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Here are two species that people tend to get mixed up on because of simple reasoning... They have horns.... Well, today, I hopefully can help the majority of you guys out and hopefully help you guys on not mixing these two unique species up.
Where to NOT start:
People usually just look at the horns and make an assumption of the species based on whether the horn looks more "reared" or more "straight". Well, Sorry to disappoint you but that's actually the easiest way to get these species mixed up. Only the larger mature specimens of C. darlingi and C. marshalli can be more identifiable, but even then it can be confusing to the majority of people. Why? Because while the C. darlingi may have curved horns, not all C. marshalli have very "straight" horns, as a matter of experience, some C. marshalli may have a bit more curved straight horn than others and not all specimens are the same because many specimens can drastically be different in terms of the "straight" in regards to how straight the horn of a C. marshalli is. Also note C. darlingi also tends to develop their horns much faster at smaller sizes than C. marshalli. Meaning that C. marshalli develops their horns at a slower pace than C. darlingi.
Comparison and Spotting Differences:
As previously stated. Do not use the horns as the only single reference because it's useless most of the times. Adults are a bit easier to identify with the horns because their horns are mostly developed by then, but anything sub-adult and under is much more challenging. An example as to why I say horns are mostly useless is because people are usually trying to identify their juveniles specimens and let me tell you some advice on identifying C. marshalli and C. darlingi juveniles: IT'S USELESS BECAUSE JUVENILES DO NOT HAVE FULLY DEVELOPED HORNS YET.
So please don't rely on the horn shape comparison alone.
The most effective way to identify on whether you have the C. darlingi or C. marshalli is to look at the carapace. Yes, believe it or not, both of these species have different carapace colors. So, you're wondering what are these colors?
C. marshalli Carapace Colors- More of a Brown, Yellow/gold, or Light-Brown color striping with black.
C. darlingi Carapace Colors- More of a White, Silver, or Grey color Striping that is with black sometimes (specimens may vary).
Note: While this method works, just note that old specimens may have faded colors due to age so be cautious of older specimens.
Luckily I have pictures of C. marshalli and C. darlingi juveniles at the 2.5'' inch range as examples. These pictures will also show people why using the horn comparison isn't really useful for specimens that are not mature. I won't add pictures of mature female specimens because I don't have pictures of mature specimens at the moment, but once you get the gist of their carapace, the need of seeing adults wouldn't really matter.
Juvenile Ceratogyrus marshalli Female --
Notice how the horn isn't necessarily straight? The horn is a bit curved which people may think it's a C. darlingi, but this is a C. marshalli for sure. Like I stated on the carapace, notice the carapace? As you can see this specimen has a yellow or light brown color striping with black. Which this makes it easily identifiable as C. marshalli or The Straight Horn Baboon. Always note that juveniles do not have fully developed horns so don't rely on it alone.
Ceratogyrus marshalli - Juvenile Female 2.5'' Inches
Juvenile Ceratogyrus darlingi Female --
Now notice the horn? Yep, looks more defined than my C. marshalli, which as stated previously that C. darlingi develop their horns much faster than C. marshalli. But I still think the horn reference isn't helpful for identifying smaller or non-mature specimens. Now, notice the striping on the carapace? It's literally all silver and white, but some C. darlingi specimens may have some black striping with it as well. So in a way just picture a C. marshalli but instead of the gold, yellow, or brown, it's instead silver, white, or grey with black. Specimens of C. darlingi will vary in striping, but all of them will have white, silver, or grey in carapace coloration.
Ceratogyrus darlingi - Juvenile Female 2.5'' Inches
There's actually a lot more I can add, but I don't want a long essay. I'm not making a 100% guide, but rather some insight on identification.
As a bonus, I provided some pictures of mature males for the C. darlingi and C. marshalli. So please use these as references as well if you do get a mature male horned species and are not too sure which species is it. The carapace colors/striping stand out a lot between C. marshalli and C. darlingi Mature Males
Mature Male Ceratogyrus marshalli
Mature Male Ceratogyrus darlingi
This is not the most in-depth guide, but hopefully this helps on giving new owners of horned species some insight on whether they have C. darlingi or C. marshalli.
