Everybody knows that humans are members of the mammalian Order Primates, but ask somebody to name some of our cousins and they would at best come up with five or six of the most widely known.
West Africa, from the coast of Senegal to Lake Chad and Cameroon's Sanaga River, is home to 60 primate species and subspecies, 46 of which occur nowhere else. They range from the nocturnal angwantibo, pottos, and galagos, to the mangabeys, baboons, and the drill, to guenons and colobus monkeys. In addition, no less than three of the great apes are restricted to this region, including two chimpanzees and the Cross River gorilla.
This volume provides the most comprehensive review available of the conservation status of African primates. Thirty species, comprising over 50% of the primate fauna of the continent, have been identified as threatened, ranging from the little-known Angwantibo to the gorilla and chimpanzee.
