Vervet monkey

The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae. It is native to Africa.Groves, Colin; Wilson D.E. & Reeder D.M. (eds) 2005. Mammal species of the world. 3rd ed, Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 159.  The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus. They are found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries.

Vervets were introduced to the Americas, where there were originally no Old World monkeys. They are now in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, California, Ascension Island, Cape Verde, Barbados, Saint Kitts, Bermuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Nevis."Vervet monkey". Bwindi Impenetrable National Park"vervet monkey". ZME Science.

Vervets are mostly herbivorous monkeys. They have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in length from about  for males to about  for females.

Vervet monkeys serve as a primate model for understanding genetic and social behaviors of humans. They have some human-like characteristics, such as hypertension, anxiety, and social and dependent alcohol use. Vervets live in social groups ranging from 10 to 70 individuals. Males change groups when they become sexually mature. The most significant studies done on vervet monkeys are on their communication and alarm calls. Communication helps kin and group recognition, and alerting to predators.

 References 

Category:Old World monkeys
Category:Mammals of Africa