A dataset of new occurrence records of primates from the arc of deforestation, Brazil.

​​​​​​​The so-called arc of deforestation is a major agricultural and industrial frontier in southern Amazonia and northern Cerrado of Brazil. As arboreal mammals, the primates in this region are therefore threatened by forest loss and fragmentation. At the same time, knowledge about the taxonomic diversity and distribution ranges of these taxa is incomplete, which might hamper efficient conservation measurements. New species have been recently discovered in this region, and their ranges remain imprecise because only a few occurrence records are available for each species. Here we present 192 new records of 22 species and subspecies of Alouatta, Aotus, Ateles, Cebus, Chiropotes, Lagothrix, Leontocebus, Pithecia, Plecturocebus, Saimiri, and Sapajus, collected in 56 different localities during 10 field expeditions across the arc of deforestation between 2015 and 2018. Based on these new records, we extend the ranges of Alouatta puruensis, Ateles chamek, and Saimiri collinsi; identify potential hybridization zones between A. puruensis and A. discolor, and between At. chamek and At. marginatus; redefine the range of Plecturocebus moloch; and clarify the ranges of P. baptista and P. hoffmannsi. Moreover, these results and the dataset are valuable for further research on, for example, species distribution and habitat use modeling, for assessing species extinction risks, and for supporting efforts for the conservation of species increasingly threatened on a global deforestation frontier.

Notes on the distribution and habitat use of marmosets (Callitrichidae: Mico) from south-central Amazonia.

Currently, 15 species of Amazon marmosets (genus Mico) are known to science. The Amazon marmosets occur primarily in southern Brazilian Amazonia, the arc of deforestation, and are among the least studied primates of the neotropics. This is particularly the case for M. acariensis and M. chrysoleucos, both endemic to the Aripuanã-Sucundurí interfluve, south-central Amazonia. Mico acariensis was not studied beyond the species description, and the only information currently available is the pelage colouration of the holotype, inferred coordinates of the type locality, and a field report with two additional localities of occurrence. Regarding M. chrysoleucos, in addition to the species description, there are taxonomic reviews, the report of a second occurrence record, and a study on the species range. We provide here new occurrence records that extend the distribution of M. chrysoleucos; provide new records for and update the distribution of M. acariensis; and propose the existence of a hybrid zone in the Aripuanã-Sucundurí interfluve, i.e. around the known distribution boundaries of M. acariensis, M. chrysoleucos, and M. melanurus, and we also discuss habitat use patterns of Amazon marmosets.

An integrative analysis uncovers a new, pseudo-cryptic species of Amazonian marmoset (Primates: Callitrichidae: Mico) from the arc of deforestation.

Amazonia has the richest primate fauna in the world. Nonetheless, the diversity and distribution of Amazonian primates remain little known and the scarcity of baseline data challenges their conservation. These challenges are especially acute in the Amazonian arc of deforestation, the 2500 km long southern edge of the Amazonian biome that is rapidly being deforested and converted to agricultural and pastoral landscapes. Amazonian marmosets of the genus Mico are little known endemics of this region and therefore a priority for research and conservation efforts. However, even nascent conservation efforts are hampered by taxonomic uncertainties in this group, such as the existence of a potentially new species from the Juruena-Teles Pires interfluve hidden within the M. emiliae epithet. Here we test if these marmosets belong to a distinct species using new morphological, phylogenomic, and geographic distribution data analysed within an integrative taxonomic framework. We discovered a new, pseudo-cryptic Mico species hidden within the epithet M. emiliae, here described and named after Horacio Schneider, the pioneer of molecular phylogenetics of Neotropical primates. We also clarify the distribution, evolutionary and morphological relationships of four other Mico species, bridging Linnean, Wallacean, and Darwinian shortfalls in the conservation of primates in the Amazonian arc of deforestation.

The Munduruku marmoset: a new monkey species from southern Amazonia.

Although the Atlantic Forest marmosets (Callithrix spp.) are among the best studied Neotropical primates, the Amazonian marmosets (Callibella humilis, Cebuella spp. and Mico spp.) are much less well-known. Even species diversity and distributions are yet to be properly determined because field data and materials currently available in scientific collections do not allow comprehensive taxonomic studies of Amazonian marmosets. From 2015 to 2018, we conducted 10 expeditions in key-areas within southern Amazonia where little or no information on marmosets was available. In one such region-the Tapajós-Jamanxim interfluve-we recorded marmosets with a distinctive pelage pigmentation pattern suggesting they could represent a new species. We tested this hypothesis using an integrative taxonomic framework that included phylogenomic data (ddRAD sequences), pelage pigmentation characters, and distribution records. We found that the marmosets of the northern Tapajós-Jamanxim interfluve have unique states in pelage pigmentation characters, form a clade (100% support) in our Bayesian and Maximum-Likelihood phylogenies, and occur in an area isolated from other taxa by rivers. The integration of these lines of evidence leads us to describe a new marmoset species in the genus Mico, named after the Munduruku Amerindians of the Tapajós-Jamanxim interfluve, southwest of Pará State, Brazil.

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America.

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1-6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

On a new species of titi monkey (Primates: Plecturocebus Byrne et al., 2016), from Alta Floresta, southern Amazon, Brazil.

The taxonomy of the titi monkeys (Callicebinae) has recently received considerable attention. It is now recognised that this subfamily is composed of three genera with 33 species, seven of them described since 2002. Here, we describe a new species of titi, Plecturocebus, from the municipality of Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil. We adopt an integrative taxonomic approach that includes phylogenomic analyses, pelage characters, and locality records. A reduced representation genome-wide approach was employed to assess phylogenetic relationships among species of the eastern Amazonian clade of the Plecturocebus moloch group. Using existing records, we calculated the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of the new species and estimated future habitat loss for the region based on predictive models. We then evaluated the species' conservation status using the IUCN Red list categories and criteria. The new species presents a unique combination of morphological characters: (1) grey agouti colouration on the crown and dorsal parts; (2) entirely bright red-brown venter; (3) an almost entirely black tail with a pale tip; and (4) light yellow colouration of the hair on the cheeks contrasting with bright red-brown hair on the sides of the face. Our phylogenetic reconstructions based on maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods revealed well-supported species relationships, with the Alta Floresta taxon as sister to P. moloch + P. vieirai. The species EOO is 10,166,653 ha and we predict a total habitat loss of 86% of its original forest habitat under a "business as usual" scenario in the next 24 years, making the newly discovered titi monkey a Critically Endangered species under the IUCN A3c criterion. We give the new titi monkey a specific epithet based on: (1) clear monophyly of this lineage revealed by robust genomic and mitochondrial data; (2) distinct and diagnosable pelage morphology; and (3) a well-defined geographical distribution with clear separation from other closely related taxa. Urgent conservation measures are needed to safeguard the future of this newly discovered and already critically endangered primate.