Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Patas monkey Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Family: Cercopithecidae Genus: Erythrocebus species: patas Binomial name Erythrocebus patas The Patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over West Africa. It is the only species classified in the genus Erythrocebus. Patas monkeys avoid woodlands and live in treeless savanna and semi-deserts. The patas monkey grows to 85 cm in length, excluding the tail, which measures 75 cm. Reaching speeds of 50 km/h, it is the fastest runner among the primates. This monkey lives in packs of about twelve individuals. An older female has the command of the group, and just one pubescent male is allowed to live with the pack. The monkeys feed on insects, seeds and tuberss. There are two subspecies: the western Erythrocebus patas patas (Common patas) and the eastern Erythrocebus patas pyrrhonotus (Nisnas). The Nisnas monkey has a white nose, while the nose of the common patas monkey is black. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.