Reproduction

The talapoin monkey gives birth to a single offspring. During estrus the perineum of the female swells (Scruton and Herbert, 1970). During pregnancy the perineum of the female turns red (Scruton and Herbert, 1970). During estrus the perineum is in a state of maximal swelling for an average of 2 to 6 days (Scruton and Herbert, 1970). The birth season for this species is from June to August and the mating season is from January to March (Rowell and Dixon, 1975).

Courtship in the talapoin monkey can be initiated by either the male or the female (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). When a female initiates copulation from the male she will sit near him and squat present towards him (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). When the male touches the female and performs visual inspection she will straighten her legs and allow the male to mount (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). When copulation is initiated by the male, he will start out with penile erection and proceed with visual inspection towards the female (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Then the male approaches the female, and if the female stands on all fours, the male performs intromission mount (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Most often the female faces the female when he tries to mount her, and the male responds with a clenched teeth grin and tries to turn the female around to mount her (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). The female may then squat present, the male then tries to mount her, and then the female may jump up and face the male, starting the cycle over again (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). This parrying continues for a few minutes, but usually ends in the female allowing the male to mount her (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Courtship has been described as a tense social situation for the male, with the female attacking the male when she is not maximally swollen during estrus (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972).

Wolfheim and Rowell (1972) describe two kinds of mounting behavior:

• intromission mount: This is where the female stands on all fours with the tail bent away from interfering with the male, who thrusts slowly with the knees sharply bent (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). After intromission, the male thrusts more quickly and raises himself high over the female's back (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Ejaculation may or may not occur, depending on whether the female jumps away or not, and during the mount both the male and female gives the retracted lips grin display and both or just the female may emit twitter (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). This behavior only occurs between adult males and adult females in maximum estrus (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972).
• piggyback mount: This mount is non-copulatory and differs from intromission mount in that the mounting individual is higher up on the back of the individual being mounted and the individual being mounted reaches back and grabs the legs of the one doing the mounting and may take a few steps carrying the other piggyback style (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). During this behavior both participants give the retracted lips grin and twitter loudly (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). This behavior is seen in a variety of situations including: a greeting when two individuals are reunited, during tense social interactions, in between grooming bouts, and during play (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). This behavior is done by either sex to either sex (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972).

Male talapoin monkeys masturbate at high frequencies, even when females are in estrus (Dixson et al., 1975). They masturbate using their hands and mouth, but the ejaculate is almost never consumed (Dixson et al., 1975). Females will also occasionally masturbate (Dixson et al., 1975). Sometimes female will make a presentation posture and twitter while masturbating (Dixson et al., 1975).

Last Updated: October 15, 2003.
[Talapoin Monkey] [Morphology] [Range] [Ecology] [Locomotion] [Social Behavior] [Vocal Communication] [Olfactory Communication] [Visual Communication] [Tactile Communication] [Reproduction] [References] [The Primata] [Primate Fact Sheets] [Subfamily Cercopithecinae] [Miopithecus Links]