Species Data
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cebidae
Scientific Name: Cebus versicolor
IUCN Red List status: Endangered
Description
Only identified by genetic analysis in 2012, Varied White-fronted Capuchin is a reddish-gold coated primate with a light-coloured breast and dark crowned head. Like most capuchins, their tail makes up about half their total length of around one metre. They have flattened noses with sideways pointing nostrils, a dark forehead and brown eyes.
Behaviour
Varied White-fronted Capuchins are omnivorous frugivores. They use their strong, grasping hands to pull off bark and find insects or rummage in leaf-litter. While on the ground they walk bipedally and hold out their arms to balance. They live in groups of up to thirty individuals and have just one offspring at a time, with no specific mating period.
Some White-fronted Capuchins are known to use tools, including using leaves as drinking cups.
Habitat
Varied White-fronted Capuchin are restricted to the forests and palm swamps in the Rio Magdalena valley. They are able to live in both primary and secondary forest.
Threats and Conservation
Capuchins face threats from habitat loss and being killed for subsistence hunting. These are particularly worrying for this species as it has a restricted range. As a fairly newly identified species, a lot more work is needed to verify this species’ population threats.
