Diana Monkey (Wildlife Collection by CollectA)

The Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) is a species of catarrhine (old-world) monkey native to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d’Ivoire. It’s named after the Roman goddess, Diana, goddess of wild animals and hunting, and the boundary between the wild and civilization, among other things. The Diana monkey gets this name due to its white crescent-shaped browband, which resembles the bow that the goddess is often depicted with. CollectA released a figure of this species in 2014. It’s the only figure of the Diana monkey currently in production and the second to ever be produced. Play Visions released a Diana monkey in 1998 but it has long since been retired.

The Diana monkey inhabits high canopy mature semi-deciduous forests where they feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, flowers, and insects. They live in social groups made up of 5-50 individuals, typically a single male and numerous females and their offspring. They are fed upon by crowned eagles, chimpanzees, leopards, and humans. It is currently listed as endangered.

Excluding their tail, the Diana monkey typically measures 17.5” (44cm) in length. The CollectA figure measures 2.25” (5.7cm) from nose to rump, putting the figure at about 1/8 in scale. Including the tail and the bend in it, the figure measures about 4”.

The figure is presented striding forward quadrupedally. The tail is lifted high with a drop about halfway down its length. On my figure the tail tip props the toy up so that the right hindlimb is slightly lifted off the ground. A hot-cold treatment with the tail fixes this, at least momentarily.

This is a beautifully rendered figure, especially considering its small size. The face has a bit of a goofy, uncanny valley feel to it when viewed head-on, but this isn’t unusual with toy primates. All the hallmarks of the species are clearly displayed. There’s the namesake crescent brow and a white beard, with longer hair around the face, and a short coat of fine hair etched across the sculpt. The palms and soles of the five-fingered digits are padded and hairless. No external genitalia are present, so I suppose that makes this monkey a female.

The toy is primarily black with a dark brown back. The black face is boarded by white markings that extend down the neck and arms. The browband and beard are also white. A white stripe runs down across each thigh and the rump and inside of the thighs are red. It’s a paintjob that does this attractive species justice.

The CollectA Diana monkey is just the sort of figure that gets me excited in this hobby and a refreshing change of pace from the usual, more popular species. No collection that values biodiversity and unique fauna would be complete without it. Get it before it is discontinued, because it may be a long time before we get another. The CollectA Diana monkey is currently in production and retails for about $7.00.