Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (''Pithecia mittermeieri'') is a disputed species of

saki monkey Sakis, or saki monkeys, are any of several New World monkeys of the genus ''Pithecia''. They are closely related to the bearded sakis of genus ''Chiropotes''. Range Sakis' range includes northern and central South America, extending from the so ...

, 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 ( ...

. It is

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 west-central

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 ...

Taxonomy

Populations in this species were formerly classified within the

Rio Tapajós saki The Rio Tapajós saki or Gray's bald-faced saki (''Pithecia irrorata'') is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America. It is found in parts of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, southeastern Peru and possibly nor ...

(''P. irrorata''), but a 2014 study described these populations as a distinct species, ''P. mittermeieri'', based on their distinctive

pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as ...

. However, a 2019 study, also analyzing pelage color variation across the range of the ''P. irrorata''

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

, delineated only two distinctive groups corresponding to ''P. irrorata'' and

Vanzolini's bald-faced saki Vanzolini's bald-faced saki (''Pithecia vanzolinii'') is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. Its range is in western Brazil. The monkey is named after Brazilian zoologist Paulo Vanzolini. This species was originally described by ...

(''P. vanzolini''), with the distinctive pelage used to distinguish ''P. mittermeieri'' falling within the range of variation of ''P. irrorata''. In addition, the study found that due to an unclear type locality, the holotype of ''P. irrorata'' may have been collected within the range of ''P. mittermeieri'', which would render ''mittermeieri'' instantly synonymous with ''P. irrorata''. Based on this study, the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

(tentatively, pending further phylogenetic studies) synonymized ''mittermeieri'' with ''irrorata'', but the

IUCN Red List 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 biol ...

and

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

retain ''mittermeieri'' as a distinct species. This species is named after famed American primatologist

Russell Mittermeier Russell Alan Mittermeier (born November 8, 1949) is a primatologist and herpetologist. He has written several books for both popular and scientist audiences, and has authored more than 300 scientific papers. Biography Russell A. Mittermeier is ...

Distribution

This species is

, where it is found south of the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

between the

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and

Tapajós The Tapajós ( pt, Rio Tapajós ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. It is one of the largest clearw ...

rivers. Their range has significantly shrunk from its former extent due to human impacts, and presently, most populations are found south of the

Aripuanã River Aripuanã River ( pt, Rio Aripuanã) is a river in the Mato Grosso and Amazonas states in north-western Brazil. It is a tributary of the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. The town of Novo Aripuanã is located on its banks where it merges into th ...

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighboring ...

state. In 2015, populations of this species were discovered in the northern

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and p ...

Description

This is one of the most variable of

saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultur ...

species in terms of coloration. Males of this species have a largely black coat with long white bands of grizzling and forearms covered in dense, short, white hairs. They have a bright orange ruff. Females have a similar coloration but are less grizzled.

Status

In the southern portion of its range (

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, ...

), it is threatened by hunting and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and in the more northern portions of its range it is threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and

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 ...

. It is thus classified as Vulnerable on the

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20658240

Mittermeier's Tapajós saki Mittermeier's Tapajós saki (''Pithecia mittermeieri'') is a disputed species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to west-central Brazil. Taxonomy Populations in this species were formerly classified within the Rio Tapaj� ...

Mammals of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil

Controversial mammal taxa