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Anthony Rylands, Ph.D.

Primate Conservation Director

    Education

    Ph.D. (Cantab.) Zoology, University of Cambridge,BSc., ARCS Zoology, Imperial College, University of London

    Dr. Anthony Rylands began his career studying primates in the Amazon and Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil. Since 1996, he has served as deputy Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, and has increasingly focused his work on the objectives of the specialist group—networking, coordinating, and publishing on themes that focus on the conservation of threatened primates worldwide. He manages a small grants program, the Primate Action Fund, is editor of the journal Primate Conservation and of a primate field guide series promoted by the specialist group, and he maintains a taxonomic and conservation status database for the more than 700 primate species and subspecies now recognized.

    From 1977 to 1982, Anthony carried out pioneer field studies of the behavior and ecology of marmosets and lion tamarins, which he presented to the University of Cambridge for his doctoral thesis. He was subsequently coordinator for three years (1983-1986) of the sub-project, Primates of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (DBFF), in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund – US. These were early days for the science of conservation biology and the sub-project examined particularly the survival of primates in forest patches of different sizes surrounded by cattle pasture. In 1986, he was appointed professor of vertebrate zoology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and there collaborated in the creation of Brazil’s first graduate course in conservation biology. From 1993, Anthony was also an associate scientist for Conservation International’s Brazil Program, working with staff there on the development of conservation strategies such as biological corridors for the Amazon and Atlantic forest.

    In 2000, Anthony moved to Washington, DC, to join Conservation International (CI) in its newly founded Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, acting as senior director for Conservation Biology. In 2009, he was appointed senior research scientist to work directly, as deputy-chair of IUCN’s Primate Specialist Group, with the then-president of CI, Russell Mittermeier, and, as such, involved full time with primate conservation initiatives around the world. Anthony is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Science, and has edited 12 books, and authored more than 300 articles and book chapters on protected areas and primate behavior, ecology, conservation, distributions and taxonomy. His next major ambition is to edit a field guide for the Neotropical primates, compiling and summarizing the immense amount of new information on their diversity and geographic ranges.

    View full list of publications

    Boubli, J. P., Byrne, H., Silva, M. N. F. da, Silva-Júnior, J., Costa Araujo, R., Bertuol, F., Gonçalves, J., Melo, F. R., Rylands, A. B., Mittermeier, R. A., Silva, F. E., Nash, S. D., Canale, G., Alencar, R. de M., Rossi, R., Carneiro, J., Sampaio, I., Farias, I. P., Schneider, H. & Hrbek, T. 2019. On a new species of titi monkey (Primates: Plecturocebus Byrne et al., 2016), from Alta Floresta, southern Amazon, Brazil. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution32: 117–137.,Hart, J. A., Detwiler, K. M., Alempijevic, D., Lokasola, A. and Rylands, A. B. 2019. Dryas monkey Cercopithecus dryas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T4216A17947691. