Details
Cebus capucinus
The white-faced capuchin is a clever Neotropical monkey with a pale face and dark body. Dexterous hands let it exploit many foods in the forest.
View in catalogMap: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in Neotropical forest, including lowland forest, dry forest, secondary growth, and riparian woodland. It moves from canopy to lower layers.
Length 33-46 cm; weight 2.5-3.9 kg. A white face, throat, and shoulders contrast strongly with the dark body. The long tail helps with balance in branches.
Diurnal and social, it travels in groups. Capuchins show flexible problem-solving and complex relationships, and alarm calls warn group mates of danger.
An omnivore, it eats fruit, insects, eggs, small vertebrates, and young leaves. It probes bark and hard fruits with its hands to extract hidden food.
Females usually bear a single infant within the group. Infants cling to the mother and also gain social contact from other group members.
It is listed as Vulnerable. Forest loss and pet trade are important threats, and habitat connections outside reserves matter.
