Lucifer Titi

• Common Name: Yellow-handed Titi
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1914
• Monkey Size: 30 to 45 cm (11 to 17.5 in)
• Skin Color(s): Dark reddish-brown
• Habitat: Forest
• Diet: Herbivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

Lucifer’s Titi^[1] (Cheracebus lucifer) is a species of Titi, a New World monkey endemic to South America. It is found in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.

• This yellow-handed Titi was described as Callicebus lucifer in 1914. Lucifer’s Titi was previously treated as part of Cheracebus torquatus, the collared Titi.
• The small bodies of Lucifer titis are covered with a long, soft coat of dark reddish-brown fur. Their triangular faces are pink and illuminated by two beautiful, expressive brown eyes.
• Their nose is flat, and their nostrils are oblique. Its ears are covered in tick fur that surrounds its face. A band of creamy white fur extends from the base of the ears to the neck.
• When Lucifer’s titi monkeys were first recognized as a single species, scientists thought their orange hands were a distinguishing feature.
• Recent studies show that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, some Lucifer Titi monkeys have creamy white hands. In addition, its hands and feet have 5 digits with opposing fingers and thumbs.
• Its tail is dark brown or black at the base and ends in reddish tones at the tip.
• Unlike many New World Monkeys, titi monkeys’ tails are not prehensile, meaning they cannot use them to grasp or hold tree branches. Instead, they have strong thighs that allow them to jump between branches with great dexterity.

In the wild, the Yellow-handed Titi consumes these plant matters^[¶]:

• Pachiuba (Socratea exorrhiza)
• Matchwood (Schefflera morototoni)
• Bara (Guatteria longicuspis)
• Scarlet Passionflower (Passiflora coccinea).
• Poroto Shimbillo (Inga brachyrhachis).
• Seasonvine (Cissus verticillata)
• Black Manwood (Minquartia guianensis).

• Lucifer titis are diurnal, which means they are active during the day. However, they are arboreal and spend most of their time in the lower canopy.
• These monkeys live in groups consisting of 2 to 5 individuals, including an adult male and an adult female with her young.
• As with all titi monkeys, an adult male and an adult female form a close-knit pair that maintains several breeding seasons.
• Lucifer Titi monkeys can often be seen with intertwined tails, meaning one individual’s tail wraps around another’s the body and vice versa.
• At dawn, male Lucifer titi monkeys emit a loud cry as they run and leap through the trees. The females follow them.