Here we report on the ninth iteration of the biennial listing of a consensus of the 25 primate species considered to be among the most endangered worldwide and the most in need of conservation measures. The 2016–2018 list of the world’s 25 most endangered primates has five species from Africa, six from Madagascar, nine from Asia, and five from the Neotropics.

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Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010

Aim Capuchin monkey species are widely distributed across Central and South America. Morphological studies consistently divide the clade into robust and gracile forms, which show extensive sympatry in the Amazon Basin. We use genetic data to test whether Miocene or Plio-Pleistocene processes may explain capuchin species’ present distributions, and consider three possible scenarios to explain widespread sympatry. Location The Neotropics, including the Amazon and Atlantic Coastal Forest. Methods We sequenced the 12S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome b genes from capuchin monkey specimens. The majority were sampled from US museum collections and were wild-caught individuals of known provenance across their distribution. We applied a Bayesian discrete-states diffusion model, which reconstructed the most probable history of invasion across nine subregions. We used comparative methods to test for phylogeographic association and dispersal rate variation. Results Capuchins contained two well supported monophyletic clades, the morphologically distinct ‘gracile’ and ‘robust’ groups. The time-tree analysis estimated a late Miocene divergence between Cebus and Sapajus and a subsequent Plio-Pleistocene diversification within each of the two clades. Bayesian analysis of phylogeographic diffusion history indicated that the current wide-ranging sympatry of Cebus and Sapajus across much of the Amazon Basin was the result of a single explosive late Pleistocene invasion of Sapajus from the Atlantic Forest into the Amazon, where Sapajus is now sympatric with gracile capuchins across much of their range. Main conclusions The biogeographic history of capuchins suggests late Miocene geographic isolation of the gracile and robust forms. Each form diversified independently, but during the Pleistocene, the robust Sapajus expanded its range from the Atlantic Forest to the Amazon, where it has now encroached substantially upon what was previously the exclusive range of gracile Cebus. The genus Cebus, as currently recognized, should be split into two genera to reflect the Miocene divergence and two subsequent independent Pliocene radiations: Cebus from the Amazon and Sapajus from the Atlantic Forest.

Explosive Pleistocene range expansion leads to widespread Amazonian sympatry between robust and gracile capuchin monkeys

The modern taxonomy of the Infraorder Platyrrhini is deeply influenced by the numerous publications of the late Philip Hershkovitz (1909–1997). This has meant that in many aspects platyrrhine taxonomy has been extraordinarily stable over the last two decades, while his work has at the same time provided the wherewithal for considerable refinement and adjustments. Hershkovitz laid the foundation for the modern taxonomy of the New World primates first in his monumental treatise on the Families Callitrichidae and Callimiconidae (1977) (supplemented with revisions of the emperor tamarins, Saguinus imperator [1979] and black-mantle tamarins, S. nigricollis [1982]), and subsequently with a number of papers, results of his revisions of the systematics of most of the remaining extant platyrrhines that he lumped in a third family, the Cebidae: the saki monkeys Pithecia (1987a); the night monkeys, Aotus (1983); the squirrel monkeys, Saimiri (1984); the bearded sakis, Chiropotes (1985); the uacaris, Cacajao (1987b); and the titi monkeys, Callicebus (1988, 1990). Hershkovitz was working on the remaining genera for the second volume of his treatise, but his findings were never published. The foundations for the modern taxonomies of the capuchin monkeys (Cebus), howling monkeys (Alouatta), spider monkeys (Ateles), woolly monkeys (Lagothrix) and muriquis (Brachyteles) have had to depend, therefore, on studies such as those Kellogg and Goldman (1944) for the spider monkeys, Hershkovitz (1949) for Cebus in particular, Cabrera (1957) and Hill (1960, 1962) who covered all the platyrrhines, and Fooden (1963) for the woolly monkeys. It may well be that the legacy of Hershkovitz is the cause of there currently being more species and subspecies of primates in the New World than in Africa or Asia, providing as he did the capacity to compare findings with what is known, both in terms of the physiognomy of the primates under scrutiny and their supposed distributions. The latest taxonomies of the non-human primates indicate approximately

