doing what they do best, stayin’ alive!

Monkeys

Upon setting out to sea some 500 years ago, Christopher Columbus wrote, “Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.” Until that historic time, the world was thought by many to only consist of the western hemisphere. After Columbus and other explorers proved there wasn’t actually a deadly abyss lurking at the edge of the map, scientists and historians eagerly began documenting all the new information the explorers brought back. The “New World” became the designated term for North and South America, with the continents of Asia, Europe, Australia, and Africa remaining coined the “Old World.”  And believe it or not, all these years later, it is not uncommon for textbooks to still refer to Old World monkeys and New World monkeys.

Africa is populated by Old World monkeys of the cercopithecoid type.  And by the way, that term is pronounced SIR-KO-PITH-UH-KOID, a word used to describe monkeys with downward-turned noses, specialized teeth and arms, and a very cool feature—the cheek pouch!  And what good is a cheek pouch, you might ask?  Well, it can expand almost to the size of the stomach, maximizing the amount of food one can stuff into the body at a given time.  Perfect for monkeys on the go!  In addition to convenient storage pouches, African monkeys possess long noses, long thumbs with short fingers, and arms and legs that are about the same length as each other.

There are quite a few types of cercopithecoid monkeys, one of the most familiar being the baboons.  These long-nosed primates are generally found scampering around on the ground in the dry, flat savannahs of Africa feeding on such food as fruit, grass seeds, roots, leaves, insects, and even small mammals and bird eggs. Making tasty snacks for larger hunters themselves, baboons prefer to climb to the top of tall trees or rocky cliffs in the evening for protection from larger-bodied nocturnal hunters (lions, leopards, and cheetahs, oh my!). Savannah baboons (Papio sp.) have been extensively studied, and we know that baboon troops can grow quite large with hundreds of individuals, many of whom are involved in complex social relationships with each other.

Pictured here is the gelada (Theropithecus gelada), a large baboon species sometimes referred to as the “bleeding heart baboon,” for the red heart (male) or hourglass-shaped (female) patch of skin on its chest.

Wearing your heart on your chest is actually a useful signal when you’re a gelada since changes in the skin coloration can relay cues about when you’re digging the opposite sex or when you just want to be left alone.

(Image by Kolumbusjogger)

Similar in many ways to baboons are the mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus). What? You say you’ve never heard of a mandrill…are you sure? Featured in the 1994 Disney hit The Lion King, the mandrill Rafiki serves as a sort of spiritual guide on the Pride Lands and was responsible for holding baby Simba up to the sky in a riveting representation of the Circle of Life. Now you remember, right?!? Characterized by their bright blue faces, red noses, and colorful nether regions, the mandrill is actually quite stunning to behold.  Drills are similar in most ways to mandrills, though drills do not possess the bright blue hues on the face.

Both of these species are genetically related to a type of mangabeys, tree-dwelling cercopithecoid monkeys with long appendages that can be found throughout western and central Africa.  Many mangabeys sport a somewhat eclectic look, some with wild punk-rocker style hair and some with a more slicked back ‘do and eyes masterfully highlighted by white markings. (Seen to the right is a Collared, or Red-capped Mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus)

Another grouping of African monkey, and in fact the most common monkey in Africa, is the guenon.  Guenons are a highly variable assembly with at least 19 species included in the genus (Cercocebus): the blue monkey, moustached monkey, DeBrazza’s monkey, and the spot-nosed monkey.  Found in sub-Saharan Africa, guenons tend to be smaller in size than most other ground-dwelling African primates and are often found living in mixed-groups with other types of primates.  The preferred gastronomic pleasures for guenons include delectable fruits, crunchy insects, and colorful fibrous leaves that add a little pizzazz to the palate.

One species of highly terrestrial primates, the patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) has taken moving on the ground to the extreme.  Dwelling in the flat grasslands of middle Africa, patas monkeys generally travel from place to place on all fours, their extra long limbs and reduced toes serving as adaptations for running. And run, patas, run!  The patas monkey, with an average running speed around 30 mph, can outrun most predators and even record-holding Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who’s top speed is about 27 mph. Note the long arms and legs in the image to the left.)

There are several other cercopithecines in Africa, including Talapoin monkeys (smallest Old World monkey at about 2.5 lbs), Swamp monkeys (fruit eaters that live in swampy areas), and Vervet monkeys (widespread, also called green monkeys) which range throughout the regions south of the Saharan desert.