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T4216A17947691.en.,Talebi, M., Melo, F., Rylands, A.B., Ferraz, D. da S., Ingberman, B., Mittermeier, R.A., Martins, M. & Jerusalinsky, L. 2019. Brachyteles arachnoides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T2993A17927228. [http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T2993A17927228.en](http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T2993A17927228.en)\.,Pilbrow, V. & Rylands, A. B. 2019. The contributions to primatology of Colin P. Groves (1942–2017): Co-recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Primatological Society, 2018. International Journal of Primatology 40: 297–299. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-019-00088-9.,De la Torre, S., Tirira, D., Alfonso-Cortes, F., Álvarez-Solas, S., Carrillo-Bilbao, G., Cervera, L., Fuentes, N., Martin-Solano, S., Morelos-Juárez, C., Solórzano, M. F., Mittermeier, R. A. and Rylands, A. B. 2019. Primates de Ecuador, Guia de Identificación de Bolsillo. Tropical Pocket Guide Series, Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX.,Schwitzer, C., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Chiozza, F., Williamson E. A., Byler, D., Wich, S., Humle, T., Johnson, C., Mynott, H. and McCabe, G. (eds.). 2019. Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2018–2020. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society, Global Wildlife Conservation, and Bristol Zoological Society, Washington, DC. 129 pp.,Buss, G., Oklander, L. I., Bicca-Marques, J. C., Hirano, Z. L., Chaves, O. M., Mendes, S. L., Neves, L. G., Melo, F. R., Rylands, A. B. and Jerusalinsky, L. 2019. Brown howler monkey, Alouatta guariba Humboldt, 1812. In: Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2018–2020, C. Schwitzer, R. A. Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, F. Chiozza, E. A. Williamson, D. Byler, S. Wich, T. Humle, C. Johnson, H. Mynott and G. McCabe (eds.), pp.94–97. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society, Global Wildlife Conservation, and Bristol Zoological Society, Washington, DC.,Gordo, M., Lagroteria, D., Röhe, F., Jerusalinsky, L., Azevedo, R. B. de, Vidal, M. D., Hrbek, T., Farias I. P. & Rylands, A. B. 2019. Pied tamarin, Saguinus bicolor (Spix, 1823). In: Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2018–2020, C. Schwitzer, R. A. Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, F. Chiozza, E. A. Williamson, D. Byler, S. Wich, T. Humle, C. Johnson, H. Mynott and G. McCabe (eds.), pp.82–85. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society, Global Wildlife Conservation, and Bristol Zoological Society, Washington, DC.,Gusmão, A. C., Messias, M. R. de, Carneiro, J. C., Schneider, H., Alencar, T. B. de, Calouro, A. M., Dalponte, J. C., Mattos, F. de S., Ferrari, S. F., Buss, G., Azevedo, R. B. de, Santos Jr, E. M., Nash, S. D., Rylands A. B. & Barnett, A. A. 2019. A new species of titi monkey, Plecturocebus Byrne et al., 2016 (Primates, Pitheciideae) from southwestern Amazonian, Brazil. Primate Conserv. (33): 21–35.,Link, A., Luna, A, G. de, Bustamante, N., Mittermeier, R. A. & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Primates de Colombia, Guia de Identificación de Bolsillo. Tropical Pocket Guide Series, Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX.,Estrada, A., Garber, P. A., Mittermeier, R. A., Wich, S., Gouveia, S., Dobrovolski, R., Nekaris, K. A. I., Nijman, V., Rylands, A. B., Maisels, F., Williamson, E. A., Bicca-Marques, J. C., Fuentes, A., Jerusalinsky, L., Johnson, S., Melo, F. R. de, Oliveira, L., Schwitzer, C., Roos, C., Cheyne, S., Kierulff, C., Raharivololona, B., Talebi, M., Ratsimbazafy, J., Supriatna, J., Boonratana, R., Wedana, M. and Setiawan, A. 2018. Primates in peril: the significance of Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for global primate conservation. PeerJ. 6: e4869. