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What the sources say

MandrillMandrillus sphinx

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Mandrill profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 66 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan

Mandrillus sphinx (mandrill). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

The page sayssouthwestern Cameroon, western Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southwestern Congo
The source saysMandrills are found in southwestern Cameroon, western Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southwestern Congo.
The page saysFruit, seeds, fungi, roots, and insects, plus snails, worms, frogs, lizards, and sometimes snakes and small vertebrates
The source saysMandrills have a highly varied diet including fruit, seeds, fungi, roots, insects, snails, worms, frogs, lizards, and sometimes snakes and even small vertebrates.
The page saysblue ridges run down each side of the muzzle, with a red stripe down its middle and around the nostrils
The source saysA mandrill's face has a red stripe down the middle of the muzzle and aroung the nostrils, while the sides of the muzzle are ridged lengthwise and colored blue.
The page saysMandrills live in southwestern Cameroon, western Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southwestern Congo
The source saysMandrills are found in southwestern Cameroon, western Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and southwestern Congo.
The page saysThey eat fruit, seeds, fungi, roots, and insects, plus snails, worms, frogs, lizards, and sometimes snakes and small vertebrates.
The source saysMandrills have a highly varied diet including fruit, seeds, fungi, roots, insects, snails, worms, frogs, lizards, and sometimes snakes and even small vertebrates.
The page saystags: omnivore
The source saysMandrills have a highly varied diet including fruit, seeds, fungi, roots, insects, snails, worms, frogs, lizards, and sometimes snakes and even small vertebrates.

Source
02

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Mandrill. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The page saysMales are the largest monkeys alive
The source saysThe male mandrill is the largest living monkey.
The page saysMandrills live in small social units that often join other groups to form larger ones called hordes.
The source saysMandrills live in small social units, but often join up with other small groups to form larger ones called hordes.
The page saysOne of the largest groups documented numbered more than 1,200 mandrills.
The source saysOne of the largest groups documented numbered over 1,200 mandrills!
The page saysHordes are noisy, keeping in touch with deep grunts and high-pitched screams while they forage and travel.
The source saysMandrill hordes are noisy. They communicate with deep grunts and high-pitched screams while they forage and travel.
The page saysMale mandrills are the largest monkeys alive
The source saysThe male mandrill is the largest living monkey.
The page saysMales rub it on objects
The source saysMale mandrills have a scent gland on their chest that they rub on objects
The page saysMales weigh 18 to 33 kilograms (about 55 pounds)
The source saysmales, 55 pounds (18 to 33 kilograms)Note: about 55 pounds is the page's own figure for males, with 18 to 33 kilograms in brackets.
The page saysstand about 80 centimeters (32 inches) tall
The source saysmales, about 32 inches (62 to 110 centimeters)Note: 80 centimeters is the rounded conversion of the page's 32 inches; ADW gives the same height ('about 80 cm').
The page saysFemales are about half their size
The source saysThey are also much smaller, about half the size of the adult males.
The page saysat 11 to 13 kilograms (about 25 pounds)
The source saysWeight: Females, 25 pounds (11 to 13 kilograms)
The page saysIn human care, a mandrill's median life expectancy is about 20 years.
The source saysFor mandrills in managed care, median life expectancy is about 20 years
The page saysMandrill canine teeth can be more than 5 centimeters (2 inches) long
The source sayscanine teeth, which can be over 2 inches (5 centimeters) long
The page saysMales spend most of their time foraging on the ground, while females and young find food in the trees
The source saysMale mandrills spend most of their time on the ground, foraging for seeds, nuts, fruits, and small animals. Females and youngsters find their food in the trees.
The page saysmandrills climb trees to sleep, picking a different tree each evening
The source saysThey do climb trees, though, and even sleep there, selecting a different tree each evening.
The page saysSmall units often join up into larger groups called hordes
The source saysMandrills live in small social units, but often join up with other small groups to form larger ones called hordes.
The page saysone of the largest documented numbered more than 1,200 mandrills
The source saysOne of the largest groups documented numbered over 1,200 mandrills!
The page saysIllegal logging, forest clearing for farms, and the growing commercial bushmeat trade threaten it.
The source saysConservation organizations are working to protect mandrill habitat from illegal logging and the growing commercial bushmeat trade. ... mandrills are losing their habitat to logging and clearing of forests for agricultural use.
The page saysdangerLevel: High
The source saysThis is no slight gesture, as the mandrill is strong and muscular with powerful limbs. This is a convincing hint to back off!Note: High is 'Dangerous when cornered or provoked'. SDZ also gives canines over 5 cm.

