SERUM AND URINE BIOCHEMICAL DIVERSITY AMONG ADULT WILD-CAUGHT AOTUS-NANCYMAE AND SAIMIRI-PERUVIENSIS

Serum and urine analytes were compared between adult wild-caught owl m onkeys (Aotus nancymae) and adult wild-caught squirrel monkeys (Saimir i peruviensis) to determine if normative clinical pathology data were similar. An objective of the study was to confirm that species of neot ropical primates are distinct with regard to physiologic parameters, a nd should not be considered interchangeable in biomedical research. Si gnificant differences (P < 0.05) were noted in many serum and urine an alytes between the two groups. The results suggest that reference data for wild-caught owl monkeys are not applicable to squirrel monkeys, a nd the differences are sufficiently large to be of clinical significan ce. These findings illuminate the diversity among species of neotropic al primates.