The red howler monkey, a species endemic to the Atlantic Forest that extends between Argentina and Brazil, was included among the 25 most threatened primates in the world, on a list published every two years by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Society of Primatology (IPS).

Recurrent outbreaks of yellow fever, along with habitat loss, are the causes that led to an alarming decline in populations and it is estimated that only 50 individuals remain in the country.

This is the first time that a primate that lives in Argentina appears on the "Primates in Danger" list, which has been created with the aim of drawing the attention of government agencies to take action in the face of the imminent extinction of listed species.

This categorization will be especially taken into account for the implementation of the National Primate Conservation Plan, in which CONICET researchers are working together with other governmental and social actors.

One of the specialists who participated in the deliberations to define the list of the 25 most threatened primates in the world, which took place during the 2018 International Primatology Congress in Nairobi, was the CONICET associate researcher at the Instituto de Biología de Misiones, Luciana Oklander.

In Argentina, the red howler monkey lives east of the province of Misiones, in northeastern Argentina, on the border with Brazil.

According to the estimates made by researchers, in Argentina there are only 50 specimens of one of the two recognized subspecies. Most of them are found in protected areas, although there are also individuals outside those areas.

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