Comments on the diagnosis of the Santa Marta White-fronted Capuchin Cebus malitiosus Elliot, 1909 (Primates: Cebidae)

Cebus malitiosus Elliot, 1909 occurs along the north-eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. The species was described from material collected by Herbert H. Smith on 27 October 1898 near Bonda, at the northwestern base of the Sierra Nevada. The holotype is in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, accession number AMNH 14620. During a review of gracile capuchin monkey specimens, we found that the holotype of C . malitiosus is composed of two individuals: one the skin of a female and the other a skull of a male. Three other specimens collected on the same day have similar mismatches in their labelling, with two also having specimens from different individuals. Here we comment on the diagnosis of C. malitiosus since the original description assigned two individuals as the species’ holotype. Based on J. A. Allen’s report on H. H. Smith’s expedition, which indicates that specimen AMNH 14620 was a male, we recommend retaining the skull as the holotype and removing the female skin from the type series.