What is your favourite New world primate species ?

GiratinaIsGod said:
Yea, that was obviously a joke. But in general am I a big fan of tamarins, with their social structure and obviously cuteness. And in general "beared" animals. My favourite oldworld primate (besides gibbons) for example is the lion-tailed maquace for the exact reason. It is just how I like my animals.
Click to expand...

I know :p quite a funny one too

I'm a big fan of tamarins and marmosets too for many reasons.
 
AWP said:
In Costa Rica, in the national parks of Rincón de la Vieja and Tortuguero.
Click to expand...

Awesome ! It must have been truly wonderful to see these and in such incredible National parks famous for their biodiversity.

Personally I have seen the Yucatan subspecies of the Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis ) in the wild in South-East Mexico, Guatemala and Belize on several occasions and they are very fun to watch.

As these monkeys (and the mantled / Mexican howler monkey) can frequently be found in the vicinity of many of the major Pre-classic and Classic Mayan archeological sites in Mexico and Central America I've often managed to combine my interest in wildlife / primates with archeology which is another fascination of mine.
 
Last edited:
David Matos Mendes said:
Sure! I think my favourites are the common marmosets :D
They are the primate species that I've had more contact with, (for who doesn't know, they are the most common wild primate species in Brazil, and probably in S. America) so I think I've developed a special apreciation for them... They're the best!
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply David !

It is a really interesting species indeed, I agree. I am interested in all six of the marmoset species too :).

That said, I have to admit I have quite complex feelings / love-hate relationship towards this species because although it is an invasive species in so many areas of this country (sadly through no fault of their own) I think they look beautiful and are so resilient and adaptable.

Common marmosets are very common in Minas Gerais and presents huge problem for the conservation of native marmosets such as the buffy headed and buffy tufted marmosets ( Callithrix flaviceps and Callithrix aurita).

Out of curiosity, how often do you personally see this species in Belo Horizonte ?
 
Last edited:
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Thank you for your reply David !

It is a really interesting species indeed, I agree. I am interested in all six of the marmoset species too :).

That said, I have to admit I have quite complex feelings / love-hate relationship towards this species though because although it is an invasive species in so many areas of this country (sadly through no fault of their own) I think they look beautiful and are so resilient and adaptable.

Common marmosets are very common in Minas Gerais and presents huge problem for the conservation of native marmosets such as the buffy headed and buffy tufted marmosets ( Callithrix flaviceps and Callithrix aurita).

Out of curiosity, how often do you personally see this species in Belo Horizonte ?
Click to expand...


Oh yes, they are indeed invasive species in many places... Actually, I think I have heard once that this species is not native to many areas of MG, but had invaded them, and now they have occupied the entire country... The fact is that they are extremely common in Belo Horizonte and all it's surroundings. Every place of the city that has a few trees can be home to these guys, including BH zoo, wich has a big free population of this primate (for some reason, BH doesn't hold any captive individual of this species, I think it is really because they are already very common in the region... same goes to the capybaras, wich have a really big population in the Pampulha lake, wich is right in front of the zoo, so people already see them everyday)

As the adaptable animals they are, we can see them in trees across the busiest parts of the metropolis, and also in the forest areas around, like the serra do cipó's park, wich is probably the most famous touristic point for us mineiros, because of the beautifull waterfalls and rivers, once we have no sea.
 
David Matos Mendes said:
Oh yes, they are indeed invasive species in many places... Actually, I think I have heard once that this species is not native to many areas of MG, but had invaded them, and now they have occupied the entire country... The fact is that they are extremely common in Belo Horizonte and all it's surroundings. Every place of the city that has a few trees can be home to these guys, including BH zoo, wich has a big free population of this primate (for some reason, BH doesn't hold any captive individual of this species, I think it is really because they are already very common in the region... same goes to the capybaras, wich have a really big population in the Pampulha lake, wich is right in front of the zoo, so people already see them everyday)

As the adaptable animals they are, we can see them in trees across the busiest parts of the metropolis, and also in the forest areas around, like the serra do cipó's park, wich is probably the most famous touristic point for us mineiros, because of the beautifull waterfalls and rivers, once we have no sea.
Click to expand...

Thank you David , that is a really interesting post.

