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Black-fronted titi
Black-fronted titi in Prados, Brazil
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Simiiformes
Family:	Pitheciidae
Genus:	Callicebus
Species:	C. nigrifrons
Binomial name
Callicebus nigrifrons (Spix, 1823)
Black-fronted titi range

The black-fronted titi monkey (Callicebus nigrifrons) is a species of titi, a type of New World monkey.

The black-fronted titi is a small diurnal primate. The body of this primate is covered in grey to brown fur with black fur concentrated around the face, the tail is slightly orange in color. Body weight ranges from 1–2 kilograms (2.2–4.4 lb) and the head-body length is around 270–450 millimeters (11–18 in). This species does not exhibit sexual dimorphism. Members of this species can live up to 12 years of age in captivity.

Habitat and distribution

The black-fronted titi is endemic to the Atlantic forest region of Brazil and has a home range averaging 20 hectares (49 acres). The black-fronted titi is arboreal and prefers the middle to upper canopy of the forest. However, it will move to the forest floor at times to forage, travel, and play. Play behavior on the forest floor has been documented between black-fronted titis and marmosets in Brazil.

Ecology

Diet

The diet of the black-fronted titi is frugivorous and they forage in dense vegetation. They are also known to eat leaves, seeds, invertebrates, and flowers. Due to their highly frugivorous diet, they play a key role in seed dispersion.

Predation

Predators of the black-fronted titi include the harpy eagle, owls, hawks, falcons, tayra, jaguarundi, ocelot, margay, oncilla, pumas, jaguars, large snakes, and other, larger primates (such as howler monkeys). Black-fronted titis are particularly vulnerable to harpy eagle attacks when they move to the upper portion of the canopy to sunbathe on cold mornings. After detecting a raptor, black-fronted titis alert the surrounding area quickly through alarm calls before hiding.

Behaviour

The black-fronted titi is socially monogamous and is typically found in a group of two to six individuals, which includes the adult pair and their offspring. Females give birth to one offspring per year, usually in July or August. Parental care and social activities with the offspring are carried out by the male of this species, while the female only provides milk. Both males and females disperse from their natal group at three years of age.

The black-fronted titi is territorial and will defend territories, food resources, and mates with loud calls individually or in duets or choruses. Loud calls are used for within and between group communication and have a high amplitude and a low frequency which allows them to be heard over long distances. Loud calls are broadcast at dawn and when titis see or hear another group. When confronted by a predator, duets and choruses can last up to two hours, with group members alternating between soft and loud calls. There are no sex differences in calling behavior during predator interactions, both males and females will call. The black-fronted titi can produce calls which encode the predator type (aerial or terrestrial) and predator location to nearby conspecifics.

Characteristic of the Callicebinae subfamily, black-fronted titis can be observed with interwoven tails, a behavior thought to reinforce pair bonds and strengthen social relationships.

Conservation

The black-fronted titi is classified as near threatened by the IUCN due to extensive habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and an estimated population decline of more than 20% in the past 24 years. Small, isolated populations are common due to fragmentation and in some areas this has led to the species going locally extinct. Noise pollution can also negatively impact this species. One study found that noise from mining operations restricted the black-fronted titis long-distance communication due to the overlap in frequency between mining noise and loud calls, this is significant for a species that relies heavily on vocal communication in social interactions.