Where to NOT start:
People usually just look at the horns and make an assumption of the species based on whether the horn looks more "reared" or more "straight". Well, Sorry to disappoint you but that's actually the easiest way to get these species mixed up. Only the larger mature specimens of C. darlingi and C. marshalli can be more identifiable, but even then it can be confusing to the majority of people. Why? Because while the C. darlingi may have curved horns, not all C. marshalli have very "straight" horns, as a matter of experience, some C. marshalli may have a bit more curved straight horn than others and not all specimens are the same because many specimens can drastically be different in terms of the "straight" in regards to how straight the horn of a C. marshalli is. Also note C. darlingi also tends to develop their horns much faster at smaller sizes than C. marshalli. Meaning that C. marshalli develops their horns at a slower pace than C. darlingi.
Comparison and Spotting Differences:
As previously stated. Do not use the horns as the only single reference because it's useless most of the times. Adults are a bit easier to identify with the horns because their horns are mostly developed by then, but anything sub-adult and under is much more challenging. An example as to why I say horns are mostly useless is because people are usually trying to identify their juveniles specimens and let me tell you some advice on identifying C. marshalli and C. darlingi juveniles: IT'S USELESS BECAUSE JUVENILES DO NOT HAVE FULLY DEVELOPED HORNS YET.
So please don't rely on the horn shape comparison alone.
The most effective way to identify on whether you have the C. darlingi or C. marshalli is to look at the carapace. Yes, believe it or not, both of these species have different carapace colors. So, you're wondering what are these colors?
C. marshalli Carapace Colors- More of a Brown, Yellow/gold, or Light-Brown color striping with black.
C. darlingi Carapace Colors- More of a White, Silver, or Grey color Striping that is with black sometimes (specimens may vary).
Note: While this method works, just note that old specimens may have faded colors due to age so be cautious of older specimens.
Luckily I have pictures of C. marshalli and C. darlingi juveniles at the 2.5'' inch range as examples. These pictures will also show people why using the horn comparison isn't really useful for specimens that are not mature. I won't add pictures of mature female specimens because I don't have pictures of mature specimens at the moment, but once you get the gist of their carapace, the need of seeing adults wouldn't really matter.
Juvenile Ceratogyrus marshalli Female --
Notice how the horn isn't necessarily straight? The horn is a bit curved which people may think it's a C. darlingi, but this is a C. marshalli for sure. Like I stated on the carapace, notice the carapace? As you can see this specimen has a yellow or light brown color striping with black. Which this makes it easily identifiable as C. marshalli or The Straight Horn Baboon. Always note that juveniles do not have fully developed horns so don't rely on it alone.
Ceratogyrus marshalli - Juvenile Female 2.5'' Inches
Juvenile Ceratogyrus darlingi Female --
Now notice the horn? Yep, looks more defined than my C. marshalli, which as stated previously that C. darlingi develop their horns much faster than C. marshalli. But I still think the horn reference isn't helpful for identifying smaller or non-mature specimens. Now, notice the striping on the carapace? It's literally all silver and white, but some C. darlingi specimens may have some black striping with it as well. So in a way just picture a C. marshalli but instead of the gold, yellow, or brown, it's instead silver, white, or grey with black. Specimens of C. darlingi will vary in striping, but all of them will have white, silver, or grey in carapace coloration.
Ceratogyrus darlingi - Juvenile Female 2.5'' Inches
There's actually a lot more I can add, but I don't want a long essay. I'm not making a 100% guide, but rather some insight on identification.
As a bonus, I provided some pictures of mature males for the C. darlingi and C. marshalli. So please use these as references as well if you do get a mature male horned species and are not too sure which species is it. The carapace colors/striping stand out a lot between C. marshalli and C. darlingi Mature Males
Mature Male Ceratogyrus marshalli
Mature Male Ceratogyrus darlingi
This is not the most in-depth guide, but hopefully this helps on giving new owners of horned species some insight on whether they have C. darlingi or C. marshalli.
