Titi monkey

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Titis
Brown Titi Monkey (Callicebus brunneus) (3419492981).jpg
Brown titi (Plecturocebus brunneus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Pitheciidae
Subfamily: Callicebinae
Pocock, 1925
Genera

Cheracebus
Callicebus
Plecturocebus

The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: Cheracebus, Callicebus, and Plecturocebus. [1] [2] This subfamily also contains the extinct genera Miocallicebus, Homunculus , and Carlocebus. [3]

Contents

Titi monkeys live in South America, from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, east through Brazil, and south to Bolivia and northern Paraguay.

Description

Depending on species, titis have a head and body length of 23–46 centimetres (9.1–18.1 in), and a tail, which is longer than the head and body, of 26–56 centimetres (10–22 in). [4] The different titi species vary substantially in coloring, but resemble each other in most other physical ways. They have long, soft fur, and it is usually reddish, brownish, grayish or blackish, and in most species the underside is lighter or more reddish than the upperside. Some species have contrasting blackish or whitish foreheads, while all members of the genus Cheracebus have a white half-collar. [5] The tail is always furry and is not prehensile.

Behaviour

Diurnal and arboreal, titis predominantly prefer dense forests near water. They easily jump from branch to branch, earning them their German name, Springaffen (jumping monkeys). They sleep at night, but can also take a midday nap.

Titis are territorial. They live in family groups that consist of parents and their offspring, about two to seven animals in total. They defend their territory by shouting and chasing off intruders but rarely engage in actual fighting. [4] Their grooming and communication is important for the co-operation of the group. They can typically be seen in pairs sitting or sleeping with tails entwined.

The diet of the titis consists mainly of fruits, although they also eat leaves, flowers, insects, bird eggs and small vertebrates. [4]

Titis are monogamous, mating for life. The female bears a single young after about a five-month gestation. Twins occur rarely, having been documented in only 1.4% of all births in captive groups of Plecturocebus moloch. [6] While the second infant usually does not survive, cases where neighbouring groups have adopted infants are known, suggesting that twins may be reared successfully under certain circumstances. [7] Often it is the father who cares for the young, carrying it and bringing it to the mother only for nursing. Fathers tend to engage in more grooming, food-sharing, inspecting, aggression and playing with infants than mothers. [8] The young are weaned after 5 months and are fully grown after two years. After three or more years, they leave their family group in order to find a mate. While the life expectancy of most species is unclear, the members of the genus Cheracebus may live for up to 12 years in the wild, [9] while members of the P. moloch group have been known to live for more than 25 years in captivity. [4]

They make elaborate, powerful vocal duets used in long-range communication. [10]

Classification

The number of known species of titis has doubled in recent years, with eight, P. stephennashi, P. bernhardi, P. caquetensis, P. aureipalatii,P. miltoni, P.urubambensis, P. grovesi, and P. parecis being described from the Amazon basin since 2000. Furthermore, the most recent review uses the phylogenetic species concept (thereby not recognizing the concept of subspecies) rather than the 'traditional' biological species concept. [5] The classification presented here is therefore very different from the classifications used twenty years ago. The naming rights to a recently discovered species were auctioned off (with the funds going to a nonprofit organization), and the winner was the online casino GoldenPalace.com, as reflected in both the common and scientific name of P. aureipalatii. [11] While this typically is a highly unusual event in scientific classification, the possibility of naming a species of titi in exchange for a sizable donation to a nonprofit foundation was also presented a few years before, resulting in P. bernhardi being named after Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. [12]

A pair of white-eared titis (P. donacophilus) entwining tails. Callicebus donacophilus hugging tails.gk.jpg
A pair of white-eared titis (P. donacophilus) entwining tails.

Historically, titis were monogeneric and formed the genus Callicebus Thomas, 1903. Owing to the great diversity found across titi monkey species, a new genus-level taxonomy was recently proposed that recognises three genera within the subfamily Callicebinae; Cheracebus Byrne et al. (2016) for the species of the torquatus group (Widow titis); Callicebus Thomas, 1903, for species of the Atlantic Forest personatus group; and Plecturocebus Byrne et al. (2016) for the Amazonian and Chaco titis of the moloch and donacophilus groups. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitheciidae</span> Family of mammals

The Pitheciidae are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly, they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris. Most species are native to the Amazon region of Brazil, with some being found from Colombia in the north to Bolivia in the south.

