A new species of capuchin monkey, genus Cebus Erxleben (Cebidae, Primates): found at the very brink of extinction in the Pernambuco Endemism Centre

We report the discovery of a new species of Cebus (Primates, Cebidae), here designated Cebus queirozi sp. nov. Mendes Pontes and Malta, found in a single population, composed of a single group of 18 individuals, in the Atlantic coast of the Pernambuco Endemism Centre, the sector of the Atlantic forest of Brazil located above the São Francisco river, one of the most important hotspots of the earth. The new species was not located in any of 23 other sites surveyed in the region, which suggests that they are critically endangered and, therefore, the holotype was not sacrificed, but photographed and subsequently released back to his group.

A paratype was also photographed and used for the description. They live close to a highly­populated area, are isolated in a matrix of sugar cane plantations, and use an area of only about 200 ha, formed by highly­disturbed patches of tropical rainforest, and a swamp, formed by stands of Montrichardia linina (Aracaeae). The specific name acknowledges the landowner’s family for having protected the area and the species for more than 30 years.