References

1. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 144. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
2. Jerusalinsky, L.; de Melo, F.R.; Mittermeier, R.A.; Quadros, S.; Rylands, A.B. (2020). "Callicebus nigrifrons". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T39943A17973667. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T39943A17973667.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
3. ^ Caselli, Christini B.; Gestich, Carla C.; Nagy-Reis, Mariana B. (1 August 2017). "Sleeping above the enemy: Sleeping site choice by black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons )". American Journal of Primatology. 79 (10): e22688. doi:10.1002/ajp.22688. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 28763579. S2CID 3863454.
4. ^ dos Santos, Glênio Pereira; Galvão, Cristiane; Young, Robert J. (5 February 2012). "The diet of wild black-fronted titi monkeys Callicebus nigrifrons during a bamboo masting year". Primates. 53 (3): 265–272. doi:10.1007/s10329-012-0295-5. ISSN 0032-8332. PMID 22311072. S2CID 16700262.
5. ^ Cäsar, Cristiane (2012). Anti-predator behaviour of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons). University of St Andrews. OCLC 806194348.
6. Berthet, Mélissa; Mesbahi, Geoffrey; Duvot, Guilhem; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Cäsar, Cristiane; Bicca‐Marques, Júlio Cèsar (5 October 2021). "Dramatic decline in a titi monkey population after the 2016–2018 sylvatic yellow fever outbreak in Brazil". American Journal of Primatology. 83 (12): e23335. doi:10.1002/ajp.23335. hdl:10023/26129. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 34609763. S2CID 238356438.
7. ^ Caselli, Christini Barbosa; Setz, Eleonore Zulnara Freire (23 August 2011). "Feeding ecology and activity pattern of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) in a semideciduous tropical forest of southern Brazil". Primates. 52 (4): 351–359. doi:10.1007/s10329-011-0266-2. ISSN 0032-8332. PMID 21861115. S2CID 23317950.
8. ^ Duarte, M. H. L.; Kaizer, M. C.; Young, R. J.; Rodrigues, M.; Sousa-Lima, R. S. (11 September 2017). "Mining noise affects loud call structures and emission patterns of wild black-fronted titi monkeys". Primates. 59 (1): 89–97. doi:10.1007/s10329-017-0629-4. ISSN 0032-8332. PMID 28894994. S2CID 22866221.
9. ^ Berthet, Mélissa; Mesbahi, Geoffrey; Duvot, Guilhem; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Cäsar, Cristiane; Bicca‐Marques, Júlio Cèsar (5 October 2021). "Dramatic decline in a titi monkey population after the 2016–2018 sylvatic yellow fever outbreak in Brazil". American Journal of Primatology. 83 (12): e23335. doi:10.1002/ajp.23335. hdl:10023/26129. ISSN 0275-2565. PMID 34609763. S2CID 238356438.
10. Souza-Alves, João Pedro; Mourthe, Italo; Hilário, Renato R.; Bicca-Marques, Júlio César; Rehg, Jennifer; Gestich, Carla C.; Acero-Murcia, Adriana C.; Adret, Patrice; Aquino, Rolando; Berthet, Mélissa; Bowler, Mark (1 October 2019). "Terrestrial Behavior in Titi Monkeys (Callicebus, Cheracebus, and Plecturocebus): Potential Correlates, Patterns, and Differences between Genera". International Journal of Primatology. 40 (4): 553–572. doi:10.1007/s10764-019-00105-x. hdl:10923/19198. ISSN 1573-8604. S2CID 201671105.
11. Nagy-Reis, Mariana B.; Setz, Eleonore Z. F. (2 August 2016). "Foraging strategies of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons) in relation to food availability in a seasonal tropical forest". Primates. 58 (1): 149–158. doi:10.1007/s10329-016-0556-9. ISSN 0032-8332. PMID 27485746. S2CID 20019302.
12. Gestich, Carla Cristina; Nagy-Reis, Mariana B.; Caselli, Christini Barbosa (October 2019). "From dropping to dropping: The contribution of a small primate to seed dispersal in Atlantic Forest". Acta Oecologica. 100: 103464. Bibcode:2019AcO...10003464G. doi:10.1016/j.actao.2019.103464. ISSN 1146-609X. S2CID 202854598.
13. Souza-Alves, João Pedro; Caselli, Christini B.; Gestich, Carla C.; Nagy-Reis, Mariana B. (20 February 2019). "Should I store, or should I sync? The breeding strategy of two small Neotropical primates under predictable resource availability". Primates. 60 (2): 113–118. doi:10.1007/s10329-019-00716-1. ISSN 0032-8332. PMID 30788624. S2CID 67788608.
14. ^ Cäsar, Cristiane; Young, Robert John (16 October 2007). "A case of adoption in a wild group of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons)". Primates. 49 (2): 146–148. doi:10.1007/s10329-007-0066-x. ISSN 0032-8332. PMID 17938856. S2CID 11927244.
15. Caselli, Christini; Mennill, Daniel; Bicca-Marques, Júlio César; Setz, Eleonore (3 March 2014). "Vocal behavior of black-fronted titi monkeys (Callicebus nigrifrons): Acoustic properties and behavioral contexts of loud calls". American Journal of Primatology. 76 (8): 788–800. doi:10.1002/ajp.22270. PMID 24591251. S2CID 24816221.
16. Narbona Sabaté, Lara; Mesbahi, Geoffrey; Dezecache, Guillaume; Cäsar, Cristiane; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Berthet, Mélissa (9 January 2022). "Animal linguistics in the making: the Urgency Principle and titi monkeys' alarm system". Ethology Ecology & Evolution. 34 (3): 378–394. doi:10.1080/03949370.2021.2015452. hdl:10023/26711. ISSN 0394-9370. S2CID 248421107.
17. Cäsar, Cristiane; Zuberbühler, Klaus; Young, Robert J.; Byrne, Richard W. (23 October 2013). "Titi monkey call sequences vary with predator location and type". Biology Letters. 9 (5): 20130535. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0535. PMC 3971693. PMID 24004492.
18. Moynihan, M. (1966). "Communication in the Titi monkey, Callicebus". Journal of Zoology. 150 (1): 77–127. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1966.tb02999.x. ISSN 1469-7998.
19. "Titi monkey". Smithsonian's National Zoo. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
20. Bezerra, BM; Ferrari, S; Boyle, SA; Veiga, LM (August 2009). "Pitheciine Action Group Newsletter" (PDF). p. 13. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

• IUCN Red List near threatened species
• Callicebus
• Primates of Brazil
• Endemic mammals of Brazil
• Mammals described in 1823
• Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix