Masked Titi (Callicebus personatus)

Masked Titi (Callicebus personatus)

MORPHOLOGY:
The average body mass for the adult male is 1.27 kilograms and for the adult female it is 1.38 kilograms (Hershkovitz, 1990). The canines are sexually monomorphic for this species (Kinzey, 1972). The dental formula is 2:1:3:3 on both the upper and lower jaws (Ankel-Simons, 2000).

This species has five subspecies, each having their own pelage coloration:

Callicebus personatus melanochir: The forehead, entire crown, and throat is grayish agouti, buffy agouti, or pale brownish agouti (Hershkovitz, 1990). The sides of the neck are grayish agouti or blackish agouti (Hershkovitz, 1990). The sideburns, most of the outer surface of the forearms, and the legs are reddish (Hershkovitz, 1990). This subspecies has a buffy or whitish frontal tuft or transverse blaze (Hershkovitz, 1990). On the lower back of this subspecies the pelage is colored either orange or red (Flesher, 1999). The dorsal side of the tail is orange or red and the ventral side is yellow or light brown in coloration (Flesher, 1999).
Callicebus personatus barbarabrownae: The forehead, crown, and throat is buffy in coloration (Hershkovitz, 1990). The overall coloration is buffy to silvery (Hershkovitz, 1990). The sideburns, most of the outer surface of the forearms, and the legs are reddish (Hershkovitz, 1990). This subspecies has a buffy or whitish frontal tuft or transverse blaze (Hershkovitz, 1990). The tail is orange in this subspecies (Marinho-Filho and Verissimo, 1997). The hands and feet are blackish in coloration (Marinho-Filho and Verissimo, 1997).
Callicebus personatus nigrifrons: The forehead and crown is blackish to about the halfway point of the plane of the ears (Hershkovitz, 1990). The rest of the crown of this subspecies grades into a coarsely banded buffy or orange color (Hershkovitz, 1990). The throat is pale in coloration (Hershkovitz, 1990). The sideburns, most of the outer surface of the forearms, and the legs are reddish (Hershkovitz, 1990). This subspecies has a buffy or whitish frontal tuft or transverse blaze (Hershkovitz, 1990). The tail of this subspecies is reddish-brown (Rylands et al., 1988).
Callicebus personatus personatus: The forehead, and crown is blackish to the plane of the ears, with the remainder buffy or orange (Hershkovitz, 1990). The throat is blackish in this subspecies (Hershkovitz, 1990). The sideburns, most of the outer surface of the forearms, and the legs are reddish (Hershkovitz, 1990). This subspecies has a buffy or whitish frontal tuft or transverse blaze (Hershkovitz, 1990).
Callicebus personatus coimbrai: The forehead, crown, and ears are black in coloration (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999). The trunk of this subspecies is buffy in color (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999). The sideburns, cheeks, and the back of the head and nape are pale (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999). The tail is orange and the hands and feet are blackish (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999). A zebra-like striped pattern is on the anterior half of the back (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999).

RANGE:
The masked titi is found in the country of Brazil. This species lives on the East coast in the Atlantic coastal rainforests. This species lives in secondary forests, but not primary forests (Stallings and Robinson, 1991). This species has been observed in banana tree groves (Kinzey, 1981).

This species has five subspecies each having their own range:

Callicebus personatus melanochir: This subspecies is found in the Atlantic coastal forests of eastern Brazil, in the state of Bahia from the Rio Mucuri north to the Rio Contas (Hershkovitz, 1990). This subspecies has also been observed in the state of Minas Gerais, in the municipalities of Felizburgo and Jordinia (Rylands et al., 1988). This subspecies has also been found in northern Espirito Santo south to the Rio Doce (Santos et al., 1987). In the state of Bahia this subspecies is found in the Lemos Maia Ecological Station and the Monte Pascoal National Park (Santos et al., 1987). This subspecies lives in secondary forests and has been observed in forest "peninsulas" that jut out into agricultural lands (Flesher, 1999). In the state of Bahia it was found that this subspecies utilized a home range that included 60% primary forest, 30% selectively logged forest, and 10% originally clear cut forest regeneration (Heiduck et al., 1996).
Callicebus personatus barbarabrownae: This subspecies is found in the coastal highlands of north-central Bahia, Brazil between the Rio Paraguacu north to the Rio Itapicuru (Hershkovitz, 1990). New evidence suggests that the northern and western limit of this subspecies should be the Rio Sao Francisco based on observations (Marinho-Filho and Verissimo, 1997).
Callicebus personatus nigrifrons: This subspecies is found in southeastern Brazil, in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo from the Rio Tiete north, and from southern Minas Berais between the Rios Parana-paraiba, the headwaters of the Rio Sao Francisco, and the Rio Jequitinhonha (Hershkovitz, 1990).
Callicebus personatus personatus: This subspecies is found in southeastern Brazil in the state of Espirito Santo to northwestern Minas Gerais to Teofilo Otoni (Hershkovitz, 1990). This subspecies has been observed in gallery forests (Rylands et al., 1988).
Callicebus personatus coimbrai: This subspecies is found in the state of Sergipe, in eastern Brazil (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999). This subspecies occurs between the Rios Sao Francisco and Real (Kobayashi and Langguth, 1999).

