vervet, noun

Origin:
FrenchShow more From French specific name Cercopithèque vervet.
In full vervet monkey: the common monkey Cercopithecus aethiops of the Cercopithecidae, grizzled grey in colour, with black face surrounded by a white ruff, and black paws.
1893 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. I. 97Still better known than the malbrouck is the South African vervet monkey...The fur of the vervet is of a greyish-green colour.
a1936 E.N. Marais Soul of Ape (1973) 99We tried the effects of the continued administration of alcohol on the following animals: vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops pygerythrus),..and klipspringer (Oreotragus saltator).
1967 E. Rosenthal Encycl. of Sn Afr. 594Vervet monkey, Timid but cunning, it runs in troops and is a menace to crops of all kinds.
1984 G. Verdal in Style Nov. 152The fish eagle’s cry, the solitude of deserted beaches, sun-warmed dunes, troops of chattering vervet monkeys.
1988 A. Hall-Martin et al. Kaokoveld 30Vervet monkeys, which are more arboreal than baboons, are able to survive only in areas of riverine thicket and trees and close to water. Consequently, vervets have not been recorded [in Kaokoland] except along the upper Kunene and its tributaries last of the Baynes Mountains, and on the upper reaches of the Hoarusib east of the escarpment.
1988 C. & T. Stuart Field Guide to Mammals 76Vervet monkey, Cercopithecus aethiops. The face is short-haired and black, with a rim of white hair across the forehead and down the side of the cheeks...The adult male has a distinctive bright blue scrotum.
1988 Stanger Mail 23 Dec. 7The samango is being mistaken for the vervet which is the usual raider. People make mistakes and shoot the samango. The samango is much darker and furrier than the vervet.
1990 Farmer’s Weekly 8 June 41Species available to hunters today include..spotted hyaena, baboon, vervet monkey and dassie.
1990 [see samango].
In full vervet monkey:the common monkey Cercopithecus aethiops of the Cercopithecidae, grizzled grey in colour, with black face surrounded by a white ruff, and black paws.
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