biology

Hamlyn's monkey

Hamlyn's monkey is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hamlyn's monkey rather than just read about it. In short: The Hamlyn's monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), also known as the owl-faced monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that inhabits the bamboo and primary rainforests of the Congo. This species is exceedingly rare and known only from a few specimens; little is known about it.

Key takeaways

Hamlyn's monkey belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hamlyn's monkey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hamlyn's monkey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Hamlyn's monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), also known as the owl-faced monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that inhabits the bamboo and primary rainforests of the Congo. This species is exceedingly rare and known only from a few specimens; little is known about it. However these specimens tend to be widely dispersed throughout the eastern part of Congo, from the Epulu River to the Lukuga River and from the Congo River to the Kabale Forest, with one example in northwestern Rwanda. Geographically it corresponds quite closely to another species of monkey, L'Hoest's monkey C. lhoesti. It travels on the ground, and researchers think that it may be awake primarily by night. Schwarz (1928) grouped this species with C. l'hoesti, while Elliot (1913) noted its distinctive cusp pattern on the third molar, and reassigned it to a separate genus, Rhinostigma. This he believed to be an intermediate between Cercopithecus and Cercocebus. Hamlyn's monkey has one subspecies other than the nominate. In weight, the male is much larger than the female, with the average adult weighing 7 to 10 kg, while females weigh on average 4.5 to 6 kg. It is thought to be a frugivore-folivore in diet. Some published reports indicated that Hamlyn's monkey lives in small groups, of ten members or less, with one male and multiple females, with no data to show them occurring in monogamous groups. The species has been found only in higher elevations, above 900m and up to 4600m. In color it is generally dark gray, with a characteristic white stripe which extends from the root of the nose to the upper lip, giving it an owl-like appearance, hence the name "owl-faced monkey". The name "Hamlyn's monkey" and the scientific epithet "hamlyni" come from the animal dealer who first brought this species to the London Zoo. It has scent glands on its chest with which it marks its territory. Both sexes have bare, blue buttocks, and the mature male has bright red and blue genitals. The juvenile coloration is a yellow-brown coat and a pink face. In captivity it has been known to live for about 33 years. Like others of this genus, it covers a wide area in its daily travels, mostly in a search for food.

Subspecies Cercopithecus hamlyni hamlyni Cercopithecus hamlyni kahuziensis

Notes

External links

ARKive - Images of the owl-faced guenon (Cercopithecus hamlyni)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hamlyn's monkey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hamlyn's monkey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hamlyn's monkey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hamlyn's monkey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hamlyn's monkey

In research: Hamlyn's monkey appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hamlyn's monkey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hamlyn's monkey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arboreal mammals, Fauna of Central Africa, Guenons, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hamlyn's monkey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hamlyn's monkey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hamlyn's monkey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hamlyn's monkey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hamlyn's monkey in simple terms?

Why does Hamlyn's monkey matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hamlyn's monkey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hamlyn's monkey.