This lifeform is found in western Africa. This lifeform is scarce.

Diana Monkey (Cercopithecus diana) is found along the West Coast of Africa and possibly in the Congo Basin. They live in trees and feed primarily on fruits. There is a wide range of color forms. Cercopithecus diana is listed in the International Sites Convention of Endangered Species. Consequently permits are required to move specimens between countries. Cercopithecus genus, depending on how subspecies are counted, contains between twelve to fifteen species several of which are listed below:

   Species                            Location

   C. aethiops (Green or Vervet)      Most of Africa
   C. ascanius (Black Cheeked)        South central Africa
   C. albogularis (White Throat)      East and southeast Africa
   C. cephus (Moustache               Gabon and Zaire, et cetera
   C. erythrogaster (Red Belly)       Nigeria
   C. erythrotis (Russet Eared)       North Cameroon, et cetera
   C. diana (Diana Monkey)            West central Africa
   C. hamlyni (Owl Faced)             Congo Basin
   C. l'hoesti (L'Hoest)              Central Africa  
   C. mitis (Blue or Diademed)        South central Africa
   C. mona (Mona Monkey)              West central Africa
   C. nictitans (Greater White Nose)  West, west central Africa
   C. neglectus (Brazzas Monkey)      Most of Africa
   C. petaurista (Less White Nose)    West Africa
   C. pogonias (Crowned)              Cameroon to Congo

C. erythrotis is sometimes considered a subspecies of C. cephus.
C. mitis and C. albogulatus might be forms of the same species.

Cercopithecus genus is found in tropical Africa.  There are, depending on how subspecies are counted,  about 25 species.  This genus has almost doubled in size recently due to numerous instances of raising subspecies to full species levels.   Several of the better known species are listed here:

   SPECIES                                   LOCATION

   Cercopithecus aethiops (Green or Vervet)   Most of Africa
   Cercopithecus ascanius (Black Cheeked)     South central Africa
   Cercopithecus albogularis (White Throat)   East and southeast
                                              Africa
   Cercopithecus cephus (Moustache            Gabon & Zaire,
                                              etc
   Cercopithecus erythrogaster (Red Belly)    Nigeria
   Cercopithecus erythrotis (Russet Eared)    North Cameroon,
                                              etc
   Cercopithecus diana (Diana Monkey)         West & central
                                              Africa
   Cercopithecus hamlyni (Owl Faced)          Congo Basin
   Cercopithecus l'hoesti (L'Hoest)           Central Africa  
   Cercopithecus mitis (Blue or Diademed)     South central
                                              Africa
   Cercopithecus mona (Mona Monkey)           West and central
                                              Africa
   Cercopithecus nictitans                    West, west central
                                              Africa
   (Greater White Nose)
   Cercopithecus neglectus (Brazzas Monkey)   Most of Africa
   Cercopithecus petaurista (Less White Nose) West Africa
   Cercopithecus pogonias (Crowned)           Cameroon to Congo

C. erythrotis is sometimes considered a subspecies of C. cephus.
C. mitis and C. albogulatus might be forms of the same species.

Long tailed Old World monkeys and Guenons (Cercopithecinae) contains several genera including Cercopithecus, Chlorocebus, Erythrocebus, and Allenopithecus. This group is found in Africa. Here there are thirty-five species in this group.

Old World Monkeys and Baboons (Cercopithecidae) form a large family with about 132 species of which about half are found in Africa and the other half are found in the Oriental and Indo-Australian region. This family has seen numerous new species recently due to raising subspecies to full species status. By grouping related species here, this faily has been arbitrarily divided into various subfamilies to facilitate study.

Lemurs, Monkeys, Apes, and Man are combined into the single order of Primates. This order contains over 390 different species.

Mammals (Class Mammalia), together with the birds, are among the youngest of the classes of animals. In species count, mammals number about fifty-one hundred, trailing reptiles (approximately fifty-five hundred), fish (approximately eighteen thousand), and birds (approximately eighty-six hundred).

There are three sub-types of mammals:

   monotremes, the most primitive:
      Develop in reptilian-like eggs and suckle milk emerging
      (i.e., spiny anteater, duckbilled platypus)

   marsupials
      Newborn emerges very underdeveloped and continue to
      mature in a pouch on its mother's abdomen (i.e., opossums,
      koala, kangaroo)

   placental  
      Embryo develops within the uterus of the female and is
      dependent on a placenta for nutrition and waste removal
      (i.e., humans, lions, monkeys)  

About sixty-five million years ago, the Tertiary era produced thirty-five orders of mammals. Of this number, eighteen have survived to represent Earth's most diversified as well as its most highly developed classification of animals.

Extinction of mammals is fast becoming a serious issue. Duff and Lawson present a list of forty-one extinct species that reached extinction prior to 1800. These forty-one species are not acknowledged in the counts of the various families. Duff and Lawson also present a list of forty-six species including three gazelles, one zebra, one seal, one deer, and one wolf that have probably gone extinct since 1800. These forty-six species are included in the family counts. Science is adding about forty to fifty new species a year to the list. Many of these are the result of divisions of prior species; some are recent discoveries.

Mammals owe their survival to adaptive capabilities that include the ability to exploit whatever sources of food are available to them, as well as their ability to adjust to various climes. Food specialization influenced evolution to such a great extent that the teeth structure can and has been used to provide extensive information on the food needs and various lifestyles of extinct species.

Despite the vast diversity among mammals in terms of size, habitats and adaptations, they share without exception many characteristics such as:  

    a. body hair
    b. mammary glands
    c. certain skull characteristics
    d. four limbs that permit speed
    e. parallel not perpendicular limbs
    f. compartmentalized internal organs
    g. a four-chambered heart and pulmonary circulation

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.