Mandrill

Mandrill, terrestrial baboon of tropical West Africa (see Monkey). The mandrill's heavy muscular body has stout, strong limbs and is coated with soft fur that is olive brown above, gray below, and merges into a yellow beard on the chin and a crest on the head. The eye ridges are prominent, and the eyes are small, deeply sunk, and close together. Enormous canine teeth add to the fierce appearance of the animal. Along the muzzle in front of the eyes is an especially great development of bony ridges, and these ridges are covered with longitudinally ribbed naked skin. Adult head-and-body length reaches up to 90 cm (3 ft), and the tail is little more than a stump. The females are less brilliantly colored than the males and are generally smaller and more slender.

The adult male mandrill is readily distinguished by unique, brightly colored facial skin. The muzzle ridges are an intense cobalt blue, flanked by black, and the midline of the nose is bright scarlet. The blue color results from the structure of the skin, while the red color is due to skin pigment. The small, pointed ears are bluish black, and the beard and cheeks are yellowish white. The skin on the buttocks and inside the legs is naked and scarlet in color, shading to lilac, blue, or black. A male’s full size and color are reached at nine years.

Mandrills are endangered as a result of hunting and habitat loss.

Scientific classification: The mandrill is a member of the family Cercopithecidae, of the order Primates. The mandrill is classified as Mandrillus sphinx.