Black squirrel monkey

Last updated

Black squirrel monkey [1]
Saimiri vanzolinii Mamiraua 2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Cebidae
Genus: Saimiri
Species:
S. vanzolinii
Binomial name
Saimiri vanzolinii
Ayres, 1985 [3]
Saimiri vanzolinii distribution.svg
Geographic range

The black squirrel monkey (Saimiri vanzolinii), also known as the blackish squirrel monkey or black-headed squirrel monkey, is a small New World primate, endemic to the central Amazon in Brazil. [2] It largely resembles the female of the far more common Bolivian squirrel monkey, though the latter lacks the black central back. [4]

Contents

This squirrel monkey has one of the most restricted geographical distributions for a primate, living in várzea forest in the confluence of the Japura and Solimões rivers. Its entire range is within the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. [2] It resides in the reserve with two other Saimiri species. [5] It is a social primate that travels with other black squirrel monkeys in large troops within its habitat. [6] Its small size makes it an easy target for its predators; however, it may resist predators when it travels in large troops. [6]

Its species overall has positive effects on the economy. [7]

Description

Black squirrel monkeys are small primates. [6] They have blackish-gray fur over most of their body except for their legs and stomach. [7] Their legs can be yellow or have a reddish tint. [7] Their stomachs will have a yellow tint. [6] They have short and dense fur everywhere except for certain areas on the face. [7] They lack hair in the areas of the nostrils and lips, and the skin is black in these areas. [7] Black squirrel monkeys tend to be 27 to 32 centimeters in length not including the length of their tails. [6] Their full length, including their tails, can be about 40 centimeters longer than their length without their tails. [7] Male black squirrel monkeys range in weight anywhere from 0.64 to 1.22 kilograms (1.4 to 2.7 pounds). [6] Female black squirrel monkeys have a weight range of 0.64 to 0.86 kg (1.4 to 1.9 lb). [6]

Distinctive characteristics

They get their name from the strip of black that extends from their head to the end of their tail. [8] The black fur above their eyes forms a shallow arch and is lower on their foreheads than other species. [8] Their tails are specifically distinct from the Saimiri sciureus species because black squirrel monkeys have much thinner tails. [8]

Lifespan

On average, black squirrel monkeys live up to 15 years in their natural habitat, the várzea forest. [6] They can live about 5 to 10 years longer than that when they are kept in captivity. [6]

Taxonomy

The black squirrel monkey falls under the genus, Saimiri. [7] There are four other species that fall under this same genus with the black squirrel monkey. [8]

UCLA scientists and colleagues concluded that black squirrel monkeys are a distinct species of Saimiri when it was originally considered the same species as Saimiri boliviensis. [9]

Habitat

Black squirrel monkeys reside within the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in Brazil. [6] The várzea forest of this specific area experiences a consistent cycle of flooding. [9] The patterns of rain can cause a typical buildup of around 35 feet of flooding in the forest. [9] Atypical flooding due to excessive floods over a longer amount of time can threaten black squirrel monkeys' habitat. [9]

Observations

Two species, Humboldt's squirrel monkey and Ecuadorian squirrel monkey, take residence in the reserve in cohabitation with black squirrel monkeys. [5] The black squirrel monkeys inhabit a smaller ranged area than the other two species within the reserve. [5] All three species interact with one another but sexual interaction and reproduction between two different species has not been observed. [5]

Vulnerability

The black squirrel monkey species is declared endangered because of their limited range in the várzea forest. [6] The change in climate due to global warming is also affecting the lives of the black squirrel monkey species. [9]

Behaviour

They are interactive primates. [6] They exist in large groups of 40–50, and can exist in groups as large as 500 monkeys. [6] Travelling in big groups allows these monkeys to resist their predators more effectively. [6] They have more eyes on their surroundings which allows them to more easily and quickly alert the pack if they sense danger. [7] If the pack is big enough, the pack may be able to surround certain predators. [7]

Communication

Black squirrel monkeys are typically quiet primates. [7] The only times they make noise are when they sense danger or are trying to call out to other members of their group. [7]

Reproduction

Breeding season falls between the months of September and November. [7] During this season, the male monkeys with fattened stomachs are desired more by the female monkeys. [6] A female monkey's pregnancy will last about 140 to 170 days, and the time of birth falls at the same time that rainfall and food availability are at their peaks. [7]

Ecological role

The black squirrel monkey is preyed upon by snakes, raptors, and felids. [6]

