Baboons

Linda D. Wolfe

Modern baboons (Superfamily Cercopithecoidea, Family Cercopithecinae, Tribe Papionini, and Genus Papio ) are relatively large Old World monkeys of sub-Saharan Africa. There are five species of Papio (Hamadryas, Guinea, olive, yellow, and chacma baboons) spread across sub-Saharan Africa (see below for species names and their geographic distribution). It should be noted, however, that the five species are not completely isolated geographically and hybridization does occur. Guinea, olive, yellow, and chacma baboons are generally referred to as the savannah baboons . The hamadryas baboons live in the arid scrublands of Ethiopia. Mandrills ( Mandrillus or Papio sphinx ), drills ( Mandrillus or Papio leucopaeus ), mangabeys ( Lophocebus and Cercocebus ), geladas ( Theropithecus ), and the macaques ( Macaca ) are closely related to the baboons. The baboons are extremely sexually dimorphic; males weigh above 16 kg, and the females are about half the size of the male. Males, especially ...

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