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4869.,Holmes, N. D., Langrand, O., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Brooks, T. M. Spatz, D., Russell, J. C., Sechrest, W. & Méndez-Sánchez, F. (eds.). 2018. Islands / Islas. CEMEX, Mexico. 250pp.,Holmes, N. D., Langrand, O., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Brooks, T. M. Spatz, D., Russell, J. C., Sechrest, W., Méndez-Sánchez, F., Parr, M. J., Simberloff, D., Church, D., Tershy, B., Uribe, C. & Daltry, J. C. 2018. Introduction. In: Islands / Islas, N. D. Holmes, O. Langrand, R. A. Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, A. B., T. M. Brooks, T. M. D. Spatz, J. C. Russell, W. Sechrest & F. Méndez-Sánchez, (eds.), pp.1–45. CEMEX, Mexico.,Pinto. L. P., Ravetta, A. L., Buss, G., Rylands, A. B. & Veiga, L. M. 2018. Alouatta discolor (Spix, 1823). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (org.). pp.152-155. ICMBio, Brasília.,Mourthé, I. M. da C., Muniz, C. C. & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Ateles belzebuth (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1806). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ed.), pp.171-176. ICMBio, Brasília.,Alves, S. L., Ravetta, A. L., Paim, F. P., Messias, M. R., Calouro, A. M. & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Ateles chamek (Humboldt, 1812). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ed.), pp.177-182. ICMBio, Brasília.,Ravetta, A. L., Buss, G. & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Ateles marginatus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ed.). pp.182-185. ICMBio, Brasília.,Ravetta, A. L. Valença-Montenegro, M. M., Rylands A. B. & Messias, M. R. 2018. Lagothrix cana cana (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ed.), pp.196-199. Brasília: ICMBio, Brasília.,Mourthé, I. M. da C., Muniz, C. C. & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Lagothrix lagothricha (Humboldt, 1812). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ed.), pp.199-203. ICMBio, Brasília.,Ravetta, A. L., Muniz, C. C., & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Lagothrix poeppigii (Schinz, 1844). In: Livro Vermelho da Fauna Brasileira Ameaçada de Extinção: Volume II, Mamíferos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ed.), pp.203-205. ICMBio, Brasília.,Mittermeier, R. A. and Rylands, A. B. 2018. Prólogo. In: Plan de Acción para la Conservación de los Primates de Ecuador, D. G. Tirira, S. de la Torre and G. Zapata Rios (eds.), pp.5-6. Ministério del Ambiente (MAE) / Grupo de Estudio de Primates del Ecuador (GEPE) / Asociación Ecuatoriana de Mastozoología (AEM). Quito.,Sampaio, R., Röhe, F. & Rylands, A. B. 2018. Diversity of primates and other mammals of the middle Purus in the Brazilian Amazon. Mammalia 82(6): 565-579. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2016-0136.,Rylands, A. B., Goodman, S. M., and Louis Jr., E. E. 2018. Species’ lists for lemurs in protected areas. In: Les Aires Protegees Terrestres de Madagascar: Leur Histoire, Description et Biote / The Terrestrial Protected Areas of Madagascar: Their History, Description, and Biota. Volume I: Introduction. Volume II: Northern and Eastern Madagascar / Le Nord et l’Est de Madagascar. Volume III: Western and Southwestern Madagascar – Synthesis / L’Ouest et le Sud de Madagascar – Synthesis, S. M. Goodman, M. J. Raherilalao and S. Wohlauser (compilers). Association Vahatra, Antananarivo, Madagascar. 1716pp.,Boubli, J. P., Silva, M. N. F. da, Rylands, A. B., Nash, S. D., Bertuol, F., Nunes, M., Mittermeier, R. A., Byrne, H., Silva F. E. da, Röhe, F., Sampaio, I., Schneider, H., Farias, I. P. & Hrbek, T. P. 2018. How many pygmy marmoset (Cebuella Gray, 1870) species are there? A taxonomic re-appraisal based on new molecular evidence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 120: 170–182.,Schwitzer, C., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Chiozza, F., Williamson, E. A., Macfie, E. J., Wallis, J. & Cotton, A. 2017. Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2016-2018. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society (IPS), Conservation International (CI), and Bristol Zoological Society. Arlington, VA. 107pp.,Neves, L. G., Jerusalinsky, L., Melo. F. R., Rylands, A. B. & Talebi. M. 2017. Northern Brown Howler Alouatta guariba guariba (Humboldt, 1812). In: Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2016-2018, C. Schwitzer, R. A. Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, F. Chiozza, E. A. Williamson, E, J. Macfie, J. Wallis & A. Cotton (eds.), pp.96–99. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society (IPS), Conservation International (CI), and Bristol Zoological Society. Arlington, VA.,Mittermeier, R. A. & Rylands. A. B. 2017. Biodiversity Hotspots. In: Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene. Volume 3: Biodiversity, T. E. Lacher Jr. (ed.), pp.67–75. Elsevier Inc. New York.,Rylands, A. B. & Mittermeier, R. A. 2017. The IUCN Red List and primate conservation. In: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology, A. Fuentes (ed.), 3pp. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.,Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Sechrest W., Langhammer, P. F., Mittermeier, J. C., Parr, M. J., Konstant, W. R. & Mast, R. B. (eds.). 2017. Back from the Brink / Desde el Umbral de la Extinción. CEMEX, S.A., Mexico. 275pp.,Langhammer, P., Hoffmann, M., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Sechrest, W., Vié, J.-C., Rhodin, A. J. G., Mittermeier, J. C., Parr, M. J., Konstant, W. R., Rodríguez, J. P., Stuart, S. N., Al Mubarak, R. K., Launay, F., Mast, R. B., Maunder, M., Church, D., Contreras-MacBeath, T., Molur, S., Heard, N. & Gascon, C. 2017. Intoduction. In: Back from the Brink / Desde el Umbral de la Extinción, R. A, Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, W. Sechrest, P. F. Langhammer, J. C. Mittermeier, M. J. Parr, W. R. Konstant & R. B. Mast (eds.), pp.1–17. CEMEX, S. A., Mexico.,Vargas, A., Sanderson, J. G. & Rylands, A. B. 2017. Lynx pardinus Iberian Lynx / Lince Ibérico. In: Back from the Brink / Desde el Umbral de la Extinción, R. A, Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, W. Sechrest, P. F. Langhammer, J. C. Mittermeier, M. J. Parr, W. R. Konstant & R. B. Mast (eds.), pp.151–155. CEMEX, S. A., Mexico.,Martins, W. P., Lynch Alfaro, J. & Rylands, A. B. 2017. Reduced range of the endangered crested capuchin monkey (Sapajus robustus) and a possible hybrid zone with S. nigritus. American Journal of Primatology. DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22696,Estrada, A., Garber, P., Rylands, A. B., Roos, C., Fernandez-Duque, E., Di Fiore, A., Nekaris, K. A. I., Nijman, V., Heymann, E. W., Lambert, J. E., Rovero, F., Barelli, C., Setchell, J. M., Gillespie, T. R., Mittermeier, R. A., Arregoitia, L. V., de Guinea, M., Gouveia, S., Dobrovolski, R., Shanee, S., Shanee, N., Boyle, S. A., Fuentes, A., McKinnon, K., Amato, K. R., Meyer, A., Wich, S., Sussman, R. W., Ruliang Pan, Kone, I. & Baoguo Li. 2017. Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: why primates matter. Science Advances 3: e1600946. 16pp.,Rylands, A. B., Heymann, E. W., Lynch Alfaro, J. W., Buckner, J., Roos, C., Matauschek, C., Boubli, J.-P., Sampaio R. & Mittermeier, R. A. 2016. Taxonomic review of the New World tamarins (Callitrichidae, Primates). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 177: 1003−1028.,Byrne, H. M., Rylands, A. B., Carneiro, J., Lynch-Alfaro, J. W., Bertuol, F., Silva, M. N. F. da, Messias, M, Groves, C. P., Mittermeier, R. A., Farias, I., Hrbek, T., Schneider, H., Sampaio, I. & Boubli, J. P. 2016. Phylogenetic relationships of the New World titi monkeys (Callicebus): first appraisal of taxonomy based on molecular evidence. Frontiers in Zoology 13: 10.,Mittermeier, R A. & Rylands, A. B. 2016. Introduction. In: All The World’s Primates, N. Rowe & M. Myers (eds.), pp.1−2. Pogonias Press, Charlestown, RI.,Buckner, J. C., Lynch Alfaro, J., Rylands, A. B. & Alfaro, M. E. 2015. Biogeography of the marmosets and tamarins (Callitrichidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 82(B): 413-425.,Cortés-Ortiz, L., Rylands, A. B. & Mittermeier, R. A. 2015. The taxonomy of howler monkeys: integrating old and new knowledge from morphological and genetic studies. In: Howler Monkeys: Adaptive Radiation, Systematics, and Morphology. M. M. Kowalewski, P. A. Garber, L. Cortés-Ortiz, B. Urbani & D. Youlatos (eds.), pp.55-84. Springer, New York.,Sampaio, R., Röhe, F., Pinho, G., Silva-Júnior, J. S., Farias, I. P. & Rylands, A. B. 2015. Re-description and assessment of the taxonomic status of Saguinus fuscicollis cruzlimai Hershkovitz, 1966 (Primates, Callitrichinae). Primates 56: 131−144. DOI 10.1007/s10329-015-0458-2,Gascon, C., Brooks, T., Contreras-MacBeath, T., Heard, N., Konstant, W. R., Lamoreux, J., Launay, F., Maunder, M., Mittermeier, R. A., Molur, S., Khalifa Al Mubarak, R., Parr, M. J., Rhodin, A. G. J., Rylands, A. B., Soorae, P., Sanderson, J. G. and Vié, J.-C. 2015. The importance and benefits of species. Current Biology 25: R431–R438.,Schwitzer, C., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Chiozza, F., Williamson, E. A., Wallis, J. & Cotton, A. 2015. Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2014-2016. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society (IPS), and Conservation International, Arlington, VA. 93pp.,Aquino Y., R., Cornejo, F., Cortés Ortiz, L., Encarnación C., F., Heymann, E. W., Marsh, L. K., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands. A. B. & Vermeer, J. 2015. Monkeys of Peru. Tropical Pocket Guide Series, Conservation International. Arlington, VA.,Rylands, A. B. & Mittermeier, R. A. 2014. Primate taxonomy: species and conservation. Evolutionary Anthropology 23: 8–10.,Roos, C., Boonratana, R., Supriatna, J., Fellowes, J. R., Groves, C. P., Nash, S. D., Rylands, A. B. & Mittermeier, R. A. 2014. An updated taxonomy and conservation status review of Asian primates. Asian Primate Journal 4(1): 2–38. URL: http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/asian-primates-journal/volume-41/2014June24\_APJ\_Vol4\_1.pdf.,Schwitzer, C., Mittermeier, R. A., Rylands, A. B., Taylor, L. A., Chiozza, F., Williamson, E. A., Wallis, J. & Clark, F. E. (eds.). 2014. Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates 2012–2014. IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS), Conservation International (CI), and Bristol Zoological Society, Arlington, VA. 88pp.,Mittermeier, R. A., Louis Jr., E. E., Langrand, O., Schwitzer, C., Gauthier, C.-A., Rylands, A. B., Rajaobelina, S., Ratsimbazafy, J., Rasoloarison, R., Hawkins, F., Roos, C., Richardson, M. & Kappeler, P. M. 2010. Lémuriens de Madagascar. Muséum d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, and Conservation International, Arlington, VA.,Kormos, R., Kormos, C. F., Humle, T., Lanjouw, A., Rainer, H., Victurine, R., Mittermeier, R. A., Diallo, M. S., Rylands, A. B. & Williamson, E. A. 2014. Great apes and biodiversity offset projects in Africa: the case for national offset strategies. PloS One 9(11): e111671. 14pp.,Wormell, D., Leus. K., Stevenson, M., Bairrão Ruivo, E. & Rylands, A. B. (eds.). 2014. Regional Collection Plan for Callitrichidae. Edition 3 – 2014. EAZA Callitrichid Taxon Advisory Group, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), Amsterdam, The Netherlands. 162pp.