biology

Udzungwa red colobus

Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus rather than just read about it. In short: The Udzungwa red colobus (Piliocolobus gordonorum), also known as the Uzungwa red colobus or Iringa red colobus, is a species of the primate family Cercopithecidae that is endemic to riverine and montane forests in the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. It is classified as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Udzungwa red colobus (Piliocolobus gordonorum), also known as the Uzungwa red colobus or Iringa red colobus, is a species of the primate family Cercopithecidae that is endemic to riverine and montane forests in the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania. It is classified as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

Taxonomy The Udzungwa red colobus is a species of the primate family Cercopithecidae. It was first described by German zoologist Paul Matschie in 1900. It has been considered as a subspecies of the Western red colobus and Pennant's red colobus by various zoologists. It was re-classified as a separate species in 2001.

Morphology The Udzungwa red colobus is a medium-sized monkey with a long tail. The males do not differ much in size from the females, but have longer canine teeth and a thicker tail. The body is covered with predominantly black fur with some greyish hairs. The sides of the face and underside are covered with white hairs. It has a tuft of brown or red hair like a crown on top of the head. The face is black with white colored lips and nose.

Distribution and habitat The Uzungwa red colobus is endemic to riverine and montane forests in the Udzungwa Mountains in the Kilolo District of the Iringa Region in Tanzania. It occurs in a variety of habitats from dry lowland forests to wet montane forests. It is found in large numbers in low-altitude semi-evergreen and deciduous forests with high precipitation. A 2009 study estimated the population at 25,000 to 35,000 mature individuals. It is threatened by habitat loss and is classified as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List.

Behaviour The red colobus is mostly diurnal, and spends more than one-third of the day feeding. The diet mainly consists of leaves. The animals are also known to dig and eat the soil, presumably to get minerals to aid in digestion and serve as an antitoxin. The primates often live in large social groups, and solitary individuals are rare in the wild. The groups tend to be larger in forested areas and smaller in dry lands. Adult males rarely show aggression and often engage in social behaviour within the group.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Udzungwa red colobus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus

In research: Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus 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: Udzungwa red colobus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arboreal mammals, Endangered fauna of Africa, Endemic fauna of Tanzania, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Udzungwa red colobus in simple terms?

Why does Udzungwa red colobus 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 Udzungwa red colobus?

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 Udzungwa red colobus.