Cercopithecus aethiops pygerythrus monkeysare a mathematical group of black - faced monkeys with pale grey / green pelt , though there is some variation across the race included within the group . Native to countries across Africa , they ’re not what you might expect to see when in Florida but a population of vervet monkey monkeys has taken up mansion house in the US state regardless . Despite the peculiar position of the universe , there ’s been niggling in the way of scientific investigating as to how and why they came to be there .
Now , a new cogitation publish in the journalPrimateshas established that these rascal originated from a farm from which some brute escaped back in 1948 . They ’ve since made a place for themselves in the mangrove forest near the Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport , South Florida . Despite being so far from their native homes , the Cercopithecus aethiops pygerythrus scalawag have survived quite mirthfully for over seven 10 .
The scamp have long been a hit with the wider world , but - block off an former 1990s work - nobody has tried all that strong to work out the account of the unlikely primate settlement . A squad of scientists from Florida Atlantic University resolve to give the mystifier a go , building on the proposition of the one subsist study which hypothesized a failed wayside menagerie may have been their pedigree story .
The team ’s many-sided approach shot sifted through diachronic archives and carry interviews to shew the probable reservoir : the Dania Chimpanzee Farm . When it was operational , that adeptness make do in archpriest imports to act as test subjects for vaccine research including treatments for acute anterior poliomyelitis , among other diseases . It also playact as a menagerie and was home to many imp import from Africa .
Their archive surfing revealed that the original Diana Beach monkeys were most likely first capture in Sierra Leone . The possibility was able to be confirmed by analyzing samples from the exist population for signs of three genetical markers associated with the Diana Chimpanzee Farm group . The analysis confirmed that the Dania Beach monkey are indeed the same coinage ( Chlorocebus sabaeus ) and have West African origins , correspond the Sierra Leone vervet ’ familial visibility .
Photographs of the Diana Beach monkeys alive today also support this theory , share specific strong-arm traits that concur with animals native to West African countries . These include fur gloss , tail tip semblance and even the color of the scrotum sported by the males . A qualitative compare of these phenotypical trait was found to be characteristic ofChlorocebus sabaeus .
" Data from our study lay the foot for future studies to address new query about the condition of the population and how the monkeys have adapted to the urban and industrial environment of South Florida,“said Dr Kate Detwiler , older author and an associate prof in the Department of Anthropology in FAU ’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters . " The correct taxonomic designation and history of the insert Dania Beach monkeys is important for community outreach and wildlife management , devote the singular power for Chlorocebus to thrive in most surround . "