Finally, in regard to African monkeys, there are three groups of colobines (Colobus sp.) living in the forest trees and taking on the role of the large-bodied leaf-eaters in their habitats. Though most colobines live in Asia (see the Asian primate section for more), the black-and-white colobus, the olive colobus, and the red colobus all call the African continent their home.  Unlike the cercopithecines, African colobus monkeys generally have sharp teeth, complex stomachs, and tiny thumbs. The colobus monkeys tend to have long fur, one species of which sports an amazing dichromatic dream coat that would have made even Coco Chanel jealous: that would be the black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza), whose long shiny black fur contrasts extraordinarily well with stark white accents along the shoulder and face.  Just as eye-catching are baby black-and-whites, who are in fact all white! These babies are well-cared for since nothing says “Pay attention to me, everyone” like being the complete opposite of everyone else in the crowd.

Apes

African apes are easily distinguished from the monkeys that inhabit the continent. All three species of apes are large-bodied, ranging from the approximately 90 pound chimp to the 400+ pound gorilla.  And when we say 400+, that’s pretty much solid muscle, not adipose tissue!  In addition to large body size, the distinguishing features of the African apes are their large brain to body size, their particular tooth structure, wide faces, and lack of a tail.

Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) have been called the gentle giants of the primate world, because their large size is actually maintained by a vegetarian diet, with lots of fruits and veggies and an occasional termite or caterpillar, but no red meat. Their huge bellies house a massive digestive tract that is necessary to break down all the roughage that passes through each day.  Did you know that an adult male gorilla can consume over 40 pounds of greens a day?! Much of that food, particularly the leaf matter, passes through the digestive tract without being completely digested.  So, this naturally leads to a quick discussion of coprophagy.

Coprophagy is defined as the eating of stool, or feces.  While it probably seems pretty revolting to you, quite a few vegetarian mammals do this. By digesting the same material twice, the animal is able to get more energy out of the initial food matter they consumed without having to travel to find a new food source. Some animals regurgitate and re-chew and some pass it from the other end and re-chew.  Same concept going on at either end. So, yes, gorillas do eat their poo from time to time, but that doesn’t make them gross or nasty.  It just makes them super fuel efficient!

Gorillas tend to live in small groups (about 10-20) made up of adult females and offspring with typically one silverback male, who defends the group from predators and take-overs by other males. While gorillas are good climbers, they spend a good amount of time on the ground, knuckle walking on their 3^rd and 4^th knuckles to support their heavy bodies.

Another species of African apes, the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), can be found across diverse habitats throughout much of central Africa. Being smaller in body size than gorillas, chimpanzees tend to spend quite a bit of time in trees, being expert climbers that can maneuver up tree trunks with amazing dexterity.  When traveling on ground, chimpanzees knuckle walk and also walk upright on two legs (bipedal locomotion) quite frequently. Watching chimps engaged in upright posture brings up quite obvious similarities between chimpanzees and ourselves. In fact, we share much more in common than bipedalism, being that chimps are extremely intelligent and highly sociable, even political animals capable of cooperative war. Our similarities come from our DNA, the chemical code that determines which proteins our cells will produce to ultimately form our brains and bodies. The DNA structure of chimpanzees is almost 99% identical to human DNA, meaning that our differences in intellect and physical appearance lie in the less than 2% difference in our DNA code.  Scientists are currently trying to understand how these genetic differences ultimately become responsible for the differences we see between organisms, but in the meantime, primatologists continue to marvel at the human-like traits and behaviors evident in chimpanzees.

Chimpanzee (pictured on left) and Bonobo (pictured on right)

Commonly confused for chimpanzees, bonobos (Pan paniscus) earned their own unique species name in 1993.  Despite many similarities to chimpanzees, bonobos look and act somewhat differently. Physically, bonobos are the supermodels of the ape world, showcasing lean, sinewy bodies with long legs and narrow chests.  Bonobos look different than chimps due to their darker facial skin and slicked down hairdos with a center part (think Alfalfa sans cowlick). And whereas all males are dominant to females in chimpanzee society, bonobo females regulate the group’s access to the best food and form alliances with each other against males that get out of line.  Now, before we get to feeling too sorry for those poor hen-pecked males, it might be useful to note here that male bonobos mate much more frequently than do male chimpanzees. So, in this case, letting the females rule the roost definitely has its advantages, from the male point of view.

