Red titi monkeys have a strong sense of smell, which plays a role in communication through olfaction. When two red titi monkeys encounter one another for the first time they sniff the face of their new acquaintance. Males also sniff the genital region of their mate before copulating as well as at other times. They also engage in chest rubbing. Male red titi monkeys rub their chests across horizontal branches, spreading secretions from their sternal gland, and have been observed sniffing the branch following chest rubbing. This may play a role in marking territory, but individuals have only been observed sniffing their own scent and not those of others. Grooming and tail intertwining are forms of communication that involve all members of the group, and are important in forming social bonds. Members of a family group will engage in tail intertwining at the end of the night before sleeping. Red titi monkeys have several visual cues that they display when excited or angry. Angry individuals may engage in body swaying, looking away, shaking of the head and body, or raising and lashing of the tail. Other visual cues include a lowered head, closed eyes, protruding lips, bared teeth, an arched back, and pilo-erection.
Red titi monkeys are highly vocal animals and have a complex system of vocalizations. Vocal elements include whistles, screams, grunts, and moans. The most frequently used vocalizations are bellows, pumping, and panting, which are the main components of male and female pair duets. Duets are performed daily at or before sunrise and are usually performed near the border of the home range. Neighboring pairs respond to duetting, which is important in defining territorial boundaries between family groups. A duet can last up to five minutes, with males and females sitting half a meter from one another. A duet begins with moaning and ends with honking. Following moaning, males will typically bellow and females will pant during the bellows, then both will engage in pumping as a synchronized transition, followed by females bellowing while males pant. There are no sex-specific song components, as both males and females alternate between bellows and pants. The duet is only synchronized during the transition between sequences, and neither mate has been found to adapt their pitch or frequency to match their counterpart. The synchrony and sequence in which a pair performs their duet develops slowly over time. A new pair will begin duetting within the first day of becoming mates, but new pairs show greater variability in the length of sequences in their duets than do established pairs. Interestingly, weather seems to have an impact on the frequency of duetting, as it has been observed that pairs engage in more calls on overcast days than clear days and do not make calls during rain. Unpaired, non-resident males also communicate with one another through vocalizations; these calls are different from male portions of duetting.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: duets
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Red titi monkeys are listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There are no negative impacts of red titi monkeys on humans.
Red titi monkeys attract ecotourism ventures.
Positive Impacts: ecotourism
Red titi monkeys are important in their habitat as prey for diurnal raptors and, sometimes, Cebus monkeys. They also compete for food resources for other neotropical primates. Finally, they may disperse the seeds of the fruits they eat.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Red titi monkeys spend approximately 75% of their feeding time eating fruit. The other 25% of the time they consume leaves, bamboo shoots, and some insects. The two fruits most often consumed are Ficus and Brosimum rubecens, which are both soft fruits. Berries are also commonly eaten. Peak feeding times are in the morning and later afternoon, with additional feeding on leaves prior to sleeping. Red titi monkeys are rarely seen feeding in the same trees at the same time as other primates, but can be seen feeding in a tree before or after another primate species. Individuals of a family group habitually feed on the same food source at the same time, indicating a possible social aspect to feeding times. Females have been found to double their intake of insects when lactating, a period during which the protein needs of females increases. Conversely, males have not been seen to make any changes to their diets during the period where they carry infants on their backs.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Frugivore )
Red titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus) are South American primates found in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. There are three subspecies of red titi monkeys found in riparian habitats. In Brazil, they can be found west of the Rio Madeira, and populations continue west into Peru near the Rio Huallaga. They can also be found in the upper Rio Madre de Dios basin in Bolivia and Peru, near the northern Rio-Maranon-Amazonas area, and around the Eastern Cordillera in Peru and Ecuador. In Colombia, red titi monkeys inhabit the region between the Rios Guamues and the Putumayo. There is a 350 km gap spanning the area between the Putumayo and the Upper Rio Orinoco basin where no red titi monkeys can be found. Populations are also found along the eastern base of the Sierra de la Macarena between the Guyabero and Upia rivers.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Red titi monkeys are found most often in lowland tropical and sub-tropical forests which flood seasonally. They also favor forest understory habitats, young forests, swamp edges, and bamboo thickets.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
Other Habitat Features: riparian
There is little information available on the lifespan of Callicebus cupreus. A related species, Callicebus moloch, has a life span of 25 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 26.4 years.
