Schneider's marmoset is now described. Credit: Rodrigo Costa-ArajoScientists have discovered a new species of marmoset in Brazil's Amazon. Schneider's marmoset, Mico schneideri, was described in the most recent issue of Scientific Reports. It is named after Horacio Schneider who was a pioneer and major contributor to research on diversity and evolution of monkeys.Rodrigo Costa Arajo is currently an associate researcher at Museu Paraense Emlio Goeldi and was part of the team that discovered the discovery. Arajo was partially funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme, a partnership between WCS and BirdLife International.The Amazon marmosets, genus Mico, are one of the most diverse monkey groups. They can only be found in the threatened forests in the "arc of destruction," which is responsible for half the world's land use changes over the past 30 years. There is currently no conservation action to address the habitat loss and population declines that such marmosets are experiencing, primarily due to their poor study.Unknown is the total number of Amazon marmoset species. Arajo and his team found the Munduruku marmoset, Mico munduruku, in another part of the arc deforestation. M. schneideri was first described using marmosets that were known to researchers from 1995, but it was misidentified as M. emiliae.The study identifies 16 Mico species that are found in the "arc deforestation", an extensive area in the south Amazon with the highest land clearing and fires. More research is required to determine the conservation status and investigate the southern portion its geographic distribution. Further research is needed to determine how many Amazon marmosets are found in these forests. This will be the first step towards conserving this endangered group of monkeys.This research was made possible by a scholarship from CNPq and funding by CAPES and FAPESP, FAPEMAT and Conservation Leadership Programme.More information: Rodrigo CostaArajo et.al, An integrative study uncovers a new species of Amazonian marmoset. (Primates Callitrichidae : Mico) From the arc of forest fires, Scientific Reports (2021). Journal information: Scientific Reports Rodrigo Costa-Arajo et al, An integrative analysis uncovers a new, pseudo-cryptic species of Amazonian marmoset (Primates: Callitrichidae: Mico) from the arc of deforestation,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93943-w
