Guenon

All members of the genus are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and most are forest monkeys. Many of the species are quite local in their ranges, and some have even more local subspecies. Many are threatened or endangered because of habitat loss. The species currently placed in the genus Chlorocebus, such as vervet monkeys and green monkeys, were formerly considered as a single species in this genus, Cercopithecus aethiops.

In the English language, the word "guenon" is apparently of French origin. In French, guenon was the common name for all species and individuals, both males and females, from the genus Cercopithecus. In all other monkey and apes species, the French word guenon designates only the females. The three species such as the L'hoest's monkey, Preuss's monkey and the sun-tailed monkey were formerly included in the genus and now listed in a different genus Allochrocebus

Classification

The genus Cercopithecus, derived from the Ancient Greek terms κέρκος (kérkos, “tail”) and πίθηκος (píthēkos, "ape"), was named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.