Rio Mayo titi

Appearance

The appearance of the Rio Mayo titi varies based on their location. In one part of Ecuador, the titis were seen to have reddish brown fur on their back, limbs and chest and lighter reddish brown fur in the on the outside of their limbs. They had a dark brown-red forehead, sideburns and beard and small white tufts of fur coming out of their ears. They had a light colored throat, black hands, tail and nails and cream colored underparts with white hairs on their muzzle. Their fur was short and spikey. In another part of Ecuador, the titis had a light red fur on their forehead, sideburns and beard, quite a lot of fur by their ears, dark hands with white fur on them, red underparts and chest, a gray tail and whitish hair above their nose, eyebrows and muzzle. Their fur was frizzy.

Distribution

After discovering the distribution of the species and where it primarily lives, the next step in conserving it is determining the densities of the species, creating protected areas specifically for this animal, and expanding existing ones. To find the density of the "P. oenanthe", a triangulation method is used, where three points are set up and the species is observed within the area created by these points. While density was measured by using this method and also examining the trees by their density, height, and distance from one another, human disturbance is also monitored. This study described was performed in Ojos de Agua in Guanajuato, Mexico. This study was part of a larger study created by Program Management Team to study the habitat requirements of "P. oenanthe" and exploring the possibility of creating corridors between species fragmented distributions.

Status

It had been classified as vulnerable but due to major habitat loss and restricted living space, it is now classified as Critically Endangered. In October 2012, it was included in The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates list. An increase in deforestation is leading to the decrease in available living space for this titi monkey, forcing it to live in sympatry with another species of "Callicebus". Yet in some areas, such drastic deforestation has resulted in extremely high population density. The Rio Mayo titi is better adapted to moderately populated areas, thus overpopulation negatively impacts the species. The forests the Rio Mayo titi lives in are being destroyed for agricultural purposes, leaving little forest for the monkeys. They were only seen a few times and featured in museums until 2003 when more research was done on them. In order for this species to survive, their forests need to be protected to avoid overpopulation. Different conservation groups are working to help "P. oenanthe" survive. Neotropical Primate Conservation, Proyecto Mono Tocón and Amazónicos para la Amazonia are working in the more southern areas to protect the monkey.

The Rio Mayo titi is a fairly inconspicuous creature, making observation and research difficult to obtain. Therefore, the traditional use of transect observation to monitor the monkey's population, is less effective. Instead, other methods of calculating the titi monkey's density in certain areas have been taken, such as research into the species-specific calls endemic to a certain area.

Habitat

Rio Mayo titis usually live in dry woodland areas with a lot of vines and plants. They are found in the Atlantic Coast of Brazil and in tropical areas of the Amazon, the upper Paraguay basin, in Boirio, and Santa Cruz. They are found in Peru in the northern part of the Department of San Martin, at altitudes of 750–950 meters and also in the foothills of the Andes.

One "P. oenanthe" family was studied by scientist DeLuycker from October 2004 to September 2005. The studied family consisted of a mother and father, two offspring, and a baby born within the study period. The family was observed to live in bamboo stands and low forests with trees with a mean height of 6.8 meters. The family used only five sleeping sites during the year-long study time, two of them only rarely.

Sleeping and resting was the most common activity, followed by traveling, and then eating and foraging. The "P. oenanthe" also socialized with others of their own kind. However, forest degradation and disturbed habitats had a negative effect on "P. oenanthe" sociability.

Food

The diet of the Rio Mayo titi consists of mostly leaves, seeds, fruits, and arthropods. In one study, it was found that 54% of their diet was fruit, and 22% insects, with the remainder consisting of leaves, tendrils, meristems, flowers and seeds.

The 22% of the "P. oenanthe" diet that consists of insects is gathered in a variety of ways. There are three main types of foraging technique that the species uses to catch insects: lunging and grabbing exposed prey, biting and inspecting hidden prey, and stealth foraging or scanning for prey. Out of the three techniques, the most frequently used technique for hunting insects was found to be lunging and grabbing exposed prey. They have a high success rate of catching insects, reaching up to 83%. This species' ability to hunt insects so easily is especially important for survival in times of scarce food availability.