<i>Callicebus</i> Genus of New World monkeys

Callicebus is a genus of monkeys known as titi monkeys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madidi titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Madidi titi monkey, also known as the GoldenPalace.com monkey or the golden palace monkey, is a titi, a kind of New World monkey, discovered in western Bolivia's Madidi National Park in 2004. Its scientific name is Plecturocebus aureipalatii, the specific epithet meaning "of the Golden Palace", in reference to GoldenPalace.com, an online casino which paid US$650,000 to have the species named after it, with benefits going toward the nonprofit organization that maintains the park where the titi was discovered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collared titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The collared titi monkey is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to northern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-bellied titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The red-bellied titi monkey or dusky titi is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil. It lives in forests and thickets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal black-handed titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The coastal black-handed titi monkey is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-eared titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The white-eared titi monkey also known as the Bolivian titi or Bolivian gray titi, is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from eastern Bolivia and an area of western Brazil. The species has a range that extends east from the Manique River in Beni Department, Bolivia to southern Rondônia in Brazil. The southern end of its range includes forests around the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The brown titi monkey is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America. It is endemic to Brazil. It was originally described as Callicebus brunneus in 1842 and transferred to the newly erected genus Plecturocebus in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Bernhard's titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

Prince Bernhard's titi monkey, also called the zog-zog monkey, is a species of titi monkey in the genus Plecturocebus, first described in 2002. It is named after Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. They have varying coloration of gray, black, and agouti, with dark orange in certain regions. They are endemic to Brazil, found mostly in disturbed forest environments. While officially listed as least-concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they may, in fact, be at-risk due to human-caused deforestation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornate titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The ornate titi monkey is a species of titi monkey and is the smallest member of the family Pitheciidae, which also includes uakaris and saki monkeys. As it is a member of this family, it is classified as a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to eastern Colombia, and the only member of the Plecturocebus moloch group to occur north of the Rios Amazonas/Solimes/Napo axis, living at least 350 km away from the closest other member, the white-tailed titi, which lives in the south of Colombia. It was once classified as the same species as the white-tailed titi, but is now officially recognized as its own species. The ornate titi is also terrestrial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caquetá titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Caquetá titi monkey, also known as the red-bearded titi or the bushy-bearded titi, is a species of titi monkey endemic to Colombia found in the Department of Caquetá region. Taxonomically, it is a member of the "Callicebus cupreus group", following Shunsuke Kobayashi's Callicebus grouping. It was first described by Thomas Defler, Marta Bueno and Javier Garcia in 2010. It is highly endangered due to habitat fragmentation and a small population.

Milton's titi monkey is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from southern Amazon rainforest, Brazil. It was named after the Brazilian primatologist Milton Thiago de Mello. Milton's titi was discovered in 2011 by Julio César Dalponte, and recognized as a new species in 2014.

<i>Primate Conservation</i> (journal) Academic journal

Primate Conservation is a journal published by the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Primate Specialist Group about the world's primates. First published as a mimeographed newsletter in 1981, the journal today publishes conservation research and papers on primate species, particularly status surveys and studies on distribution and ecology. Besides these regular papers, the journal has also been a significant place for primatologists to publish descriptions of new primate species in Primate Conservation.

Miocallicebus is an extinct genus of New World monkeys from the Middle Miocene. Its remains have been found at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Colombia. The type species is Miocallicebus villaviejai.

<i>Plecturocebus</i> Genus of New World monkeys

Plecturocebus is one of three genera of titi monkeys.

<i>Cheracebus</i> Genus of New World monkeys

Cheracebus is one of three genera of titi monkeys. Monkeys in this genus, particularly the type species Cheracebus lugens, are sometimes referred to as widow titi monkeys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alta Floresta titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Alta Floresta titi monkey, also known as the Groves' titi monkey, is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil. It was described from the municipality of Alta Floresta in the state of Mato Grosso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urubamba brown titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Urubamba brown titi monkey is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Peru.

The Parecis titi monkey is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Brazil. It is popularly referred to as zogue-zogue in Portuguese, and as otôhô in the local Paresi language.

References

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