This black squirrel monkeys is omnivorous. [7] It prefers fruit and insects, but also eats leaves, flowers, seeds, eggs, and small vertebrates. [6] [7]

Economic importance

Black squirrel monkeys have a positive effect on the economy by serving as subjects of biomedical research, being sold to serve as an individual's pet, and serving as a source of food. [7] There are no negative impacts of the species on the economy because of the species' small habitation range that they occupy. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cebidae</span> Family of New World monkeys

The Cebidae are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. Extant members are the capuchin and squirrel monkeys. These species are found throughout tropical and subtropical South and Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squirrel monkey</span> Genus of mammals belonging to the capuchin and squirrel monkey family of primates

Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus Saimiri. Saimiri is the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin and was also used as an English name by early researchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common squirrel monkey</span> Species of mammal

Common squirrel monkey is the traditional common name for several small squirrel monkey species native to the tropical areas of South America. The term common squirrel monkey had been used as the common name for Saimiri sciureus before genetic research by Jessica Lynch Alfaro and others indicated S. scuireus covered at least 3 and possibly 4 species: the Guianan squirrel monkey, Humboldt's squirrel monkey and Collins' squirrel monkey. The Ecuadorian squirrel monkey, generally regarded as a subspecies of Humboldt's squirrel monkey, had also been sometimes proposed as a separate species that had originally been included within the term "common squirrel monkey."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped squirrel monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The black-capped squirrel monkey is a species of New-World monkey native to the upper Amazon basin in Bolivia, western Brazil and eastern Peru. They weigh between 365 and 1,135 g and measure, from the head to the base of the tail, between 225 and 370 mm. Black-capped squirrel monkeys are primarily tree-dwelling and are found in both native and plantation forests as well as some farmed areas near running water. Their diet is omnivorous and mostly consists of flowers, fruit, leaves, nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids, eggs and small vertebrates. They mostly live in female-dominated troops of around 40 to 75 monkeys, with males having been observed to disperse to live in all-male troops after reaching sexual maturation. Their current conservation status according to the IUCN is 'Least Concern'. The species belongs to the genus Saimiri and has two subspecies, S. b. boliviensis and S. b. peruviensis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-eared titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The white-eared titi monkey also known as the Bolivian titi or Bolivian gray titi, is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from eastern Bolivia and an area of western Brazil. The species has a range that extends east from the Manique River in Beni Department, Bolivia to southern Rondônia in Brazil. The southern end of its range includes forests around the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central American squirrel monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Central American squirrel monkey, also known as the red-backed squirrel monkey, is a squirrel monkey species from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. It is restricted to the northwestern tip of Panama near the border with Costa Rica, and the central and southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, primarily in Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peruvian spider monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Peruvian spider monkey, also known as the black-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey that lives in Peru, as well as in Brazil and in Bolivia. At 60 centimetres long, they are relatively large among species of monkey, and their strong, prehensile tails can be up to 1 m (3 ft) long. Unlike many species of monkey, they have only a vestigial thumb, an adaptation which enables them to travel using brachiation. Peruvian spider monkeys live in groups of 20–30 individuals, but these groups are rarely all together simultaneously. The size and dynamics of the resulting subgroups vary with food availability and sociobehavioral activity. They prefer to eat fleshy fruit, but will change their diet in response to scarcity of ripe fruit. Individuals of this species also eat small animals, insects and leaves based on availability. Females separate from the band to give birth, typically in the fall. These females inhabit a group of core areas where resources are abundant in certain seasons. Typically, males exhibit ranging over longer distances than females, with movement of individuals enhancing the fluidity of subgroup size. Peruvian spider monkey are independent at about 10 months, with a lifespan of about 20 years.

Hélder Lima de Queiroz is a Brazilian conservation biologist, primatologist, and fish behaviorist.

The Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, near the city of Tefé, is a 4,300-square-mile (11,000 km2) reserve near the village of Boca do Mamirauá. It includes mostly Amazonian flooded forest and wetlands. The ribeirinhos are native to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Márcio Ayres</span> Brazilian primatologist and conservationist (1954–2003)

José Márcio Corrêa Ayres was a Brazilian primatologist and conservationist who founded the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in 1996, followed by the Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve in 1998. The two reserves are located in the central region of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, and are joined to adjacent Jaú National Park to form a corridor spanning over 20,000 square miles (52,000 km2) of protected rainforest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Amazon moist forests</span>

The Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) is an ecoregion located in the Upper Amazon basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Regional Conservation Area</span>

Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Regional Conservation Area is a protected area located south east of Iquitos, extending over the Peruvian department of Loreto, provinces of Maynas, Ramón Castilla and Requena. It was established by the Peruvian Ministry of Environment on May 15, 2009. The reserve is managed and funded by the Regional Government of Loreto.

Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve is a sustainable development reserve in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japurá–Solimões–Negro moist forests</span> Ecoregion in the Amazon Biome

The Japurá–Solimões–Negro moist forests (NT0132) is an ecoregion of tropical moist broad leaf forest in the Amazon biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Alegre várzea</span> Ecoregion in Brazil

The Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141) is an ecoregion of seasonally flooded várzea forest along the Amazon River in the Amazon biome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purus várzea</span> Ecoregion in the Amazon biome

The Purus várzea (NT0156) is an ecoregion of seasonally flooded várzea forest in the central Amazon basin. It is part of the Amazon biome. The ecoregion is home to a vegetation adapted to floods of up to 12 metres (39 ft) that may last for eight months. There is a great variety of fish and birds, but relatively fewer mammals. Ground-dwelling mammals must migrate to higher ground during the flood season. Threats include logging, cattle farming, over-fishing and mercury pollution from gold mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iquitos várzea</span>

The Iquitos várzea (NT0128) is an ecoregion of flooded forest along rivers in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia in the west of the Amazon biome. The forest is seasonally flooded up to 7 metres (23 ft) by whitewater rivers carrying nutrient-rich sediment from the Andes. The meandering rivers often shift course, creating a complex landscape of oxbow lakes, marshes, levees and bars, with grasslands, shrubs and forests in different stages of succession. During the extended flood periods fish enter the forest in search of fruit. The várzea is accessible by the navigable rivers that run through it, and has suffered from extensive deforestation to extract timber and create pasture for livestock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humboldt's squirrel monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

Humboldt's squirrel monkey is a species of squirrel monkey from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It had previously been considered a subspecies of the common squirrel monkey, S. scuireus, but was elevated to full species status based on a genetic study by Carretero-Pinzón in 2009. A genetic study by Jessica Lynch Alfaro, et al indicated that the Ecuadorian squirrel monkey may be synonymous with Saimiri cassiquiarensis. As of 2018, the Ecuadorian squirrel monkey is generally regarded as a subspecies of Humboldt's squirrel monkey, S. cassiquiarensis macrodon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guianan squirrel monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

The Guianan squirrel monkey is a species of squirrel monkey from Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil. S. sciureus formerly applied to Humboldt's squirrel monkey and Collins' squirrel monkey, but genetic research in 2009 and 2015 revealed that these are distinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecuadorian squirrel monkey</span> Subspecies of New World monkey

The Ecuadorian squirrel monkey is a type of squirrel monkey. It had been considered a subspecies of the Guianan squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus, but was elevated to a full species, S. macrodon, based on a 2009 study by Carretero-Pinzón, et al. Based on subsequent genetic research by Jessica Lynch Alfaro, et al it was again reclassified as a subspecies of Humboldt's squirrel monkey.

References

  1. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 139. ISBN   0-801-88221-4. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 Lynch, J.W.; Paim, F.P.; Rabelo, R.M.; Silva Júnior, J.S.; de Queiroz, H.L. (2021). "Saimiri vanzolinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T19839A17940474. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T19839A17940474.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  3. Ayres, J.M. (1985). "On a new species of squirrel monkey, genus Saimiri, from Brazilian Amazonia (Primates, Cebidae)". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 36: 147-164.
  4. Rowe, N. (1996). The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates . Pogonia Press. ISBN   0-9648825-0-7.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Paim, Fernanda Pozzan; Valenta, Kim; Chapman, Colin A.; Paglia, Adriano Pereira; de Queiroz, Helder Lima (2018-03-10). "Tree community structure reflects niche segregation of three parapatric squirrel monkey species (Saimiri spp.)". Primates. 59 (4): 395–404. doi:10.1007/s10329-018-0659-6. ISSN   0032-8332. PMID   29525834. S2CID   3796269.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Shangari, Nina (June 2018). "Black headed squirrel monkey". New England Primate Conservancy. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Williams, Abby (2006). "Saimiri vanzolinii (black squirrel monkey)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Cawthon Lang, Kristina (2006-03-16). "Primate Factsheets: Squirrel monkey (Saimiri) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology". pin.primate.wisc.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-08.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Wolpert, Stuart (2015-01-15). "Endangered monkeys in the Amazon are more diverse than previously thought, UCLA study finds". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved 2019-03-08.