Infant hybrids in a newly formed mixed-species group of howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba clamitans and Alouatta caraya) in northeastern Argentina

Abstract

Natural hybridisation between species has been reported in several primate taxa. In the Neotropics, there is increasing evidence of this phenomenon in howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) in contact zones between species. We describe the first known case of formation of a mixed-species group, and two cases of putative infant hybrids between the brown howler (Alouatta guariba clamitans) and the black howler (A. caraya) in Misiones, Argentina. For 2 years, we followed a group consisting of one adult male and two adult female brown howlers and one adult female black howler. The adult female black howler was observed to copulate twice with brown howler males, and never with black howler males. In December 2006, this female was carrying an infant with a hybrid morphotype. This infant died at approximately 1.5 months of age. In November 2007, the same female had another putative hybrid newborn. This infant male died together with all members of his group during a yellow fever outbreak in early 2008. The lower frequency of mixed-species groups and hybrids at our site compared with other contact zones reported in the literature, suggests that the incidence of natural hybridisation between howler species differs depending on local factors such as population demography and landscape fragmentation.