Madidi titi

The Madidi titi, also known as the GoldenPalace.com monkey or the golden palace monkey, is a titi, a kind of New World monkey, discovered in western Bolivia's Madidi National Park in 2004.[3] Its scientific name is Plecturocebus aureipalatii,[2] the specific epithet meaning "of the Golden Palace", in reference to GoldenPalace.com, an online casino which paid US$650,000 to have the species named after them, with benefits going toward the nonprofit organization that maintains the park where the titi was discovered.[3][4]

Madidi titi

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Pitheciidae
Genus: Plecturocebus
Species:
P. aureipalatii
Binomial name
Plecturocebus aureipalatii
(Wallace, Gómez, A. M. Felton, & A. Felton, 2006)[2]
Synonyms

Callicebus aureipalatii Wallace, Gómez, A. M. Felton, & A. Felton, 2006[2]

Distribution

The species was discovered in low-lying lands of northwestern Bolivia, in the forest at the foot of the Andes. Studies indicate that it inhabits the western bank of the river Beni. The extension to the east and north of its range is not known. Preliminary studies indicate that the species is not endemic to Bolivia, with habitats that may extend to the south of Peru (at least to the Tambopata River).[1][5]

Description

The Madidi titi has orange-brown fur, a characteristic golden crown, a white tip to its tail, and dark red hands and feet. Like other titis, it is monogamous, mating for life. A pair maintains a territory against rival pairs primarily through territorial calling. The male usually carries the infants until they can survive on their own.

Discovery

British biologist Robert Wallace of the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bolivian biologist Humberto Gómez first spotted the monkey in 2000 when they were studying the animals of Madidi National Park.[6][7] It became the first primate species to have been discovered in Bolivia in the last 60 years when it was given status as a new species in 2006 after years of studies.[7][8] The field expedition team, consisting of Annika M. Felton, Adam Felton, and Ernesto Cáceres, were the first researchers to film and record this species, previously unknown to science. Rather than choosing a name themselves, Wallace, his team, and WCS auctioned off the naming rights to raise funds for FUNDESNAP (Fundación para el Desarrollo del Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas), the nonprofit organization that maintains Madidi National Park.[3] The online casino GoldenPalace.com, one of over a dozen bidders, paid US$650,000 to have the species named after them.[4]

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References
  1. Wallace, R. B.; de la Torre, S. & Veiga, L. M. (2008). "Callicebus aureipalatii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T136815A4342993. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T136815A4342993.en.
  2. Byrne, Hazel; Rylands, Anthony B.; Carneiro, Jeferson C.; Alfaro, Jessica W. Lynch; Bertuol, Fabricio; da Silva, Maria N. F.; Messias, Mariluce; Groves, Colin P.; Mittermeier, Russell A. (1 March 2016). "Phylogenetic relationships of the New World titi monkeys (Callicebus): first appraisal of taxonomy based on molecular evidence". Frontiers in Zoology. 13: 10. doi:10.1186/s12983-016-0142-4. ISSN 1742-9994. PMC 4774130. PMID 26937245.
  3. "Madidi Titi Monkey". Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  4. "Internet casino buys monkey naming rights". MSNBC. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  5. van der Speld, R. F., Bello, R., Hebard, L. (2017). "Activity budget and ranging of a group of Madidi titis (Plecturocebus aureipalatii) in Reserva Ecologica Taricaya, with preliminary notes on diet composition, habitat usage and additional sightings" (PDF). Neotropical Primates. 23 (2): 33–40.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Henry Fountain (8 February 2005). "Have Your Very Own Species, for a Price". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  7. Ricardo Herrera Farell (May 2005). "BOL-71: El Aureipalatii: Bautizaron al Callicebus del Madidi" (in Spanish). Biodiversity Reporting Award. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  8. Wallace, Robert B.; Gómez, Humberto; Felton, Annika; Felton, Adam M. (2006). "On a New Species of Titi Monkey, Genus Callicebus Thomas (Primates, Pitheciidae), from Western Bolivia with Preliminary Notes on Distribution and Abundance" (PDF). Primate Conservation. 20: 36. doi:10.1896/0898-6207.20.1.29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012.
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