A genus of Old World monkeys found in Africa, commonly known as mangabeys, characterized by their slender build and long tails.
From Greek kerkos meaning 'tail' plus kobus, possibly from the Bantu word for monkey. The name emphasizes the long, prominent tail that characterizes this genus.
Mangabeys were named by combining Greek for 'tail' with what might be an African word for monkey—this is a really cool example of how scientists mixed languages to describe animals they encountered through trade and exploration.
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