Primates of the Río Curaray,Northern Peruvian Amazon

We conducted a short survey of primates along the Río Curaray in the northern Peruvian Amazon, emphazing rare, threatened or little known species. Contrary to Thorington, (Thorington, R. W., Jr., 1988, Am. J. Primatol. 15:367–371), we found no evidence for sympatry between Saguinus tripartitus and Saguinus fuscicollis, with the former being restricted to the north bank and the latter to the south bank of the Río Curaray. The Curaray also separates two species of Pithecia. The height above ground at which species were encountered increased with body size, providing evidence for vertical stratification within the primate community. The Curaray area still has rich primate diversity compared to other areas in the northern Peruvian Amazon, even though larger species, such as the spider monkeys, are hunted.