The king colobus (Colobus polykomos), also known as the western black-and-white colobus, is a species of Old World monkey, found in lowland and mountain rainforests in a region stretching from Senegal, through Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to the Ivory Coast. One of five members of the genus Colobus, the black-and-white colobuses, the king colobus is the westernmost species of the group on the continent of Africa. It eats mainly leaves, but also fruits and flowers. Though it is arboreal, it eats primarily on the ground. It lives in small groups consisting of 3 to 4 females and 1 to 3 males, plus their young. These groups maintain distance from one another through territorial calling. Etymology The word 'Colobus' comes from the Greek word for 'mutilated', as all Colobus monkeys only have a short stump where the thumb would be. The word 'poly' comes from the Greek word for 'many.' The word 'komos' comes from the Greek celebration of unrestrained singing. A possible subspecies known as C. p. dollmani can be found but is most likely a hybrid with C. vellerosus. Characteristics The male king colobus grows to a head-and-body length of , with a tail of between . The female is slightly smaller. Males weigh an average of 9.90 kg and females weigh an average of 8.30 kg. The body is black, the limbs and fingers are long and the tail is white. There is a fringe of silvery hair around the face as well as long white "epaulettes" on its shoulders. The king colobus can be distinguished from other members of the Colobus genus by the placement of its white markings. The king colobus has white only on its whiskers, chest, and tail, and its tail is not covered by a tuft. Distribution and habitat The king colobus monkey is found in lowland and montane tropical rainforests. The region in which they inhabit is limited to a small range on the Ivory Coast up to Gambia. They can also be found in Senegal, through Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Much of the habitat of the king colobus has been destroyed by humans for farming and secondary forests have begun to fill in this area. The forest habitats experiences significant dry seasons and two rainfall peaks. This area is dominated by leguminous trees. Behaviour and ecology Diet consists mainly of arboreal leaves, but includes fruit and flowers