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A Taxonomic Reassessment of Cacajao melanocephalus Humboldt (1811), with the Description of Two New Species

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Abstract

The author of the last published systematic review of Cacajao recognized 2 subspecies of black-headed uakaris (black uakaris): Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus and C. m. ouakary. As a result of a series of black uakari surveys and collecting expeditions to several tributaries of the Rio Negro and of morphological and molecular analyses of museum specimens and specimens we collected during field expeditions, we reassess their taxonomy. We describe a newly discovered species of black uakari from the Rio Aracá, a left bank tributary of the Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil. We also show that ouakary is a junior synonym of melanocephalus and provide a new name and a new description for Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus in the Pico da Neblina region of Brazil and Venezuela. Based on genetic, morphological, and ecological evidence, we propose that there are 3 species of black uakaris. We named the Rio Aracá species Cacajao ayresi sp. nov. (Ayres uakari) in honor of the late José Márcio Ayres, a pioneer in uakari research and conservation. We named the Neblina black uakari Cacajao hosomi, after the Yanomami word for uakaris. The new taxonomic arrangement provided here implies that the conservation status of black uakaris needs to be reassessed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Yanomami people and the ribeirinho communities of Rio Negro Basin for their help and support during our surveys. We also thank the Catholic and evangelic missionaries who provided assistance to our team in their remote outposts. We thank Drs. Bruce Patterson (FMNH), James F. Whatton (USNM), Al Gardner (USNM), and Richard Thorington (USNM) for providing photographs of black uakari specimens deposited under their care. We thank Drs. Colin Groves, Jim Patton, and 2 anonymous reviewers for their in-depth review of the manuscript. We thank Drs. José de Souza e Silva Júnior and Colin Groves for suggesting that the taxa examined here should receive species status. Pictures of uakari skins were kindly provided by Glenn Shepard. We thank the Brazilian Army, FUNAI, and IBAMA for research permits and logistical support. The Sustainable Development of the Brazilian Biodiversity Program (PROBIO/MMA/BIRD/GEF/CNPq), the Zoological Society of San Diego, and the University of Auckland funded the surveys. International Foundation for Science (IFS) grants to IPF funded in part the molecular analyses. IBAMA granted permission to conduct fieldwork and to collect tissue samples (license no. 005/2005 - CGFAU/LIC). This study is dedicated to the memory of Arnaldo Cabeludo, our friend and dedicated field assistant.

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Correspondence to Jean P. Boubli.

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Boubli, J.P., da Silva, M.N.F., Amado, M.V. et al. A Taxonomic Reassessment of Cacajao melanocephalus Humboldt (1811), with the Description of Two New Species. Int J Primatol 29, 723–741 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9248-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9248-7

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