DistributionRead full entry
Range DescriptionThis widespread African species ranges from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo eastwards to the Indian Ocean coastline and Zanzibar Island (Tanzania); in the eastern part of its range it is found from Ethiopia in the north to eastern South Africa in the south (Colyn and Verheyen 1987; Lawes 1990; Colyn 1991; Gautier-Hion et al. 1999; Butynski 2002a, b). It is found from sea level up to 3,800 m asl (Rwenzori Mountains).
There are 17 subspecies:
1). C. m. albotorquatus. In Kenya, present in Kipini Conservancy, Witu Forest, Tana River forests west as far as Meru and Kora National Parks. C. m. phylax, a synonym of C. m. albotorquatus, is present on Patta and Witu Islands, Lamu Archipelago, Kenya. Reported to be present in the coastal forest of southern Somalia, but this requires confirmation (T. Butynski and Y. de Jong pers. comm.).
2). C. m. kolbi is restricted to the highlands of Kenya, east of the Rift Valley (including Nairobi). There is no evidence that C. m. kolbi occurs in Marsabit (T. Butynski and Y. de Jong, pers comm. 2007).
3). C. m. albogularis is present from Kilifi Creek south to northern Tanzania, and from here west to Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, Tanzania; it also occurs on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania. This subspecies is possibly the subspecies that occurs from Kilifi Creek to Malindi (T. Butynski and Y. de Jong pers. comm.).
4). C. m. francescae is known only from Mount Waller and the Vipya Plateau of Malawi.
5). C. m. moloneyi is present from Zambia west of the Luangwa River, northern-most Malawi, the Southern Highlands of Tanzania to the Udzungwa Mountains (T. Butynski pers. comm.).
6). C. m. erythrarchus ranges from the Mlanje Plateau in southern Malawi, to Zimbabwe, much of Mozambique (althought the coastal limits are uncertain) to Limpopo Province and northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa in the south.
7). C. m. labiatus is restricted to South Africa where it is found in the Limpopo Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
8). C. m. heymansi ranges between the Lualaba and Lomami Rivers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
9). C. m. opisthostictus ranges from the Province of Katanga (= Shaba) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, north to approximately 6N on the left bank of the River Lualaba to the western shores of Lake Tanganyika, it is found in north-western Zambia west of the Luangwa River.
10). The nominate subspecies C. m. mitis is known only from the Dundo region of Angola.
11). C. m. boutourlinii is present in southern Ethiopia, where it is found from Lake Tana southwards along the western side of the Ethiopian Rift, but does not reach Lake Turkana.
12). C. m. stuhlmanni is widespread occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo from the region between the Uele River and the Congo River, east of the Itimbiri River to the Ituri and Semliki Forests (Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda), and from here south to about 6S and east of the Lualaba River, into southern Sudan, northern Uganda and parts of Kenya west of the Rift Valley, including Mount Elgon and the Kakamega Forest.
13). C. m. schoutedeni is present in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the islands of Idjwi and Shushu in Lake Kivu, and from the Virunga Volcanoes and south-west as far as Bobandana.
14). C. m. doggetti is found in the highlands of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Burundi, north-western Tanzania, through Rwanda and parts of southern Uganda (there is uncertainty in the distribution of this subspecies and the degree of overlap with neighbouring subspecies).
15). C. m. kandti has an unclear distribution, but is generally found in the area of Virunga Volcanoes, the contiguous Gishwati Forest, and higher part of Nyungwe.
16). C. m. zammaranoi (treated by some as a synonym of C. m. albotorquatus) has a very restricted distribution in southern Somalia along the Jubba and Webi-Shebeli Rivers. See Gippoliti (2006) for a review.
17) C. m. monoides ranges through the Selous Game Reserve and Kichi Hills west to the foot of the Udzungwa Mountains, south into Newala District.