Humans

Africa is known as the birthplace of humanity, due to many indications in the fossil record that the first bipedal primate with all of the modern features we use to define ourselves as being Homo sapien first appeared in Africa 100,000 years ago, spreading out into Europe some 60,000 years later. At slightly more than one billion, the human population of Africa is large and diverse, made up of many different cultures, some with ancient histories and others reflecting traditions brought in from influxes of French and English colonists several hundred years ago. In fact, if we look closer at African culture, we can find several thousand ethnic groups in Africa, each of which practices its own religious beliefs, customs, and way of life.  (Read more about the vast diversity of African people here.)

Primate Fossils

Africa is a primo place to go if you’re hunting fossils, the primate kind and otherwise. South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Kenya are prime fossil hunting grounds since the landscape tends to be dry with little vegetation, making the ground highly exposed and the digging relatively easy.  Though most fossils from the most primitive primates have been found in North America and Europe, a few specimens have been found in Africa, including Anchomomys, Djebelemur, Aframonius, and Wadilemur. (Funny names, seriously primates.) Dwelling in Africa during the Eocene (~55-33 million years ago), these primates would have reminded you a little of a lemur and are considered to be of the cercamoniine radiation. (For more about the “cercs,” read the Fossils of Asia.) In addition to these prosimian-like primates, there were also monkey-like primates dwelling in Africa during the Eocene.  Known as the Parapithecids, these primates are considered somewhat primitive to the monkeys we now have in Africa, but instead resemble New World monkeys in regard to their tooth arrangements and skull shapes.

A little later in time, during the early Oligocene, specimens from another primitive group of monkeys, the Propliopithecids begin turning up in the fossil record. One member of this group, Aegyptopithecus zeuxis (seen to the left), was large in body size (about 15 pounds) and had a skull with features similar to anthropoids but still housing a smaller brain, like a prosimian.   Other types of primates are present as well, including Afrotarsius chatrathi, whose fossils appear in the Oligocene Fayum of Egypt.  As their scientific name implies, these organisms resemble modern-day tarsiers, but also look a little bit like some of the early anthropoid primates. Hopefully, more of these specimens will be discovered to help us better understand how living tarsiers are related to other primates. Throughout the Oligocene, primates tend to be well-represented in Africa, and we can see that as time progresses, these monkeys begin to look more and more like modern-day anthropoids.

As was discussed in the North America section, apes began to take over the planet during the late Oligocene and early Miocene.  Africa has a rich fossil record full of primitive and more advanced apes. Most of these apes were eating diets rich with fruit and supplemented with leaves and probably were moving around through the forest both quadrupedally (on all fours) and through the use of arm-swinging. Other types of fossilized specimens begin to pop up in Africa’s fossil record during the Miocene as well, such as primates that can be grouped with modern-day lorises and bushbabies. Mioeuoticus, Komba, and Progalago come complete with tooth combs and were bouncing around in Africa during the Miocene. The first fossils that look almost identical to modern day African monkeys also begin to appear in the Miocene.  These monkeys tended to be less common than they are now, probably due to the overwhelming success of ape populations during that same time period.

Moving into the next epoch, the Pliocene (~2-5 million years ago), the primate fossil record in Africa begins to get incredibly interesting as fossils from Ardipithecus, Autstralopithecus, and Paranthropus begin appearing. Most likely eating a diet of rough plant matter, these primates were about chimpanzee size and shared many features with apes, with one important exception—bipedalism. The ability to walk upright places them in a unique category known as Hominidae, though they are missing the large brains, slow growth rates, and uniquely shaped foot that characterize other hominids, such as ourselves. These features gradually appear in the fossil record during the Pleistocene epoch (~1.7 million years ago), as several members from the genus Homo emerges, with Homo sapiens gradually spreading to virtually every degree of the globe.

Safe to say, the rocking horse people were definitely eating some marshmallow pies on the day Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) was discovered by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray. Found on the side of a ravine in northern Ethiopa in 1974, Lucy is the most complete ancient hominid found to date, meaning that about 40% of her bones were recovered. We know she is indeed a “she” based on the size and shape of her pelvis and her overall small body size (about 60 pounds).  And where did Lucy’s name come from? Apparently, scientists digging up fossils in Africa in the 70s were just as fond of the Beatles as everyone else around the world, and when someone suggested the new discovery be dubbed “Lucy” from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, everyone thought it was a smashing idea!

Image is one of the many reconstructions of Australopithecus afaransis, courtesy of the National Geographic photo gallery.