Recursos alimentares dos muriquis (Brachyteles Spix, 1823), primatas endêmicos da Mata Atlântica e criticamente em perigo de extinção

Abstract

Primates are arboreal or semiarboreal mammals, dependent on a high diversity of trees to supply their ecological requirements. Their diet consists mainly of fruits and leaves, and knowledge about their main resources is essential for this threatened group, especially for species that live in a highly deforested biome, such as species of the genus Brachyteles, an endemic genus of primates in the Atlantic Forest. Based on the available scientific literature, we reviewed information about the food resources that compose the diets of Brachyteles arachnoides and Brachyteles hypoxanthus. Most of Brachyteles’ food records are plants (99.35%), composed mainly of fruits (60%), leaves (21%), and flowers (15%). The plant families with the most records were Myrtaceae (12%) and Fabaceae (11%). The plant genera with the most records were Ocotea (6%) and Eugenia (5%). The most commonly registered plant species was Mabea fistulifera (Euphorbiaceae). There is a geographic bias in studies with food records for B. hypoxanthus, eight of the ten studies that have geographic coordinates were carried out in only two locations. Geographical bias appears to be minor for B. arachnoides. Our results warn that the diet of the genus Brachyteles is known in only part of the geographic ranges of the species, especially for B. hypoxanthus, making it difficult to determine the real feeding range of these species. We also highlight the need for more studies related to the diet in other locations along the geographic range of the species.