Itatiaia National Park (Parque Nacional do Itatiaia) is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira, in the southwest of the state of Rio de Janeiro and south of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Incorporating land from both states, the park comprises an area of 30,000 ha; it is covered primarily by Montane Atlantic Rainforest and Seasonal Semideciduous Forest, at elevations ranging from 400 to 2790 m. Four main plant communities are found along an altitudinal gradient: Sub-Montane Forest (from 400 to 499 m), Montane Forest (from 500 to 1499 m), High Montane Forest (from 1500 to 1999 m) and High-Altitude Grasslands (above 2000 m) (Ururahy et al., 1983; Geise et al., 2004).

Six primates have been recorded from the Itatiaia National Park: Callithrix aurita, Callithrix penicillata, Cebus nigritus nigritus, Callicebus nigrifrons, Alouatta guariba clamitans and Brachyteles arachnoides. Most of these are older records, however, published mainly in the 1970s (i.e., Aguirre, 1971; Ávila-Pires and Gouvêa, 1977; see also Câmara, 1995; Marroig and Sant'Anna, 2001), and new surveys will be necessary to update our knowledge of primate distributions in this area.

During field surveys which I carried out in July 2004, I made new records for three primate species belonging to three genera and two families. All my observations were made on a hiking trail known as Trilha dos Três Picos (Three Peaks Trail), which runs for six kilometers and culminates at an elevation of 1662 m at the Serra do Palmital. The trail passes through Montane and High Montane Forest communities. In general, human traffic is infrequent on this trail; hunters and poachers are not known from this area of the park, and the only visitors are a very few tourists and researchers.

Alouatta guariba clamitans Cabrera, 1940

On 15 July 2004, at 0930 hours, I observed an adult male and an adult female carrying an infant on its back at an elevation of 1060 m, at 22°26′07″S, 44°36′30″W. They did not respond to my presence and remained resting for a long period, typical for Alouatta.

Cebus nigritus nigritus (Goldfuss, 1809)

Later on 15 July, at 1400 hours, I observed a group of 10 to 15 individuals at an elevation of 1600 m, at 22°25′23″S, 44°35′19″W. The individuals demonstrated aggressive behaviors when I approached them, such as breaking of branches, vocalizations, and threat displays (piloerection and baring of teeth).

Callicebus nigrifrons (Spix, 1823)

On 20 July 2004, at 1500 hours, I recorded typical vocalizations of this species at an elevation of 1620 m, at 22°25′25″S and 44°35′07″W. I heard the calls in a steep, remote area of the park, and estimated the individuals were approximately 500 m away.

The elevations at which Alouatta guariba clamitans and Callicebus nigrifrons were recorded coincide with the relative frequency distribution of captures of primate species presented by Geise et al. (2004) for elevational gradients at Itatiaia National Park. These authors reported Cebus nigritus nigritus from altitudes between 500 and 1500 m. My observations of these taxa, however, were made outside this range, at 1600 m.

These observations indicate that Itatiaia National Park still supports a variety of primate taxa and is important for the maintenance of primate diversity in the region. Most species and subspecies present in this Park are on the Lista da Fauna Ameaçada de Extinção do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Bergallo et al., 2000): Callithrix aurita (Vulnerable), Callicebus nigrifrons (Vulnerable), Alouatta guariba clamitans (Possibly Threatened), and Brachyteles arachnoides (Critically Threatened). Additional field surveys will be necessary to obtain new records, especially for the genus Callithrix.