Muriqui - Brachyteles arachnoides

Muriqui - Brachyteles arachnoides (E. Geoffroy, 1806).

IUCN STATUS CATEGORY Endangered

HABITAT Atlantic Coastal Forest. Undisturbed high forest, including both lowland tropical and montane rainforest.

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD Brazilian endemic. Southern Bahia, through eastern Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo (now extinct over most of its range).

CURRENT POPULATION Approximately 700 to 2,000 animals (Martuscelli, et al. 1994).

SIZE Body length 46 to 63cm. Tail 65 to 80cm.

WEIGHT 12 to 15kg.

AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY Unknown.

NORMAL DIET Leaves form the majority of the diet. Flowers and fruit are also eaten.

NORMAL LIFESTYLE Usually found in groups of two to four animals. Males remain in their natal groups throughout their lives, they are intolerant of males from other groups.

PREVIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD Presumably once occurred in all Atlantic coastal forests of eastern and south-eastern Brazil.

REASONS FOR DECLINE Loss of habitat through clearance for settlement and agriculture. Commercial logging and charcoal production also contribute to habitat loss. Hunting of Muriqui as food and the use of infants as pets are also major threats.

CURRENT THREATS Same as the reasons for decline. The fragmentation of much of the Muriqui's habitat has led to the isolation of many small groups. These are threatened by inbreeding and subsequent genetic loss. Males left with little or no allies of the same sex may reach very low rates of reproductive success, depending on the level of intrasexual competition they will face.

CONSERVATION PROJECTS Very few Muriqui have previously been kept and bred in captivity. A captive breeding programme is presently being undertaken at the Rio de Janeiro Primate Centre. The Centre had managed to obtain four Muriqui (two males and two females) by January 1990. The first birth of a Muriqui at the centre occurred on 10 of September 1991. A total of six Muriqui have now been born at the Centre, four of which are alive and well; three females and a single male. The species is present in about 23 reserves. There are very few large areas of Atlantic Forest that are both demarcated as official reserves and efficiently protected, and each has a limited carrying capacity. Small private reserves may have a complementary role in the preservation of Muriqui. Each privately owned forest currently containing Muriquis represents a valuable addition of genetic material, which is available for future action (Mendes, 1994).

SPECIAL FEATURES With a weight of 12 to 15kg the Muriqui is the largest Neotropical Primate (Milton, 1984). The name Muriqui was given by the Tupi Indian tribes (Coimbra-Filho et al.).

REFERENCES

Mittermeir, R.A., Valle, C.M.C., Alves, M.C., Santos, I.B., Pinto C.A.M., Strier, K.B. Young, A.L. Veado, E.M., Constable, I.D., Paccagnella, S.G. & Lemos de Sa, R.M. 1987. Current distribution of the Muriqui in the Atlantic Forest Region of Eastern Brazil. Primate Conservation. 8. 43-149.

Lemos de Sa, R.M., Pope, T.R., Glander, K.E., Struhsaker, T.T. & da Fonseca, G.A.B. 1990. A Pilot Study of Genetic and Morphological Variation in the Muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides). Primate Conservation. 11. 26-30.

Thornback, J & Jenkins, M. 1982. The IUCN Mammal Red Data Book Part 1. IUCN. Gland. pp. 181-183.

Nowak, R.M. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World. 5th ed. Vol.1. John Hopkins University Press, London. pp. 460-461.

Martuscelli, P., Petroni, L.M. & Olmos, F. 1994. Fourteen New Localities for the Muriqui Brachyteles arachnoides. Neotropical Primates. 2 (2): 12-15.

Mendes, F.D.C. 1994. Muriqui Conservation: The Urgent Need of an Integrated Management Plan. Neotropical Primates. 2 (2): 16-19.

Coimbra-Filho, A.F. & Pissinatti, A. 1994. Muriquis at the Rio de Janeiro Primate Centre. Neotropical Primates. 2 (1): 5-7.

Pissinatti, A., Coimbra-Filho, A.F., & dos Santos, J.L. 1994. Muriqui Births at the Rio de Janeiro Primate Center. Neotropical Primates. 2 (3): 9-10.

Milton, K. 1984. Habitat, diet, and activity patterns of free-ranging woolly spider monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides E. Geoffroy 1806). International Journal of Primatology. 5: 491-514. (original not seen: Nowak, 1991).

Coimbra-Filho, A.F., Pissinatti, A. & Rylands, A. Breeding Muriquis Brachyteles arachnoides In Captivity: The Experience of the Rio de Janeiro Primate Centre (CPRJ-FEEMA). Dodo. Journal of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trusts. 29: 66-77.

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