biology

Ursine colobus

Ursine 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 Ursine colobus rather than just read about it. In short: The ursine colobus (Colobus vellerosus), also known as the white-thighed colobus, Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus, or the white-thighed black-and-white colobus, is a West African species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Description The ursine colobus is quite distinctive, with predominantly black fur and lacking a white mantle.

Key takeaways

Ursine 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 Ursine colobus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ursine colobus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The ursine colobus (Colobus vellerosus), also known as the white-thighed colobus, Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus, or the white-thighed black-and-white colobus, is a West African species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae.

Description The ursine colobus is quite distinctive, with predominantly black fur and lacking a white mantle. They have a black and naked face which is surrounded by a thick white halo of fur. The ursine colobus is further characterized by white patches on the thighs which vary in width and length. Like other species of colobus, the babies are born with an all white fur coat, which starts to turn black at around three months of age. In contrast to other species of colobus, they have slender bodies and ischial callosities, a hard thickened area of skin on the buttocks that allows comfortable sitting on branches. It has an all white tail which is longer than the body. They weigh between 9.9 to 10.3 kg (22 to 23 lb) for males and 8.3 to 8.7 kg (18 to 19 lb) in females with a body length of is 61 to 66 cm (24 to 26 in) in males and 61 to 64 cm (24 to 25 in) in females.

Biology Ursine colobus are diurnal and highly arboreal, coming down from trees only occasionally when feeding. Their social behavior is like that of many polygynous monkeys, with each group consisting of related females their juvenile offspring and a territorial male. The males are highly territorial and disperse upon reaching sexual maturity. Ursine colobus use a roaring call to advertise territory and location, this roar is a low "rur, rur, rur" noise. They also have alarm calls that alert group members when predators have been seen which are a "snorting" sound, made by all members of the group except infants. Ursine colobus are mainly vegetarian and have a diet which is made up of new leaves and seeds, with the occasional addition of fruits, insects, and termite clay.

Habitat Ursine colobuses are found in lowland rainforest and in gallery forests which extend northwards into the Guinea Forest Savannah Zone. In Bénin, these monkeys were observed in several habitats, including swamp forests, semi-deciduous forests and gallery forests.

Distribution It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo, as well as very southernmost Burkina Faso. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Conservation

The ursine colobus is threatened by both hunting and deforestation. Its range falls within a region which includes a dense and rapidly growing human population, where forest destruction has been extensive, and there is uncontrolled hunting of wildlife in many places. However, in some parts of their range these monkeys are held to be sacred. It is listed as Class A under the African Convention, and under Appendix II of CITES. They are known to live within a number of protected areas including Comoe National Park, Fazao-Malfakassa National Park and Mole, Bui and Digya National Parks (Ghana).

Nomenclature The ursine colobus was formerly thought to be a subspecies of Colobus polykomos with which it interbred; however, it has since been recognized as a separate species.

Notes

External links ARKive - images and movies of Geoffroy's black-and-white colobus (Colobus vellerosus)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ursine colobus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ursine 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 Ursine 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 Ursine 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 Ursine colobus

In research: Ursine 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 Ursine 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: Ursine colobus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arboreal mammals, Colobus, IUCN Red List critically endangered species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ursine 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 Ursine colobus in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Ursine colobus in simple terms?

Why does Ursine 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 Ursine 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 Ursine colobus.