Gelada
GELADA, the Abyssinian name of a large species of baboon, differing from the members of the genus Papio (see Baboon) by the nostrils being situated some distance above the extremity of the muzzle, and hence made the type of a separate genus, under the name of Theropithecus gelada. In the heavy mantle of long brown hair covering the fore-quarters of the old males, with the exception of the bare chest, which is reddish flesh-colour, the gelada recalls the Arabian baboon (Papio hamadryas), and from this common feature it has been proposed to place the two species in the same genus. The gelada inhabits the mountains of Abyssinia, where, like other baboons, it descends in droves to pillage cultivated lands. A second species, or race, Theropithecus obscurus, distinguished by its darker hairs and the presence of a bare flesh-coloured ring round each eye, inhabits the eastern confines of Abyssinia.
(R. L.*)
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
