The so-called arc of deforestation is a major agricultural and industrial frontier in southern Amazonia and northern Cerrado of Brazil. As arboreal mammals, the primates in this region are therefore threatened by forest loss and fragmentation. At the same time, knowledge about the taxonomic diversity and distribution ranges of these taxa is incomplete, which might hamper efficient conservation measurements. New species have been recently discovered in this region, and their ranges remain imprecise because only a few occurrence records are available for each species. Here we present 192 new records of 22 species and subspecies of Alouatta, Aotus, Ateles, Cebus, Chiropotes, Lagothrix, Leontocebus, Pithecia, Plecturocebus, Saimiri, and Sapajus, collected in 56 different localities during 10 field expeditions across the arc of deforestation between 2015 and 2018. Based on these new records, we extend the ranges of Alouatta puruensis, Ateles chamek, and Saimiri collinsi; identify potential hybridization zones between A. puruensis and A. discolor, and between At. chamek and At. marginatus; redefine the range of Plecturocebus moloch; and clarify the ranges of P. baptista and P. hoffmannsi. Moreover, these results and the dataset are valuable for further research on, for example, species distribution and habitat use modeling, for assessing species extinction risks, and for supporting efforts for the conservation of species increasingly threatened on a global deforestation frontier.
Currently, 15 species of Amazon marmosets (genus Mico) are known to science. The Amazon marmosets occur primarily in southern Brazilian Amazonia, the arc of deforestation, and are among the least studied primates of the neotropics. This is particularly the case for M. acariensis and M. chrysoleucos, both endemic to the Aripuanã-Sucundurí interfluve, south-central Amazonia. Mico acariensis was not studied beyond the species description, and the only information currently available is the pelage colouration of the holotype, inferred coordinates of the type locality, and a field report with two additional localities of occurrence. Regarding M. chrysoleucos, in addition to the species description, there are taxonomic reviews, the report of a second occurrence record, and a study on the species range. We provide here new occurrence records that extend the distribution of M. chrysoleucos; provide new records for and update the distribution of M. acariensis; and propose the existence of a hybrid zone in the Aripuanã-Sucundurí interfluve, i.e. around the known distribution boundaries of M. acariensis, M. chrysoleucos, and M. melanurus, and we also discuss habitat use patterns of Amazon marmosets.
Estimating population densities and their trends over time is essential for understanding primate ecology and for guiding conservation efforts. From 2011 through to 2019, we counted two guenon species during seasonal road transect surveys in Lake Manyara National Park: the Tanzania-endemic Manyara monkey Cercopithecus mitis manyaraensis (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, IUCN, Red List category of "endangered") and the vervet monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus (Red List category of "least concern"). To account for imperfect detectability, we analysed the data in a line distance sampling framework, fitted species-specific detection functions, and subsequently estimated seasonal densities. To test for seasonal differences and yearly trends in the species-specific density estimates, we fitted generalized additive models. Seasonal point density estimates fluctuated considerably during the 9 years (2011-2019) of our study, ranging from 3 to 29 individuals km for Manyara monkeys and from 19 to 83 individuals km for vervet monkeys. Densities of both taxa did not differ seasonally, and we did not detect marked directional population trends. Our study illustrates the utility and limitations of line distance sampling for long-term primate monitoring. Beyond informing primate ecology and management, our results highlight the conservation importance of Lake Manyara National Park for primate conservation.
Alfaxan® (alfaxalone) is a steroid general anesthetic widely used in veterinary medicine for induction and maintenance of anesthesia in several species. While the use of alfaxalone in veterinary practice has several benefits compared to the use of other anesthetic agents, the fact that it is derived from progesterone may confound the measurement of the latter in the blood of animals under alfaxalone treatment. In the present case study, we report the measurement of serum progesterone in an individual common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) during five ovarian cycles in which luteolysis was induced by PGF2 . Blood samples were usually taken from the awake animal with the exception of the fifth cycle in which the sample was collected under alfaxalone anesthesia in connection with a tooth extraction. In contrast to the previous four cycles in which luteolysis resulted in the expected marked decrease in progesterone concentrations, the - apparent - progesterone level in the cycle under alfaxalone treatment remained unexpectedly high. Cross-reactivity of the non-specific antibody used in the progesterone assay with alfaxalone most likely explains this finding.
Peru has the highest diversity of members of the tamarin genus Leontocebus (Callitrichidae). However, for a number of taxa from this genus the distributional ranges are still not well known. In this paper we provide evidence for the extension of the southern range of Leontocebus fuscicollis fuscicollis to the right bank of the Río Abujao, south of which it is replaced by Leontocebus weddelli weddelli.
In 2020, a new subspecies was described in the Cercopithecus mitis complex, the Manyara monkey C. m. manyaraensis, Butynski & De Jong, 2020. The internal taxonomy of this species complex is still debated, and the phylogenetic relationships among the taxa are unclear. Here we provide the first mitochondrial sequence data for C. m. manyaraensis to determine its position within the mitochondrial phylogeny of C. mitis. This subspecies clusters within the youngest (internal divergences between 1.01 and 0.42 Ma) of three main taxonomic clades of C. mitis. Its sister lineages are C. m. boutourlinii (Ethiopia), C. m. albotorquatus (Kenya and Somalia), C. m. albogularis (Kenya and Tanzania), and C. m. monoides (Tanzania and Mozambique). In general, the phylogenetic tree of C. mitis based on mitochondrial sequence data indicates several paraphyletic relationships within the C. mitis complex. As in other African cercopithecines (e.g. Papio and Chlorocebus), these data are suitable for reconstructing historic biogeographical patterns, but they are only of limited value for delimitating taxa.