Red titi monkeys are small New World monkeys, with both males and females weighing around 1 kg. The length of their head and body together ranges from 287 to 390 mm, they also have a tail that is about one third to one fourth the length of the head and body combined. The tail is not prehensile, but may play a role in male-female bonding, as mates have been seen sitting with tails intertwined. Red titi monkeys have a dental formula of 2/2, 1/1, 3/3, 3/3. Males and females have canines which are similar in size and length. The molars of Callicebus species are morphologically simple.
Red titi monkeys have coarse fur covering most of the body, except for the face. They have a band of white fur across the crown of the head and red colored fur running along the sides of the cheeks, chest, and belly. The back is covered in darker brown fur while the inner arms and legs are orange or red. The hind limbs are shorter than the forelimbs. The three subspecies of Callicebus cupreus: C. c. cupreus, C. c. ornatuas, and C. c. discolor, can be distinguished from one another based on differences in the color of fur across the forehead. Callicebus c. discolor has white or buffy colored fur running across the forehead, while C. c. cupreus has a less contrasting buffy colored forehead with an outline of black fur. Callicebus c. ornatus shares the pale colored forehead with C. c. discolor, but can be distinguished by the pale fur on its digits.
Average mass: 1 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Average mass: 1120 g.
Predators that may prey on red titi monkeys include diurnal birds of prey, cats, and possibly capuchin monkeys (Cebus). Red titi monkeys are not a main source of food for local hunters, compared to larger neotropical primates, making human predation threats rare.
Known Predators:
Titi monkeys (Callicebus) in general are monogamous, and red titi monkeys are no exception. Monogamous pairs mate for many years and can have up to three generations of offspring living in the family group at any time.
Mating System: monogamous
Red titi monkeys give birth once a year to a single young between November and March. They have an estrus cycle of 17 to 21 days. Family groups range in size from two to five members, including the mated pair and one to three young.
Breeding interval: Red titi monkeys give birth once yearly.
Breeding season: Red titi monkeys have one birth per year between November and March.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average weaning age: 4 months.
Average time to independence: 2 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 74 g.
Average gestation period: 132 days.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Male parents are the main caregivers: they carry the young on their backs, beginning within hours of birth, and continue to do so at all times, except when the mother is nursing the infant. Males continue to carry the young until they reach 4 months old.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Male); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Protecting: Male)
This page has multiple photographs of multiple species within this genus along with an audio clip of titi dueting.
The coppery titi monkey (Plecturocebus cupreus), or red titi monkey,[3] is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America.[2] They are found in the Amazon of Brazil and Peru, and perhaps northern Bolivia.[2] It was described as Callithrix cupreus in 1823.[2] These monkeys have a lifespan of a little over 20 years.[4] These monkeys eat certain fruits, insects, and plants.[5] They live in monogamous pairs with interesting ways for vocalizing and protecting themselves from predators.
Coppery titis typically inhabit lowland tropical and sub-tropical forests in areas that flood seasonally. They can also be found in forest understory habitats, young forests, swamp edges, and bamboo thickets. Their populations are mainly found west of the Rio Madeira in Brazil, around the Rio Huallaga in Peru, within the upper Rio Madre de Dios basin in Peru and Bolivia, near the northern Rio-Maranon-Amazonas area, around the Eastern Cordillera in Peru and Ecuador, between the Rios Guamues and the Putumayo, and along the eastern base of the Sierra de la Macarena between the Guyabero and Upia rivers.[5]
The diet of coppery titis is composed of fruit and insects. They spend nearly 75% of their time feeding eating fruit. The other 25% is spent eating bamboo, leaves, and some insects. The three most consumed fruits are Ficus, Brosimum rubecens, and various berries. Eating time is generally during the early morning and afternoon, while addition feeding on leaves happens before sleeping. Coppery titis rarely eat with other primates, but will eat before or after another primate in the same tree. Family groups will often and habitually eat from the same food source together, meaning there could be a social aspect to meal times. Females will vary their diet when lactating, eating nearly twice as many insects. This is due to the body's higher demand for protein. Males are not known to vary their diets during the time they spend as the primary care-giver.[5]