Originally the common marmoset isn't native to Minas but only to the North-Eastern region of the country. The black eared marmoset is on the other hand native to the State but has spread as an invasive species (historically and up to the present) due to the illegal pet trade. Neither of these species are native to the Atlantic rainforest ecosystem but originally inhabited only the Cerrado (black eared marmoset) and Caatinga (common marmoset) respectively.

The marmoset species native to Minas are the buffy tufted marmoset, the buffy headed marmoset and to a far lesser extent the Geoffroy's marmoset (which is also present as an invasive). However, the Geoffroy's was only really found originally in areas of Minas that border the state of Espirito Santo and Bahia but then spread as a result of the pet trade too.

My Mineiro colleagues are really struggling with the situation of the spread of these invasive species into protected areas and the scale of hybridization in the state (and in other states with the buffy tufted and buffy headed marmosets) is really alarming and the risk posed is genetic extinction of the native species.

Here in São Paulo they are also to be seen all over the city and the interior of the state and when I go to protected areas or even just parks I almost always see these animals (I've seen them wild in Sorocaba zoo too and ironically once saw females interacting with a captive male buffy tufted marmoset with mating receptive behaviour). The problem is also very present in Rio in both the city and state and like what you describe in BH they seem to be in most of the trees in urban areas.

Even so I have to admit that even though the species is such a huge problem for conservation I really do deeply admire the resilience and adaptability of the common marmoset :) and have a grudging respect for them. They are such a tiny monkey but they are plucky and true survivors (unfortunately for their close relatives) like little cangaceiros.
 
Last edited:
My favorite New World monkeys are the Emperor Tamarins because of their mustache. They look so funny:D:D And I also really like the white faced saki monkeys. I find them so interesting, with the color of the male. They are stunning, although females have a less attractive color.

Also, I can say I like the common species such as Golden Lion a Tamarin and Cotton-Top Tamarin.
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Thank you David , that is a really interesting post.

Originally the common marmoset isn't native to Minas but only to the North-Eastern region of the country. The black eared marmoset is on the other hand native to the State but has spread as an invasive species (historically and up to the present) due to the illegal pet trade. Neither of these species are native to the Atlantic rainforest ecosystem but originally inhabited only the Cerrado (black eared marmoset) and Caatinga (common marmoset) respectively.

The marmoset species native to Minas are the buffy tufted marmoset, the buffy headed marmoset and to a far lesser extent the Geoffroy's marmoset (which is also present as an invasive). However, the Geoffroy's was only really found originally in areas of Minas that border the state of Espirito Santo and Bahia but then spread as a result of the pet trade too.

My Mineiro colleagues are really struggling with the situation of the spread of these invasive species into protected areas and the scale of hybridization in the state (and in other states with the buffy tufted and buffy headed marmosets) is really alarming and the risk posed is genetic extinction of the native species.

Here in São Paulo they are also to be seen all over the city and the interior of the state and when I go to protected areas or even just parks I almost always see these animals (I've seen them wild in Sorocaba zoo too and ironically once saw females interacting with a captive male buffy tufted marmoset with mating receptive behaviour). The problem is also very present in Rio in both the city and state and like what you describe in BH they seem to be in most of the trees in urban areas.

Even so I have to admit that even though the species is such a huge problem for conservation I really do deeply admire the resilience and adaptability of the common marmoset :) and have a grudging respect for them. They are such a tiny monkey but they are plucky and true survivors (unfortunately for their close relatives) like little cangaceiros.
Click to expand...


I think we have a mix of common marmosets and black eared marmosets here. I admit I had never really searched a lot about their classifications, so I thought they (common and black eared) were just variations of a same species. Anyway, both species are numerous around here, and are all very interesting animals that are also fighting for space. They just have more luck for being more adaptable than other species. I liked the comparisson you made with the cangaceiros :D:D:D and besides they are extremely cute, we definitely have to consider the problems they can bring, and continue doing what we can to avoid the ilegal pet trade and other stuff that can increase their population even more...
 
Jungle Man said:
My favorite New World monkeys are the Emperor Tamarins because of their mustache. They look so funny:D:D And I also really like the white faced saki monkeys. I find them so interesting, with the color of the male. They are stunning, although females have a less attractive color.

