Mangabeys are West African Old World monkeys, with species in three of the six genera of tribe Papionini.

The more typical representatives of Cercocebus, also known as the white-eyelid mangabeys, are characterized by their bare, upper eyelids, which are lighter than their facial skin colouring, and the uniformly coloured hairs of their fur.

[1] Members of Lophocebus, the crested mangabeys, tend to have dark skin, eyelids that match their facial skin, and crests of hair on their heads.

A new species, the highland mangabey, was discovered in 2003 and was initially placed in Lophocebus.

[3] Lophocebus and Cercocebus were once thought to be very closely related, so much so that all the species were in one genus,[4] but the species within genus Lophocebus are now thought to be more closely related to the baboons in genus Papio,[4] while the species within genus Cercocebus are more closely related to the mandrill.