Source
03

Abernethy & Maisels 2019

Abernethy & Maisels (2019). Mandrillus sphinx. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T12754A17952325.

The page saysThe IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable.
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU).

Source
04

Renoult et al. 2011

Renoult et al. (2011). The Evolution of the Multicoloured Face of Mandrills: Insights from the Perceptual Space of Colour Vision. PLoS ONE.

The page saysfaces colored blue by light-scattering collagen
The source saysblue colouration results from coherent scattering of light by quasi-ordered arrays of dermal collagen fibrils
The page saysand red by blood
The source saysred skin colouration is induced by haemoglobins in blood flow
The page saysSkin colored blue by light-scattering collagen
The source saysblue colouration results from coherent scattering of light by quasi-ordered arrays of dermal collagen fibrils
The page saysred by blood, both most saturated in the top-ranked males
The source saysTop-ranked males are the most saturated for both blue and red colours
The page sayscollagen fibers in the skin, the protein that makes skin tough, are laid out in nearly regular arrays that scatter light into blue
The source saysblue colouration results from coherent scattering of light by quasi-ordered arrays of dermal collagen fibrils
The page saysthe protein that makes skin tough
The source saysthe primary role of collagen to confer skin resistance
The page saysThe red comes from blood. Top-ranked males have the most testosterone, which saturates red skin by widening its blood vessels.
The source saystop-ranked males have the highest levels of circulating testosterone [36] , which causes red saturated skins by peripheral vasodilatation
The page saysThe blue comes from coherent scattering: collagen fibers in the skin
The source saysblue colouration results from coherent scattering of light by quasi-ordered arrays of dermal collagen fibrils
The page saysthe protein that makes skin tough, are laid out in nearly regular arrays that scatter light into blue
The source saysblue colouration results from coherent scattering of light by quasi-ordered arrays of dermal collagen fibrils [27] . Although the evolution of blue hue may be constrained by the primary role of collagen to confer skin resistance
The page saysThe red comes from blood.
The source saysred skin colouration is induced by haemoglobins in blood flow
The page saysThe more saturated the colors, the higher the rank.
The source saysHigher-ranking males have more saturated blues and reds than lower-ranking males
The page saysResearchers who measured facial color in 34 adult males
The source sayswe recorded colour spectra of 34 mature males
The page saysliving in forested enclosures at a medical research center in Gabon
The source saysCentre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville’, Gabon (CIRMF) in naturally forested enclosures
The page sayshigher-ranking males carry more saturated blue and red than lower-ranking ones
The source saysHigher-ranking males have more saturated blues and reds than lower-ranking males
The page saysthe contrast between the two colors indicates rank more accurately than either color alone
The source saysalthough blue saturation, red saturation and the contrast between blue and red colours are all correlated with dominance, dominance is most accurately indicated by the blue-red contrast
The page saysTop-ranked males also have the most testosterone, which saturates red skin by widening its blood vessels.
The source saystop-ranked males have the highest levels of circulating testosterone [36] , which causes red saturated skins by peripheral vasodilatation
The page saysHis blue comes from collagen fibers laid out in near-regular arrays that scatter light
The source saysblue colouration results from coherent scattering of light by quasi-ordered arrays of dermal collagen fibrilsNote: vibe.reason (#692/#693)
The page sayshis red from blood, and the more saturated both colors, the higher he ranks
The source saysTop-ranked males are the most saturated for both blue and red coloursNote: vibe.reason (#692/#693)
The page sayshis red from blood
The source saysred skin colouration is induced by haemoglobins in blood flowNote: vibe.reason (#692/#693)

Source
05

Setchell & Dixson 2001

Setchell & Dixson (2001). Changes in the Secondary Sexual Adornments of Male Mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) Are Associated with Gain and Loss of Alpha Status. Hormones and Behavior.

The page saysIn a study of two groups in similar enclosures
The source saysTwo semifree-ranging mandrill groups, inhabiting large, naturally rainforested enclosures in Gabon
The page saysthe four males who rose to alpha rank gained testosterone and redder skin on the face and genitals
The source saysGaining alpha rank (N = 4 males) resulted in increased testicular size and circulating testosterone, reddening of the sexual skin on the face and genitalia
The page saysthe four who lost alpha rank saw their red patches shrink. Blue stayed the same either way.
The source saysBlue sexual skin coloration was unaffected. ... Loss of alpha position (N = 4 males) resulted in less pronounced effects than those that occurred after males had risen to alpha positions. Deposed alpha males showed decreased testicular volume, decreased body mass, a reduction in the extent of red (but not blue) sexual skin coloration
The page saysA change in rank shows on the skin.
The source saysSecondary sexual traits respond to changes in male social status

Source
06

Leigh et al. 2008

Leigh et al. (2008). Canine tooth size and fitness in male mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx). Journal of Human Evolution.

