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talapoin

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tal⋅a⋅poin

[tal-uh-poin]
–noun
a small, yellowish guenon monkey, Micropithecus (Cercopithecus) talapoin, of western Africa.

Origin:
1580–90; < F, special use (orig. jocular) of talapoin Buddhist monk < Mon tɔelaʔ pian (written tīla puin) Buddha, lit., the Lord of Merit (Old Mon tirlaaʾ lord + Pali puñña merit)
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tal·a·poin   (tāl'ə-poin')   
n.  A small African monkey (Cercopithecus talapoin), the smallest of the guenons, having a long tail and greenish fur.

[French, from Portuguese talapões, pl. of talapão, monk.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

talapoin

either of two small species of monkeys found in swamp forests on each side of the lower Congo River and neighbouring river systems. Talapoins are the smallest of the Old World monkeys, weighing less than 2 kg (4.4 pounds). M. talapoin, which lives south and east of the river in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), has been known to science since the 18th century, whereas M. ogouensis, living north and west of the river in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) and Gabon, was recognized as a distinct species in the 1990s. Both species have long tails and greenish upperparts, but the colour of their fur and several other parts of the body is different and varies among individuals.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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