Callicebus lucifer, Thomas, 1914

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Phitheciidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 432-483 : 469

24.

Yellow-handed Titi

Callicebus lucifer

French: Titi lucifer / German: Witwenaffe / Spanish: Titi lucifer

Other common names: Lucifer Titi, Rufous-tailed Collared Titi, Yellow-handed Titi Monkey

Taxonomy. Callicebus lucifer Thomas, 1914 ,

Yahuas Territory near Pebas, department of Loreto, Peru.

C. lucifer was considered to be a subspecies of C. torquatus until the review of M. van Roosmalen and colleagues in 2002. It is a member of the forquatus species group. The range ofthis species probably intergrades with that of the closely related C. medemi , another member of torquatus species group, in the Caqueta-Putumayo interfluvium in southern Colombia. C. lucifer is sympatric with C. discolor , a member of the cupreus species group, throughout most of the southern one-half of its distribution. Monotypic.

Distribution. W Amazon Basin in SE Colombia, NE Ecuador, N Peru, and NW Brazil, where it is found between the rio Japura-Caqueta and the Solimoes/Napo river system to the S.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 36-39 cm (males) and 34.9-41 cm (females), tail 46-5— 48 cm (males) and 45-45.6 cm (females); weight 1500 g (males). Male and female Yellow-handed Titis are similar in size and coloration. Their bodies are entirely blackish, with some brownish or reddish coloration on their backs and sides. The hands are yellowish orange. The throat has a distinct white collar, extending upward as far as the ears.

Habitat. [.owland Amazon rainforest at elevations of 100-300 m. In Ecuador, the Yellow-handed Titi appears to prefer tall terra firma forest, but in Peru, it prefers whitesand or sandy-clayey soil habitats. Swampy areas are not favored. Its use of high levels in the forest canopy is nottypical of titis, but similar use has also been reported in the closely related White-chested Titi ( C. lugens ) and may contribute to niche partitioning with the Red-crowned Titi (C. discolor ).

Food and Feeding. Data on the feeding ecology of Yellow-handed Titis are available from two sites in Peru, where they were predominantly frugivorous (67-74% of feeding records). Although leaves were also important dietary items (9-13%), arthropods made up a relatively large proportion of their diets (14-16%), compared with most other species of titis. A preference for seeds (37%) was also noted in one study, which led some authors to suggest a specialization for seed predation, which may be a characteristic of the torquatus group species, although there are still too few data to evaluate any such pattern conclusively.

Breeding. The Yellow-handed Titi forms monogamous breeding pairs, and the male provides parental care by carrying the single offspring.

Activity patterns. The members of the two study groups ofYellow-handed Titis in Peru spent more than half their day resting (50-63% of activity budget), which is typical of titis, with the rest of the time devoted to foraging and feeding (16-26%) and moving (13-16%). In one group, an estimated 5% of their time was dedicated to social behavior such as grooming. One study found that social grooming may occupy as much as 10% of daily activities and this behavior was even more intense in the nightly roost. The study group at onesite preferred to roost in emergenttrees.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean daily movements for two study groups in Peru were 684 m and 819 m, and home ranges were 18 ha and 20 ha. Home range overlap in Peru appeared to be less than 10%. Social groups are typically formed by a breeding pair and their immature offspring, with groups of up to five individuals being reported from one site but smaller groups of no more than three individuals at a secondsite. In the latter case, records were obtained from population surveys that tend to underestimate group size.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Yellow-handed Titi is protected primarily by the remoteness of its geographic distribution, which has generally suffered low levels of impact. It is known to occur in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in Ecuador and is present in other protected areas, although it is absent from some importantsites, such as Mamiraua State Sustainable Development Reserve in Brazil, due to the inappropriate flooded forest and swampy habitats there.

Bibliography. Aquino & Encarnacion (1994b), Aquino et al. (2008), Bicca-Marques & Heymann (2013), Defler (1994a), Easley & Kinzey (1986), Hershkovitz (1988, 1990), Heymann, Encarnacién & Soini (2002), Kinzey (1977, 1981), Kinzey & Wright (1982), Kinzey et al. (1977), Lawler et al. (2006), Norconk (2011), van Roosmalen et al. (2002), Rowe & Martinez (2003), de la Torre, Utreras & Campos (1995), Veiga, de la Torre & Cornejo (2008).

Figures

On following pages: 20. Madidi Titi (Callicebus aureipalatii); 21. Medem'’s Titi (Callicebus medemi); 22. White-collared Titi (Callicebus torquatus); 23. White-chested Titi (Callicebus lugens); 24. Yellow-handed Titi (Callicebus lucifen; 25. Rio Purus Titi (Callicebus purinus); 26. Rio Jurué Collared Titi (Callicebus regulus); 27. Black-fronted Titi (Callicebus nigrifrons); 28. Masked Titi (Callicebus personatus); 29. Southern Bahian Titi (Callicebus melanochir); 30. Blond Titi (Callicebus barbarabrownae); 31. Coimbra-Filho's Titi (Callicebus coimbral).

Distribution. W Amazon Basin in SE Colombia, NE Ecuador, N Peru, and NW Brazil, where it is found between the rio Japura-Caqueta and the Solimoes/Napo river system to the S.