ABSTRACT
The New World monkeys, or platyrrhines, are divided into two families, the Callitrichidae and Cebidae, w i t h a total of 16 genera and from 98 to 202 recognized species and subspecies (Rylands et al. 1997). Platyrrhines are found from southern Mexico through northern Argentina across an immense diversity of habitat types. Some genera, such as the howler mon keys (Alouatta) and capuchin monkeys (Cebus), are widely distributed from the equator to more seasonal latitudes extending beyond the Tropic of Cancer. Most genera, and some species of common genera, have much more restricted distributions, w i t h high levels of endemism and corre spondingly high risks of extinction.
