Here’s how I’d do it:
- Hamadryas Baboon
- Alternatives: Olive Baboon, Gelada, or Drill
- Lion-Tailed Macaque
- Alternatives: Celebes Crested Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, or Barbary Macaque
- Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey
- Alternatives: White-Faced Saki Monkey, Bald Uakari, White-Eared Titi Monkey, Tufted Capuchin Monkey, or Squirrel Monkey
- Angolan Colobus
- Alternative: Vervet Monkey, De Brazza’s Monkey, Patas Monkey, or Schmidt’s Red-Tailed Guenon
- Black Howler Monkey
- Alternatives: See “Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey” for alternative New World monkeys.
- Coquerel’s Sifaka
- Aye-Aye
- WE: Golden Lion Tamarin; Cotton-Top Tamarin; Golden-Handed Tamarin; Emperor Tamarin; Pied Tamarin
This nails it, IMO. I'd suggest only a few slight changes, and removals of a bunch of alternates.
For hamadryas, I see gelada as the only equal alternate - if we're getting one baboon, it should only be either of the big, shaggy, savanna-dwelling species from the Horn of Africa. I'm personally partial to the gelada but I understand the appeal of the hamadryas as the top pick, especially with its range and how well it works with other Northeast African/Arabian species.
For lion-tailed macaque, I'd change the alternate to
Hanuman langur. Lion-tailed macaque is my #1 most wanted species in the game (including non-primates) so I'd love to see it. Visually unique, endangered, entertaining behaviors. But it also serves to fill the extremely gaping lack of a monkey for India, a region iconic for its teeming troops of primates. Langurs would be perfect for our Indian building theme, mixing with peafowl, etc. Some zoos even mix them with Asiatic black bear so it might make for a fun Jungle Book mix with sloth bear.
I was going to suggest a loris or galago instead of Coquerel's sifaka, but that might be too similar to the aye-aye.
