Coimbra Filho's titi monkey (''Callicebus coimbrai'') or just Coimbra's titi is a species of
titi
The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: ''Cheracebus'', ''Callicebus'', and ''Plecturocebus.'' This subfamily also contains the extinct genera ''Miocallicebus, Homuncul ...
, a type of
New World monkey
New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ( ...
,
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to forests in the
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian states of
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
and
Sergipe
Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...
.
It was first discovered by
Shuji Kobayashi. It is considered one of the most endangered of all
Neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bioge ...
primates.
It is named after
Adelmar F. Coimbra-Filho, founder and Former Director of the Rio de Janeiro Primate Centre, in honor of his work in the field of Brazilian
primatology
Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse Academic discipline, discipline at the boundary between mammalogy and anthropology, and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medici ...
and
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
.
Physical description
The most distinct of Coimbra Filho's titi's features, from other members of the ''personatus'' group, include its black
forehead
In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fore ...
,
crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
, and
ear
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...
area, as well as a
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
-like pattern on the anterior of its back.
[ Coimbra Filho's titi is also differentiated from other members of the ''personatus'' group by the shape of both its ]skull
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
and its teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...
. Compared to other members of its group, the skull is smaller, and shaped slightly differently. Its teeth are also more U-shaped, as opposed to the more V-shaped teeth exhibited by other members of the ''personatus'' group.[ It also features different dental topography on its upper first and second molars when compared to other members of the group.][
]
Habitat and distribution
The preferred habitat for Coimbra Filho's titi consists of densely wooded areas, preferring the dense understory and lower canopy.[ However, it is able to survive in damaged or fragmented forests, which currently comprise a large portion of its range. This is due to a tolerance to highly disturbed areas, as well as the ability to subsist in areas composed primarily of young or second growth forests.] While other species in ''Callicebus
''Callicebus'' is a genus of monkeys known as titi monkeys.
Historically, titis were monogeneric, comprising only the genus ''Callicebus'' Thomas, 1903. Owing to the great diversity found across titi monkey species, a new genus-level taxonomy wa ...
'' are native to many areas of South America from Colombia to Brazil, Peru and north Paraguay, Coimbra Filho's titi is found only in a very small area in the states of Bahia and Sergipe in coastal northeastern Brazil.
Behavior
Coimbra Filho's titi, like most titis, is a folivore
In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...
-frugivore
A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance an ...
, with a diet consisting mostly of leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
, but also including various fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s.
Coimbra Filho's titi generally lives in small groups consisting of three to five members. Such a group generally contains a breeding pair and its direct offspring that have yet to reach sexual maturity
Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definitio ...
.[ However, upon reaching sexual maturity, individuals leave their natal groups, and often immigrate to new areas. Their range size varies, with some occurrences recorded of ranges as small as , and others larger than .][ Coimbra Filho's titi has also been noted to exhibit extreme ]territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
and defensive
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indust ...
behavior when threatened.[
]
Conservation
Coimbra Filho's titi is currently considered endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
on the IUCN Redlist
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
due to a variety of threats, both natural and anthropogenic
Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to:
* Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity
Counterintuitively, anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows:
* Human im ...
, including habitat loss, habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...
, limited reproductive options, and increased predation. The primary biological threat to Coimbra Filho's titi comes from its mating behavior. While juvenile members of the species remain in their natal groups, upon sexual maturity they leave and set off upon their own. Coupled with the habitat fragmentation faced by the species, this behavior limits the number of sexually mature individuals in each fragment of the population, limiting reproductive options.[ The species' natural geographical distribution also contributes a threat to the species. Coimbra Filho's titi only naturally occurs in the ]Atlantic coastal forests
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as ...
in northeastern Brazil. This is a relatively small area in the states of Sergipe and Bahia.[ Due to this small range, any disturbances to these areas pose a larger than normal threat to the species' survival.][ More than anything else, however, human interference is the source of many problems to Coimbra Filho's titi. The areas around and inside its habitat are being developed, including paving roads and the promotion of tourism. Similarly, it is facing habitat loss due to increased ]logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
in the area. Wooded areas inhabited by Coimbra Filho's Titi are also being rapidly converted into pastures for grazing and ranching. By the early 1900s, the coastal forests in Sergipe had been reduced to less than 40% of the size of their original cover. This trend continued throughout the 20th century, and these coastal forests now cover less than 1% of their original size.[ These activities are leading to increased habitat fragmentation. This fragmentation limits the size of breeding populations, limiting genetic diversity. This fragmentation also increases the risk of predation, as titis are forced to move from one fragment to another, exposing them to increased risk of predation.][
Coimbra Filho's titi was placed on Brazil's Official List of Threatened Fauna in 2003, managed by the Committee for the Conservation and Management of the Primates of the Northern Atlantic Forest and Caatinga.] This organization is responsible for studying the current status and threats to the species, as well as developing and managing a plan for the species conservation.
As of 2005, no attempts have been made at beginning a captive breeding program for the species, despite an estimated wild population of only 500 to 1000 individuals remaining.[
Current studies have shown that due to the species relatively large number of populations, as well as its tolerance to habitat loss and fragmentation, the species has a positive outlook. However action must be taken to prevent further habitat loss and fragmentation from threatening the species, as well as the implementation of plans to aid in the species' sustainability.][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1107227
Coimbra Filho's titi
Coimbra Filho's titi monkey (''Callicebus coimbrai'') or just Coimbra's titi is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey, endemic to forests in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Sergipe. It was first discovered by Shuji Kobayashi. It is co ...
Mammals of Brazil
Endemic fauna of Brazil
Coimbra Filho's titi
Coimbra Filho's titi monkey (''Callicebus coimbrai'') or just Coimbra's titi is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey, endemic to forests in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Sergipe. It was first discovered by Shuji Kobayashi. It is co ...