Also, I can say I like the common species such as Golden Lion a Tamarin and Cotton-Top Tamarin.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your comment Jungle man!

I was expecting you to say the Geoffroy's tamarin :) as it is very much a Panamanian.

Yes, the emperor is an incredible looking species :D.

I always assumed that the name referred to the moustache of the Han Chinese Emperors because of the length of it but I recently learned that it was given due to resemblance to the German / Prussian Kaiser which it also strongly resembles.
 
Last edited:
David Matos Mendes said:
I think we have a mix of common marmosets and black eared marmosets here. I admit I had never really searched a lot about their classifications, so I thought they (common and black eared) were just variations of a same species. Anyway, both species are numerous around here, and are all very interesting animals that are also fighting for space. They just have more luck for being more adaptable than other species. I liked the comparisson you made with the cangaceiros :D:D:D and besides they are extremely cute, we definitely have to consider the problems they can bring, and continue doing what we can to avoid the ilegal pet trade and other stuff that can increase their population even more...
Click to expand...

Yes, there are definitely hybrids of these two invasive species in Minas and in São Paulo and Rio too. I've seen these quite a lot in areas of São Paulo city and the interior of the state.

Well there has always been a taxonomic debate on whether the marmoset species actually constitute subspecies or actual species,however, recent research does seem to indicate that they are indeed actual species.

The problem is that the marmoset species have relatively recently diverged from eachother which is why the ability to hybridize is actually so common / easy and poses such a genetic threat in the case of the spread of invasives.
 
Last edited:
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
However, recent research does seem to indicate that they are indeed actual species but are relatively recently diverged ones which is why the ability to hybridize is actually so common / easy and such a threat.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, that makes a lot of sense. I have actually already wondered sometimes why they are so propicious to hybridization...

Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yes, there are definitely hybrids of these two invasive species in Minas and in São Paulo and Rio too.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I made a little confusion. When I say we have a mix of them here, I mean we have both species densily inhabiting the same area, although, when talking about marmosets, sharing the same area seems to be a synonym for hybridization, I don't think I have ever seen a hybrid individual (maybe I just can't recognize one when I see, once they are quite common, it would be hard to have never seen one)
 
David Matos Mendes said:
When I say we have a mix of them here, I mean we have both species densily inhabiting the same area, although, when talking about marmosets, sharing the same area seems to be a synonym for hybridization, I don't think I have ever seen a hybrid individual (maybe I just can't recognize one when I see, once they are quite common, it would be hard to have never seen one)
Click to expand...

Yes, thats right, they are both found in very high population densities in both rural and urban areas across the states I mentioned.

They do also hybridize though and the chances are very high that at least some of the ones that you have seen in BH would be black eared / common marmoset hybrids.
 
David Matos Mendes said:
Onychorhynchus coronatus, do you know wich zoos hold this species? I know Brasilia zoo does, but I couldn't find their exhibit when I went there last year... Wanna have a chance to see these beauties.
Click to expand...

I dont know about zoos across all of Brazil but there are a couple of zoos in São Paulo state that keep this species.

It is currently kept and bred at Guarulhos zoo, Bauru zoo and Sorocaba zoo. There may be more zoos that hold them too but I can't remember of any.

I think that a possible reason for them not being on show at Brasilia zoo is that they are a really shy and highly stressed animal. They tend to suffer quite a lot of stress related illnesses (which often eventually prove fatal) when they are on public display and don't have sufficient areas to hide and escape noise etc.

I assume that those held at Brasilia zoo must be kept somewhere on site behind the scenes and out of public view for this reason. But if you come to some of the zoos here in São Paulo where they are on display to the public (usually) you will most probably be able to see them.
 
Last edited:
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I dont know about zoos across all of Brazil but there are a couple of zoos in São Paulo state that keep this species.

It is currently kept and bred at Guarulhos zoo, Bauru zoo and Sorocaba zoo.

I think that a possible reason for them not being on show at Brasilia zoo is that they are a really highly stressed animal and can suffer quite a lot of stress related illnesses when they are on public display and don't have sufficient areas to hide and escape noise etc. I assume that those kept at Brasilia zoo must be kept somewhere on site behind the scenes for this reason.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, so I'm probably gonna see them soon. Thank you!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top