The page sayscanine teeth whose length tracks their breeding years
The source saysThese factors combine to constrain male reproductive opportunities to a brief timespan, defined by the period of maximum canine length.
The page saysmales fathered offspring almost exclusively once their canines passed roughly 30 millimeters, about two-thirds of the average adult length of 45 millimeters
The source saysMale mandrills sire offspring almost exclusively when their canines exceed approximately 30 mm, or two-thirds of average adult value (45 mm).
The page saysfathers had larger canines than males that sired none
The source saysMoreover, sires have larger canines than nonsires.
The page saysWear shrinks the tooth with age, in step with the end of a male's breeding years.
The source saysThe tooth diminishes through wear as animals age, corresponding with, and perhaps influencing, reproductive senescence.
The page saysA long-term study
The source saysThis long-term study of mandrill monkeys (Mandrillus sphinx)
The page saysa long-term study tied them to breeding
The source saysThis long-term study of mandrill monkeys (Mandrillus sphinx) demonstrates how age-related changes in canine tooth weaponry and adult canine size correlate closely with male lifetime reproductive success.
The page saysMales fathered offspring almost exclusively once their canines passed roughly 30 millimeters, about two-thirds of the average adult length of 45 millimeters
The source saysMale mandrills sire offspring almost exclusively when their canines exceed approximately 30 mm, or two-thirds of average adult value (45 mm).
The page saysfathers had larger canines than males that sired none
The source saysMoreover, sires have larger canines than nonsires.
The page saysWear shrinks the tooth with age, in step with the end of a male's breeding years.
The source saysThe tooth diminishes through wear as animals age, corresponding with, and perhaps influencing, reproductive senescence.

Source
07

Setchell et al. 2010

Setchell et al. (2010). Chemical Composition of Scent-Gland Secretions in an Old World Monkey (Mandrillus sphinx): Influence of Sex, Male Status, and Individual Identity. Chemical Senses.

The page saysA mandrill's chest carries a scent gland.
The source saysthe presence of a sternal scent-gland in the mandrill
The page saysthe chemical mix of its secretion carries the owner's sex and age, plus rank in males
The source saysvolatile profiles convey both variable (age, dominance rank in males) and fixed (sex, possibly individual identity) information about the signaler

Source
08

Harrison 1988

Harrison (1988). The mandrill in Gabon's rain forest - ecology, distribution and status. Oryx.

The page saysPrimary rainforest, and secondary forest too
The source saysThe preferred habitat of mandrills is primary rain forest, although they do use secondary forest
The page sayspreferring primary rainforest but also using secondary forest
The source saysThe preferred habitat of mandrills is primary rain forest, although they do use secondary forest
The page saysTheir natural predators are probably limited to leopards, crowned eagles, and possibly chimpanzees and some snakes.
The source saysNatural predators are probably limited to the leopard Panthera pardus, the crowned eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus, and potentially the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes and some of the snakes
The page saysIn 1983 the researcher Michael Harrison was following a group of about 40 mandrills in Gabon when they flushed a leopard from a small cave.
The source saysIn March 1983 in the Lope Reserve, I was following a group of some 40 individuals as they picked through the leaf litter in dense undergrowth that covered steep ravines, when they flushed a leopard from a small cave.
The page saysThe mandrills scattered, screaming; most climbed into the lower canopy and kept watching the leopard as it walked calmly away.
The source saysThe mandrills exploded into a confusion of scattering and screaming; most climbed into the lower canopy while keeping visual track of the leopard as he walked calmly away
The page saysGroups vary from 15 animals to aggregations of 250 or more
The source saysvarying in size from small groups of 15 individuals to large aggregations of 250 or more
The page saystwo studies found larger groups more common in the lesser fruiting season
The source saysSeasonal patterns in mandrill groupings were found by both Jouventin (1975) and Hoshino et al. (1984): small groups of mandrills were more common in the major fruiting season, while larger groups were more common in the minor fruiting season

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.