Aotus lemurinus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1843
Creators: name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Anthony B. Rylands
name: Don E. Wilson
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Aotidae
Aotus
Aotus lemurinus

description: 1. Lemurine Night Monkey Aotus lemurinus
French: Douroucouli Iémurien / German: Nordlicher Graukehl-Nachtaffe / Spanish: Mico nocturno de vientre gris Other common names: Colombian Night Monkey, Gray-bellied Night Monkey, Lemurine Owl Monkey
Taxonomy. Aotus lemurinus 1. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1843,
Colombia, Santa Fé de Bogota.
According to T. Defler and coworkers, the karyotype of A. hershkovitzi described by Ramirez-Cerquera in 1983, from the upper Rio Cusiana, Boyaca, Colombia, was 2n = 58 (listed by C. P. Groves in his 2001 book Primate Taxonomy), which was in fact that of true A. lemurinus. Further cytogenetic studies by Defler and M. Bueno concluded that the A. lemurinus defined in P. Hershkovitz’s 1983 revision was in fact three karyotypically well-defined species: night monkeys of the lowlands of Panama and the Choco region of Colombia were A. zonalis; those of the Magdalena Valley were A. griseimembra; and only those from the slopes of the Andean cordilleras above elevations of 1000-1500 m were A. lemurinus. Monotypic.
Distribution. A montane species of the Andes range at elevations above 1000-1500 m in Colombia, in the upper Rio Cauca Valley and slopes of Cordillera Oriental (not in the Magdalena Valley, occupied by the Gray-legged Night Monkey, A. griseimembra), and extending S through the humid subtropical forests of the Cordillera Oriental into Ecuador; perhaps N along the Sierra de Perija into Venezuela, but this has not been confirmed.
Descriptive notes. Head-body average 30-6 cm (males, n = 5) and 32-5 cm (females, n = 7), tail average 34-3 cm (males, n = 5) and 34-1 cm (females, n = 7); weight 800 g (one male) and 1050 g (one lactating female). The Lemurine Night Monkey is a gray-necked species, with a diploid chromosome number of 58 for both sexes. Rather shaggy and long-haired, coloration of the upperparts is variable but often grayish to buffy-agouti, with at most a poorly defined brownish medial dorsal band. The ventral side ofthe tail is red nearly to the tip, which is reddish-black. The underside is yellowish to pale orange. Inner sides of limbs are entirely grayish agouti, like the outersides, or they may have yellowish to pale orange tone extending from the chest and belly to usually no further than the mid-arm or mid-leg. Facial pattern is variable, and hands and feet are dark. Temporal stripes may be separate or united behind the head. There is no interscapular whorl or crest.
Habitat. Tropical and high-elevation forest at 1000-3200 m above sea level.
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but the diet is likely composed ofundoubtedly comprises fruits, insects, and nectar.
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but it is no doubt nocturnal and arboreal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. The range ofthis species has long suffered widespread deforestation and expanding illicit coffee production. Although believed to be threatened, little is known of its actual conservation status, and censuses of populations are needed. The national natural parks of Tama and Puracé in Colombia are within its range, and it is occurs in Llanganates and Sumaco Napo-Galeras national parks and the Cofan-Bermejo Ecological Reserve in Ecuador.
Bibliography. Defler (2003b, 2004), Defler et al. (2001), Fernandez-Duque (2011a, 2012), Ford (1994a, 1994b), Hernandéz-Camacho & Cooper (1976), Hernandéz-Camacho & Defler (1985), Hershkovitz (1983), Ramirez (1983), Tirira (2007), Uribe (1989), Wright (1981, 1989, 1994).
description: Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Aotidae, pp. 414-431 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 427, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5726960