Callicebus personatus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812)

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 : 470-471

28.

Masked Tita

Callicebus personatus

French: Titi masqué / German: Maskenspringaffe / Spanish: Titi enmascarado

Other common names: Atlantic Titi, Black-fronted Titi, Northern Masked Titi

Taxonomy. Simia personata E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812 ,

holotype was lost in the early 19" century and the type locality is unknown. Restricted by P. Hershkovitz in 1990 to the lower Rio Doce Basin in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo .

C. personatus is the representative species of the personatus species group. Monotypic.

Distribution. SE Brazil (in the states of Espirito Santo, neighboring E Minas Gerais, and extreme N Rio de Janeiro), the distribution may be at least partly limited by the Rio Jequitinhonha to the N, but probably intergrades with distributions of the Blackfronted Titi ( C. nigrifrons ) to the S and W and the Southern Bahian Titi ( C. melanochir ) to the N. The exact present-day limits of the distribution of C. personatus are unclear.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 35-42 cm (males) and 31-40 cm (females), tail 47-55 cm (males) and 41.8-56 cm (females); weight 1050-1650 g (males) and 1000-1600 g (females). Male and female Masked Titis are similar in size and coloration. Their bodies are uniformly buffy to orange, except for blackish lower limbs and cheiridia (hands and feet). Throat, sideburns, forehead, face, and crown are completely black. Two color variants have been identified, with predominantly buffy-colored individuals in the southern part of the distribution of the Masked Titi and predominantly golden orange-colored individuals in the northern part.

Habitat. Primary and disturbed rainforest at elevations from close to sea level to c.1000 m.

Food and Feeding. Like othertitis, the Masked Titiis relatively frugivorous (55-81% of the diet in three study groups) and folivorous (18-26%), with some flowers also being eaten (1-22%). None of the field studies on Masked Titis has recorded insectivory, although this may reflect reduced sampling effort (none of the studies was longer than six months) rather than a complete lack of prey feeding, given that arthropods appear to be a component of diets of all other titis.

Breeding. Adult Masked Titis form monogamous, pairs with the male participating actively in parental care primarily by transporting the infant.

Activity patterns. In one study group, Masked Titis spent most of their daily activity period resting (62%), followed by foraging and feeding (21%) and moving (15%), with a small proportion (2%) devoted to social interactions. In one other group, ¢.17% of activity time was devoted to foraging and feeding. Masked Titis sometimes go to the ground to cross gaps between forest patches but otherwise spend all their time in the forest canopy.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Masked Titi is typical of titis, living in small family groups consisting of an adult pair and their immature offspring, with up to six members. Home ranges of 5 ha, 11 ha, and 12 ha have been recorded for three study groups, although these values may be underestimates given short durations of the field studies (2-6 months). Daily movements were 523-1332 m. The larger home ranges overlapped neighboring groups by 18-19%.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The Masked Titi is fully protected by Brazilian Law. It has a quite small geographic distribution and is threatened mainly by ongoing loss of habitat for agriculture and urban expansion, with less than 10% of the original forest cover now remaining. Habitat fragmentation is the major problem for the conservation of remaining populations, but hunting appears to be negligible in most areas. The largest extant populations of Masked Titis are found in Sooretama Biological Reserve and Linhares Forest Reserve in Espirito Santo, Brazil.

Bibliography. Chiarello & de Melo (2001), Cosenza & de Melo (1998), Hershkovitz (1988, 1990), Kinzey (1982), Kinzey & Becker (1983), Kobayashi (1995), Norconk (2011), Oliver & Santos (1991), Price & Piedade (2000, 2001), Printes et al. (2013), Rylands et al. (1988), Veiga, Ferreria et al. (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. SE Brazil (in the states of Espirito Santo, neighboring E Minas Gerais, and extreme N Rio de Janeiro), the distribution may be at least partly limited by the Rio Jequitinhonha to the N, but probably intergrades with distributions of the Blackfronted Titi ( C. nigrifrons ) to the S and W and the Southern Bahian Titi ( C. melanochir ) to the N. The exact present-day limits of the distribution of C. personatus are unclear.