The talapoin is one of the smallest monkeys (adult males weigh about 3 lbs (1.4 kg)) from Africa (Camaroon, Gabon, Angola and Congo) and has a small slender body, a round head, short snout and big ears. More recently the monkey has been categorized into two seperate species, the Angolan talapoin and the Gabon talapoin. Their coloring is mainly gray and white with some black edges and yellow thrown in to dazzle. It has legs that are longer than its arms and very long tail. They are good climbers and fast runners and are very active during the early morning and late afternoon. They also like to swim and dive into the water.

The small monkeys commonly live in family groups of between 10 and 20 individuals that are not particularly territorial. They sometimes come together to form much larger groups of up to 100. They eat all kinds of things as monkeys do like leaves, fruits, insects, seeds, eggs and other tiny animals they can grab.

The female is pregnant for 6 months and produces one newborn, already hairy and with its eyes open. The newborn develops quickly.