The Diversity of the New World Primates (Platyrrhini): An Annotated Taxonomy

Lists of Brazilian bats have been compiled since the late 19th century, with remarkable variation in the criteria for species inclusion and use of nomenclature. To update the list of extant bat species that occur in Brazil, the Brazilian Bat Research Society created the Committee of the List of Brazilian Bats. Here we report the first result of the work of this Committee: a list with nine families, 68 genera, and 178 species with documented occurrence in Brazil, including nomenclatural comments. We also present two additional species lists: one with doubtful records (10 species) and other with erroneous records (six species). Since the beginning of the 21st century, 35 new bat species have been recorded for Brazil, and we anticipate that more species will be uncovered over the next years.

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Checklist of Brazilian bats, with comments on original records

Titi monkeys, Callicebus, comprise the most species-rich primate genus—34 species are currently recognised, five of them described since 2005. The lack of molecular data for titi monkeys has meant that little is known of their phylogenetic relationships and divergence times. To clarify their evolutionary history, we assembled a large molecular dataset by sequencing 20 nuclear and two mitochondrial loci for 15 species, including representatives from all recognised species groups. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using concatenated maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses, allowing us to evaluate the current taxonomic hypothesis for the genus. Our results show four distinct Callicebus clades, for the most part concordant with the currently recognised morphological species-groups—the torquatus group, the personatus group, the donacophilus group, and the moloch group. The cupreus and moloch groups are not monophyletic, and all species of the formerly recognized cupreus group are reassigned to the moloch group. Two of the major divergence events are dated to the Miocene. The torquatus group, the oldest radiation, diverged c. 11 Ma; and the Atlantic forest personatus group split from the ancestor of all donacophilus and moloch species at 9–8 Ma. There is little molecular evidence for the separation of Callicebus caligatus and C. dubius, and we suggest that C. dubius should be considered a junior synonym of a polymorphic C. caligatus. Considering molecular, morphological and biogeographic evidence, we propose a new genus level taxonomy for titi monkeys: Cheracebus n. gen. in the Orinoco, Negro and upper Amazon basins (torquatus group), Callicebus Thomas, 1903, in the Atlantic Forest (personatus group), and Plecturocebus n. gen. in the Amazon basin and Chaco region (donacophilus and moloch groups).

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Phylogenetic relationships of the New World titi monkeys (Callicebus): first appraisal of taxonomy based on molecular evidence.

Richness, endemism and conservation of Colombian mammals. We update the list of Colombian mammal species based upon a new revision of specimens in the major collections within and outside the country and a compilation of recent taxonomic changes of species present in the country. The result of these changes is a total of 492 native species, which represents a net increment of 62 species with respect to the previous list published in the year 2000, and this exceeds similar updates in other Neotropical countries. Although the level of knowledge differs greatly between groups, we provide some general indicators, as diversity on the level of orders, endemism, patterns of distribution, and conservation state. The greatest species richness occurs in the orders Chiroptera (198 spp.) and Rodentia (122 spp.), but there are 23 endemic species of rodents in contrast to only seven endemic bats. According to the nature and scale of the evaluations, between 39 (MAVDT) and 52 (IUCN) species of Colombian mammals are considered to be endangered. The major threats are still deforesta- tion, hunting and illegal commerce.

https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:379681/UQ379681_OA.pdf

Riqueza, endemismo y conservación de los mamíferos de Colombia

Colombia is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world: although it takes up slightly less than one percent of the Earth's surface, it is home to approximately ten percent of the world's plants and animals, including a diversity of primate species that is only superseded by Brazil and Peru in number. This vibrantly illustrated field guide is the result of field work conducted on Colombian primates both in and out of the country. The volume illustrates and describes twenty-eight primate species comprising forty-three taxa, of which fifteen taxa are only found in Colombia. The field guide also includes comprehensive chapters on primate classification, fossil history, and conservation, and each is augmented by numerous drawings, photographs, and maps. Primates of Colombia will be an invaluable resource for primatologists and naturalists alike.

José Vicente Rodríguez-Mahecha

Papers

Riqueza, endemismo y conservación de los mamíferos de Colombia

Primates of Colombia