ECOLOGY:
The masked titi is primarily a frugivorous species, but also eats leaves and insects. In the state of Bahia, Brazil, it was found that the main food source of the subspecies Callicebus personatus melanochir was Vochysia rudeliana (Heiduck et al., 1996). It was found in Sooretama Biological Reserve, Espirito Santo, Brazil that this species spent 81% of the time feeding on fruit of 27 different species with the species Manilkara paraensis comprising the most common fruit species consumed (41%) (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). The rest of the feeding time was devoted to leaves (18%) and three species of flowers (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). Secondary forests may be more favorable for this species because they contain a higher production of fruit and palatable leaves (Stallings and Robinson, 1991). Heiduck (1997) describes this species as an opportunistic feeder. Leaves from lianas are consumed with most of the leaves immature (98%) rather than mature (2%) (Muller, 1996). At the Lemos Maia Experimental Station, Bahia, Brazil the subspecies Callicebus personatus melanochir was found to feed on fruit 85.2% of the time, leaves 14.1% of the time, and flowers and insects 0.7% of the time (Heiduck, 1997). Most of the leaves consumed were young leaves (90%) as opposed to mature (10%) ones (Heiduck, 1997). Of the fruits eaten 51.6% of the fruit part consumed were the fleshy fruit parts and 26.4% were the seeds (Heiduck, 1997). During the dry season the subspecies Callicebus personatus melanochir will consume more seeds in the diet (Heiduck, 1997). Also during the dry season groups will utilize fewer food source patches than in the wet season, and groups will also travel less during the dry season (Heiduck, 1998). During the warmer months, the masked titi will consume more fruits than colder months (Muller, 1996). At the Lemos Maia Experimental Station, Muller (1996) found that the two most important species consumed were Manilkara longifolia and Sprucella crassipedicellata.

This species is diurnal and arboreal and rarely comes to the forest floor (Kinzey, 1997). The masked titi occurs in the lower levels of the forest canopy in thickets and vine tangles (Stallings and Robinson, 1991). Average group size for this species was found to be 3.9 individuals (Pinto et al., 1993). Daily activity begins for this species with the individuals moving from their sleeping position on a tree bough where they were huddled and had their tails entwined with other group members (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). The last individual to leave the sleeping position is usually the adult male (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). Before moving from the sleeping tree, group members will urinate and defecate (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). Before leaving the sleeping tree, adult males and females may engage in a duet and give a dawn call, and other groups may be heard to respond to this call (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). After leaving the sleeping tree that group will move to a fruit tree to feed and throughout the day the group will alternate feeding and resting (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). During an active period of an average of 11.5 hours during the day, this species spent 6.4 hours resting, 2.1 hours feeding, and 1.5 hours traveling (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). The masked titi was found to show two different activity patterns during the day (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). The first pattern consisted of two feeding peaks with a long rest period in between and rapid travel between feeding sites (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). The second pattern consists of three feeding peaks with rest periods in between, but there is relatively little travel (Kinzey and Becker, 1983). The home range for this species tends to be smaller during the dry months of the year (Muller, 1995). During the warm season the masked titi will rest longer during the day (Muller, 1996). This species will sleep in a large bough of a tree, with the bough being of an average height of 32 meters (Kinzey and Becker, 1983).

LOCOMOTION:
The masked titi moves through the understory of the forest quadrupedally as well as by leaping (Fleagle, 1988). This species often uses vertical clinging when feeding (Fleagle, 1988).

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:
The masked titi has a monogamous mating system and mates for life. A dominance hierarchy does not seem to exist (Kinzey, 1997). The basic group is composed of the breeding pair and their offspring. Grooming is an important activity that serves to strengthen social bonds amongst members of the group. The males participate in caring for the infants, becoming the main caregiver after the first week of life of the infant. This species, like members of its genus, are highly territorial (Kinzey, 1997). Pairs of masked titis have been known to engage in duets with other pairs at dawn (Fleagle, 1988).

