Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee

The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) is a subspecies of the common chimpanzee which inhabits the rainforest along the border of Nigeria and Cameroon. Male Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees can weigh as much as 70 kilos with a body length of up to 1.2 metres and a height of 1.3 metres. Females are significantly smaller.[2]

Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Genus: Pan
Species:
P. troglodytes
Subspecies:
P. t. ellioti
Trinomial name
Pan troglodytes ellioti
(Matschie,1914)[1]
Synonyms

Pan troglodytes vellerosus

Conservation

The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee is recognised as the most threatened and least distributed of all the common chimpanzee subspecies, and without a dramatic change to human behaviour in the area, there is a likelihood of extinction in the coming decades.[3] A June 2008 report said the Edumanom Forest Reserve was the last known site for chimpanzees in the Niger Delta.[4]

Subpopulations

The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee is found in:[1]

During a 2006 survey in southwestern Nigeria, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee was found in Idanre Forest Reserve, Ifon Forest Reserve, Oluwa Forest Reserve, Omo Forest Reserve, Ise Forest Reserve, Ologbo Forest Reserve, and Okomu National Park.[6] Chimpanzees were found in Ondo State, Ekiti State, Edo State, and Ogun State. Later surveys also confirmed chimpanzees to be present in Akure-Ofosu Forest Reserve.[7] This population is on the verge of extinction. The genetic affiliations of this population are also unclear.

References
  1. Oates, J.F.; Dunn, A.; Greengrass, E. & Morgan, B.J. (2008). "Pan troglodytes ssp. ellioti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2012.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Hof, Jutta; Sommer, Volker: Apes Like Us: Portraits of a Kinship, Edition Panorama , Mannheim 2010, ISBN 978-3-89823-435-1, p. 114.
  3. "Chimpanzee Conservation - Cameroon". africanconservation.org. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  4. "Nigeria biodiversity and tropical forestry assessment" (PDF). USAID. June 2008. p. 76. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
  5. Brief history
  6. Greengrass, Elizabeth J. 2006. A survey of chimpanzees in South-West Nigeria. NCF-WCS Biodiversity Research Programme.
  7. Ikemeh, Rachel Ashegbofe. 2013. Population Survey of Nigerian-Cameroon Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Southwestern Nigerian Priority Sites: Idanre Forest Cluster and Ise Forest Reserve. African Primates 8:39-50 (2013).
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