This tour focuses on two rare endemic primates: the America´s largest monkey named Muriqui and the extremely rare Black Lion Tamarin considered extinct for 65 years until its rediscovery.

The Muriqui, once considered to be two subspecies, Brachyteles a. arachnoides and B. a. hypoxanthus were elevated to species level in 1995 based on geographic distribution as well as morphological differences. The two species are completely geographically isolated from each other and interbreeding is not possible in the wild.

Muriquis are the largest of the New World monkeys, appearing almost five feet tall when hanging by their long arms from tree branches. In the wild, muriquis are restricted to small, isolated patches of Atlantic coastal forest in Brazil. They are distinctly separated into northern and southern regions with the northern region including populations in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Bahia and the southern population existing in the states of southern Minas Gerais, southern Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. The populations are separated not only by human development and lack of contiguous forest but also by riverine barriers such as the Rio Grande, the Rio Paraiba do Sul, or the Serra da Mantiqueira.

The black lion tamarin is the most endangered species within Leontopithecus, and the IUCN has recorded their population to be declining. The main threat against it is the destruction of its habitat through deforestation, though it is also threatened by being hunted in unprotected forests.

Both primates are found in highly fragmented patches of Atlantic coastal forest, a once widespread ecosystem spanning several states on the southeastern coast of Brazil which has been reduced in size to less than 5% of its original area. Originally, the Brazilian Atlantic coastal forest was an area of exceptional species diversity and high levels of endemism.

Apart from the primates we will have the opportunity to watch and photograph endemic birds from the Atlantic Rainforest once we are there.

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