Southern muriqui

Southern muriqui
Southern muriqui[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Atelidae
Genus: Brachyteles
Species: B. arachnoides
Binomial name
Brachyteles arachnoides
(É. Geoffroy, 1806)
Southern Muriqui range

The southern muriqui, Brachyteles arachnoides, is a muriqui (woolly spider monkey) species endemic to Brazil. It is found in the Brazilian states of Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais. This New World monkey is known locally as mono carvoeiro, which translates to charcoal monkey.[3][4]

Muriquis are the largest New World monkeys. Male muriquis have a head-body length of 55–78 cm (22–31 in), with a tail of 74–80 cm (29–32 in) and a body weight of 9.6–15 kg (21-33 lb). Females have a head-body length of 46–63 cm (18–25 in), a tail length of 65–74 cm (26–29 in) in and a body weight of 8–11 kg (17.6-24.2 lb).[5][6] The tails are fully prehensile.

The southern muriqui, B. arachnoides, has a solid black face, distinguishing it from the northern species, B. hypoxanthus, which has a black face mottled with pink.

This species is considered endangered because of habitat destruction hunting pressures and historic population declines. There exists only two captive populations of the southern muriqui. They are housed at the zoo of Curitiba and at the zoo of Sorocaba, Brazil. The latter is located 80 km from the only long term investigation of the southern muriqui in continuous forest, the Carlos Botelho State Park (8) The wild population was estimated at 1,300 in 2005.[7]

References

  1. ^ Groves, Colin P. (16 November 2005). "Order Primates (pp. 111-184)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100409. 
  2. ^ Mendes, S.L., de Oliveira, M.M., Mittermeier, R.A. & Rylands, A.B. (2008). Brachyteles arachnoides. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 08 November 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered
  3. ^ APA - Serra do Mar http://www.ambiente.sp.gov.br/apas/serra_mar.htm
  4. ^ Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso: modelo de Gestão Ambiental http://www.ambiente.sp.gov.br/destaque/ilha_cardoso.htm
  5. ^ http://www.arkive.org/southern-muriqui/brachyteles-arachnoides/facts-and-status.html
  6. ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1051848/southern-muriqui
  7. ^ Melo, F. R. and Dias, L. G. (2005). "Muriqui populations reported in the literature over the last 40 years". Neotropical Primates 13: 19–24. 

8. Talebi, M. and P. Soares (2005). "Conservation research on the southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides) in São Paulo State, Brazil." Neotropical Primates 13(Supplement, Special Issue “The Ecology and Conservation of the Muriqui (Brachyteles): Reports from 2002–2005): 53-59.

External links