The behavior of the coppery titis is characterized by a diurnal and entirely arboreal nature, spending all of their day in trees. They live in family groups which consist of an adult pair and up to three generations of off-spring. The adult pairs are monogamous and mate for life. Family members may engage in tail-intertwining before and during sleep. As their tails are not prehensile they cannot be used as an additional grip. When first meeting, these monkeys will smell each other's faces. The titis will also smell their own scent by rubbing their chests on branches - spreading secretions from their sternal gland - before sniffing them. Its possible that this plays a role when marking territory. They have several visual cues which they display when angry or excited. Most notably shaking of their heads and bodies, swaying, looking away from others, or raising and lashing out with their tail. Other cues include barred teeth, a lowered head, closed eyes, protruding lips or an arched back.[5][6] There have been observations of the coppery titi monkeys using the Psychotria leaf to self-medicate through fur rubbing. This ritual is rare and does not happen often. They do this by chewing on the plant and rubbing it on their abdomen for about five minutes. This behavior can be interpreted as self-medication since the plant is known for being used as a medical herb in traditional medicine, as well as having anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.[7] Females will show similar behaviors of their bonded pair to same-sex intruders to show a strong relationship. If successful, the intruder will go away, resulting in reproductive success for the monogamous bonded pair.[8] Once there has been an offspring introduced to a couple, the activity budget of these monkeys will change. The mother will feed more and rested less, and the male will feed less and rested more. This is because the females will forage more to feed the baby, and the male would hold the baby more to protect them.[9]
Coppery titis are highly vocal animals with a complex set of vocalizations and sounds. Coppery titis will vocalize with grunts, screams, whistles and moans. Their most frequent vocalizations are bellows, pumping, and panting, which are the main components of male-female pair duets. These duets are daily performances which occur during or before sunrise near the edge of their territories. Neighboring pairs respond to each other's duets, establishing territorial boundaries. Duets can last up to five minutes, beginning with moaning and ending with honking. For the duration of the duet, males and females will alternate between bellowing calls and panting responses. Between these sequences, the titis will synchronize in a pumping transition. The amount of time spent between synchronized transitions changes over time. Newly paired couples will spend more time between transitions, while older pairs typically show less variability in the length of each sequence between transitions. It seems that weather also has an effect on duetting; they will spend more time duetting on overcast days rather than clear ones. However, they do not perform duets while it rains.[5] Their vocalizations can be heard up to one kilometer,[4] and come in different frequencies and pitches, making it so that if studied, or with careful listening, you can identify them individually. Adult vocalizations are identifiable through an 83% accuracy and infants with a 48% accuracy with a leave-one-out cross validation method of quantitative research. Therefore, it is easier to identify adult coppery titi monkeys, and harder to identify infants. This is beneficial for territorial boundaries and being able to identify their other pair when vocalizing from farther distances in instances where they cannot use other senses to identify the other.[10] Smelling is a form of communication for the Coppery Titi Monkeys. To identify a monkey from up close, they will smell each other's faces. A way to advance before getting involved in sexual intercourse, a male will smell the female's genitals.[5]
The ecological role of the coppery titi is an important one for the sake of local biodiversity. Coppery titis scatter the seeds of fruits within their habitats, promoting continued growth. Coppery titis are hunted by birds of prey and feral cats. There have been observations of possible predators that have not been officially confirmed which include ocelots, boas, tayras, an unidentified hawk, gray-headed kites, a squirrel monkey, and a capuchin monkey.[3] Threats from human predation are low, as they do not compose the diets of local hunters, unlike larger neotropical primates.[5][6] Despite this, they are occasionally hunted as bushmeat and for their tails.[11] Due to their location in a remote, isolated region however, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) puts the coppery titi in the Least Concern (LC) category of endangerment.[2]
Another observation that has been conducted is anti-predatory behavior. These monkeys have been seen to have a "mobbing behavior" towards possible predators. The mobbing behavior starts with one male starting an alarm call, this will trigger others to join and in two to three minutes there is a group alarm call that is surrounding the predator. The monkeys move around the predator sporadically, continuing this alarm call, lashing their tails, and swaying their heads. During this phenomenon they also get goose bumps. The reasoning behind it is believed to reduce attacks and increase the chances of the predator leaving. This "mobbing behavior" usually happens without infants involved. When there is an infant involved the coppery titi monkey will hide farther away, though still making the alarm calls. Out of all observations, the longest alarm call went over 40 minutes. When there is a threat in the area, it is usually the male making the call, and if there is an infant, he is protecting the infant.[3]
The coppery titi monkey (Plecturocebus cupreus), or red titi monkey, is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America. They are found in the Amazon of Brazil and Peru, and perhaps northern Bolivia. It was described as Callithrix cupreus in 1823. These monkeys have a lifespan of a little over 20 years. These monkeys eat certain fruits, insects, and plants. They live in monogamous pairs with interesting ways for vocalizing and protecting themselves from predators.
