The black-capped squirrel monkey is a South American squirrel monkey, found in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru, inhabiting mostly tropical forested regions. Although very similar to the Common Squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) it is distinguishable by it 'black cap'.
Similar species: Primates
By Claire Hamilton
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Uploaded Feb 22, 2013. Captured Feb 4, 2013 10:20 in Unnamed Road, South Africa.
comments (9)
"Today, JungleDragon celebrates National Monkey Day! National Monkey Day honors all primates (with the exception of humans, of course). Our spotlight for this very special day is the Black-capped Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis).
The Black-capped Squirrel Monkey is arboreal, inhabiting the canopies of the tropical rainforests of South America. It rarely ever leaves the canopy and only occasionally descends to the shrub layer or forest floor to scavenge a meal. It is rather small in stature, growing to no taller than 11 inches (from head to tail) and weighing less than 3 pounds. It lives in large groups called troops and has a lifespan of up to 20 years (in the wild).
In terms of diet, the Black-Capped Squirrel Monkey is insectivorious-frugivorious, specializing in the consumption of insects and fruits. It spends its entire day foraging, hunting for stationary insects on leaf surfaces and dead foliage. Supplemental food sources include seeds, leaves, flower buds, and nectar.
The IUCN lists the Black-Capped Squirrel Monkey as a species of "Least Concern," but it still faces very real threats from humans. Not only does it face habitat fragmentation, but it is also captured as a food source, sold into the pet trade, and used in biomedical research.
{Spotted in South Africa, by JungleDragon user, Claire Hamilton} #JungleDragon #MonkeyDay" Posted 6 years ago
I agree with their behaviour, very complex. From memory, they live in large groups of anything up to 100 individuals, splitting up to feed. They 'chatter' constantly whilst feeding in order to ensure the group knows where each other is.
The thing I find most fascinating is that during the mating season, the males 'beef up' gaining sometime more that 20% of their body weight as females prefer the largest males. The largest male in a group can mate with up to 70% of the females! Posted 6 years ago
As for troop sizes, I read that they range from 10 to 550 individuals with an average size of 40-50. They benefit from larger groups as they are prey for raptors. That "beefing up" is wild!!I'd love to see a photo of a buff male beside a female! :D Posted 6 years ago