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Vervet monkey vision: the science and the numbers

Chlorocebus aethiops · order Primates · Mammals: all the numbers

The vervet monkey has 3 colour receptor classes (434, 535 and 566 nm), like most people.[1] Its sharpest vision resolves 55.23 cycles per degree, against 63.75 for people in this dataset.[5]

See it on your photoBack to How does the vervet monkey see?
  • 3colour receptor classesMeasured
  • 55.23cycles per degree (sharpness)Measured

The vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) is a mammal in the order Primates. Its eyes belong to the vision type Human-like trichromat: three cone types, sharp central vision and a wide zone seen by both eyes. Measured in this species: colour, sharpness and night vision. Measured core: measured values on at least 3 of the 6 dials.

This is a simulation built from published eye measurements, not what the animal experiences.

Method: How we know what animals see (the See Like Animals vision engine) · Sources · Last updated . Every value below carries its evidence level and sources; nothing is typed by hand.

What the vervet monkey sees: colour receptors

Vervet monkey colour receptor peaks, 300 to 700 nmVervet monkey: 3 receptor peaks at 434, 535, 566 nm; you: 3 at 421.5, 532, 558.4 nm. ultraviolet300400500600700
Vervet monkey: 434, 535, 566 nmPeople: 421.5, 532, 558.4 nmWavelength in nanometres

What stands out

  • It has three colour receptor classes, like most people.
  • Its sharpest vision resolves 55.23 cycles per degree: the finest stripe pattern it can tell apart from grey.
  • Activity pattern: diurnal.

The six dials

Evidence levels: how the tiers work. "Measured" means a value measured in this species; "Estimated" values come from a close relative or an eye-size formula. The last column gives the values for people from the same catalogue.

Vision values for the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), catalogue-v1
DialValueEvidenceSourcesPeople
ColourColour receptors
3 receptor classes: 434 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 535 nm (MWS (green)), 566 nm (LWS (long))
measured in this species
Measured[1]Colour receptors: 3 receptor classes: 421.5 nm (VS/SWS (violet)), 532 nm (MWS (green)), 558.4 nm (LWS (long)) Measured (not re-verified)[1][2][3][4]
SharpnessAcuity
55.23 cycles per degree
median of 1 anatomical-ganglion rows (method priority rule)
Measured[5]Acuity: 63.75 cycles per degree Measured[6][5]
Field of viewBinocular overlap
140°
median of 1 relatives in family Cercopithecidae: Macaca mulatta
Estimated[7]Binocular overlap: 122.5° Measured[7][8]
Total field of view: 200° Measured (not re-verified)[9]
Blind area behind the head: 160° Derived[9]
Eye placement: frontal Derived[7][8]
Total field of view
200°
median species-v1 total field of order Primates: Homo sapiens
Group default[9]
Sharp zones (foveas)Number of foveas
1
median of 1 relatives in genus Chlorocebus: Chlorocebus sabaeus
Estimated[10]Number of foveas: 1 Measured[10]
Fovea type: fovea Measured[10]
Fovea type
fovea		Estimated[10]
Night visionActivity pattern
diurnal
mode of 5 rows (of 5 rows): diurnal; photopic
Measured (not re-verified)[11][1][12][13][14]Activity pattern: diurnal Measured (not re-verified)[15][16][11][1][12][17][13][14]
Pupil shape: vertical Group default[18][19]
Reflective layer (tapetum): no Measured[20]
Rods vs cones: cone-dominated Derived[15][16][11][1][12][17][13][14]
Rods vs cones
cone-dominated
nocturnal -> rod-dominated; crepuscular / cathemeral / mixed -> mixed; diurnal -> cone-dominated
Derived[11][1][12][13][14]
Motion (flicker fusion)Flicker fusion frequency
73.5 Hz
median of 2 relatives in family Cercopithecidae: Macaca mulatta, Macaca nemestrina
Estimated[21][22][23]Flicker fusion frequency: 60 Hz Measured[21][22]

All mammals side by side: Mammals: every measurement. Method: how we know what animals see.

Sources

  1. Longcore 2023
  2. Kirwan
  3. Müller et al. 2009
  4. Thermal Activation and Photoactivation of Visual… 2004
  5. Veilleux et al. 2014
  6. Kirk et al. 2004
  7. Heesy 2004
  8. Heffner et al. 1992
  9. Campbell & Green 1965
  10. Kopania et al. 2025
  11. Wilman et al. 2014
  12. Maor et al. 2017
  13. Schmitz et al. 2011
  14. Moura et al. 2024
  15. Anderson et al. 2017
  16. Borges et al. 2018
  17. Jones et al. 2009
  18. Banks et al. 2015
  19. Cervino et al. 2021
  20. Guareschi et al. 2025
  21. Healy et al. 2013
  22. Inger et al. 2014
  23. Lafitte et al. 2022

Every value cites its sources (all sources). Values were extracted from these works and converted (units, medians, derived values); changes are ours, and the listed sources do not endorse this site. Data: catalogue-v1, built 2026-09-29. Accuracy notes: how accurate is this? Method: how we know.