VOCAL BEHAVIOR:
loud call: This call is composed of a series of short sequences of noises that sound like "chirrup-pump". This call can be given in either a single burst or a series of short bursts each last a few seconds to two minutes (Flesher, 1999). This call is given by males as a territorial call and can be heard for up to one kilometer.

OLFACTORY COMMUNICATION:

VISUAL COMMUNICATION:

TACTILE COMMUNICATION:
tail-entwining: This is used to reinforce bonds amongst pairs. This is where two individuals are sitting and have their tails wrapped around each others.

REPRODUCTION:
The masked titi gives birth to a single offspring. The birth season is from August to October (Kinzey, 1981).

REFERENCES:
Ankel-Simons, F. 2000. Primate Anatomy: An Introduction. Academic Press: San Diego.

Burton, F. 1995. The Multimedia Guide to the Non-human Primates. Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

Fleagle, J. G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press: New York.

Flesher, K. 1999. Primates of the Itubera forest complex, Bahia, Brazil. Neotropical Primates. Vol. 7(4), 127-131.

Heiduck, S. 1997. Food Choice in Masked Titi Monkeys (Callicebus personatus melanochir): Selectivity or Opportunism? International Journal of Primatology Vol. 18, 487-502.

Heiduck, S. 1998. How to cope with seasonality in food availability: Patch use strategies of masked titi monkeys (Callicebus personatus melanochir). Folia Primatologica. Vol. 69, 221.

Heiduck, S., Mesquita, C.A.B., and Schultze, S. 1996. Food trees of masked titi monkeys (Callicebus personatus melanochir) and selective logging in SE-Bahia, Brazil. Vol. 44, 17-18.

Hershkovitz, P. 1990. Titis, New World monkeys of the genus Callicebus (Cebidae, Platyrrhini): A preliminary taxonomic review. Fieldiana Zoology. No. 55.

Kinzey, W.G. 1972. Canine Teeth of the Monkey, Callicebus moloch: Lack of Sexual Dimorphism. Primates Vol. 13(4), 365-369.

Kinzey, W.G. 1981. The titi monkeys, genus Callicebus. in Ecology and Behavior of Neotropical Primates Vol. 1. eds. A.F. Coimbra-Filho and R.A. Mittermeier. Academia Brasileira de Ciencias: Rio de Janeiro.

Kinzey, W.G. 1997. Callicebus. in New World Primates: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. ed. Warren G. Kinzey, Aldine de Gruyter, New York.

Kinzey, W.G. and Becker, M. 1983. Activity Pattern of the Masked Titi Monkey, Callicebus personatus. Primates Vol. 24(3), 337-343.

Kobayashi, S. and Langguth, A. 1999. A new species of titi monkey in northeast Brazil. Neotropical Primates. Vol. 7(3), 88-89.

Marinho-Filho, J. and Verissimo, E.W. 1997. The rediscovery of Callicebus personatus barbarabrownae in northeastern Brazil with a new western limit for its distribution. Primates. Vol. 38(4), 429-433.

Muller, K-H. 1995. Ranging in masked titi monkeys (Callicebus personatus) in Brazil. Folia Primatologica. Vol. 65, 224-228.

Muller, K.-H. 1996. Diet and feeding ecology of masked titis (Callicebus personatus). in Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates. eds. M.A. Norconk, A.L. Rosenberger, and P.A. Garber. Plenum Press: New York.

Pinto, L.P.S., Costa, C.M.R., Strier, K.B., and da Fonseca, G.A.B. 1993. Habitat, density and group size of primates in a Brazilian tropical forest. Folia Primatologica. Vol. 61, 135-143.

Rylands, A.B., Spironelo, W.R., Tornisielo, V.L., de Sa, R.L., Kierulff, M.C.M., and Santos, I.B. 1988. Primates of the Rio Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Primate Conservation. Vol. 9, 100-109.

Santos, I.B., Mittermeier, R.A., Rylands, A.B., and Valle, C.M.C. 1987. The distribution and conservation status of primates in southern Bahia, Brazil. Primate Conservation. Vol. 8, 126-131.

Stallings, J.R. and Robinson, J.G. 1991. Disturbance, forest heterogeneity and primate communities in a Brazilian Atlantic forest park. A Primatologia no Brasil-3. 357-368.

Last Updated: October 5, 2003.
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