The black-fronted titi monkey (''Callicebus nigrifrons'') is a species of

titi The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: ''Cheracebus'', ''Callicebus'', and ''Plecturocebus.'' This subfamily also contains the extinct genera ''Miocallicebus, Homuncul ...

, a type of

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ( ...

. 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 to 2 kilograms and the head-body length is around 270 to 450 millimeters. 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 The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

region of Brazil and has a home range averaging 20 hectares. 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

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 The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea harpy eagle or Papuan harpy eagle. It is the ...

, owls, hawks, falcons,

tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in ...

jaguarundi The jaguarundi (''Herpailurus yagouaroundi'') is a wild cat native to the Americas. Its range extends from central Argentina in the south to northern Mexico, through Central and South America east of the Andes. The jaguarundi is a medium-sized ...

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwes ...

margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife ...

oncilla The oncilla (''Leopardus tigrinus''), also known as the northern tiger cat, little spotted cat, and tigrillo, is a small spotted cat ranging from Central America to central Brazil. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the popul ...

, pumas,

jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

, large snakes, and other, larger primates (such as

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Ateles' ...

s). 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 Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...

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 The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: ''Cheracebus'', ''Callicebus'', and ''Plecturocebus.'' This subfamily also contains the extinct genera '' Miocallicebus, Homuncu ...

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 A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

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

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1350681

black-fronted titi 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 ...

Mammals of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil

Taxa named by Johann Baptist von Spix