American Journal of Primatology 70:463–472 (2008) RESEARCH ARTICLE Hematological and Plasma Biochemical Values for Captive Tufted Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella) ANNARITA WIRZ 1Ã , VALENTINA TRUPPA 2 , AND M. CRISTINA RIVIELLO 3 1 Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy 2 CNR, Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie della Cognizione, Rome, Italy 3 CNR, Istituto di Neurobiologia e Medicina Molecolare, Rome, Italy Hematological and blood biochemical parameters are of great importance in medical and veterinary practice. Unfortunately, normal reference range intervals for hematological and serum biochemical values in the tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) have seldom been reported. The study reported here is based on data from blood samples collected from 44 monkeys over an 8-year period. Male and female data are displayed separately within two age categories: juveniles and adults, and effects for sex and age are examined. Significant differences between males and females are found for erythrocytes, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and a 1 globulin. Significant differences between juveniles and adults are found for neutrophils, calcium, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, inorganic phosphorus, glucose, total protein, serum iron, and some serum protein parameters and albumin/globulin ratio. These values are compared with values we previously reported, and their importance in care and well-being of captive tufted capuchin monkeys is discussed. Am. J. Primatol. 70:463–472, 2008.  c 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: hematology; blood biochemistry; blood parameters; serum chemistry; hematological range; New-World monkeys INTRODUCTION It is fundamental to know the health conditions of captive animals in order to guarantee their well- being. This is particularly important when these animals are used for scientific research. In fact, the experimental data (of any kind: ethological, bio- medical, etc.) coming from healthy animals are certainly more reliable. However, as the evaluation of the psycho-physical health of the animals is not always easy, the comparison of values of several hematological parameters with average values or reference ranges can be an important tool to be used to understand when evaluating the health of an animal. In fact, the constituents of blood as well as many of the chemicals it carries provide fundamental information for medical diagnosis of disease. For some animal species, standard values of hematological variables are well defined. However, concerning the primates, published data have often been based on few species, on small numbers of individuals, or derived from a single sample per animal, or reported values combined for all age groups or both sexes. In scientific literature there are many studies on the hematology of Old-World monkeys and apes. Most of them are confined to rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta ) [Buchl & Howard, 1997; Goodrich et al., 1995; Gotoh et al., 2001; Hassimoto et al., 2004; Herndon & Tigges, 2001; Mythili et al., 2005; Rogers et al., 2005; Smucny et al., 2001, 2004]. Only few reports are available on other species of monkeys; in particular, studies on the hematology of New-World species are scarce and always involve single or very few samples per animal [Boere et al., 2005; Malaga et al., 1995; Poleschuk et al., 1998; Riviello & Wirz, 2001; Rosner et al., 1986; Wirz et al., 2000; Yarbrough et al., 1984]. For several years we have been collecting data about hematological parameters in the tufted capuchin monkey (Cebus apella), an arboreal New-World monkey that is widely distributed in South America. The importance of our work lies in the fact that this has enabled us to obtain reliable hematological values for use as a valuable reference. To date, no hematological Published online 17 January 2008 in Wiley InterScience (www. interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ajp.20520 Received 20 June 2007; revised 5 December 2007; revision accepted 5 December 2007 Ã Correspondence to: Annarita Wirz, Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via del Fosso di Fiorano, 64, 00143 Rome, Italy. E-mail: annaritaw@yahoo.it r r 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.