This is the data entry site for All The World’s Primates, a project conceived and coordinated by Noel Rowe and Marc Myers, and consists of a
website and a corresponding book. Hundreds of primatologists
have contributed to this project, which includes:
- Foreword by Jane Goodall
- Introduction by Russell A. Mittermeier and Anthony B. Rylands
- A Conservation Introduction by Richard Leakey
- Notes on Primate Taxonomy and Species Concepts by Colin Groves
All The World’s Primates is a comprehensive resource for researchers, students,
and anyone interested in primates. It illustrates the diversity of the primate order,
featuring the 505 primate species recognized by the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), as well as all of the known subspecies. Each taxa is treated separately,
with a range map and at least one photograph or illustration.
The foundation of the project is a relational database with detailed information provided by more
than 300 contributors, most of whom have done original research on the behavior of these primates
in their natural habitat. The database encompasses all of the 108 new species and
subspecies described in the last fifteen years and includes some taxa that have not yet been fully described.
All information is fully referenced.
Today the future of many primate populations is in doubt. Almost half (48 percent) of the world’s
primate species are classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
The main threats are habitat destruction, particularly from the burning and clearing of tropical forests
(which results in the release of around 16 percent of the global greenhouse gases causing climate change),
the hunting of primates for food, and the illegal wildlife trade. Half of the book profits and all
memberships from All the World’s Primates are donated to
Primate Conservation Inc., which funds field research and conservation projects on the least known
and most endangered primates in their natural habitat.