Central American squirrel monkey
| Central American squirrel monkey | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Cebidae |
| Genus: | Saimiri |
| Species: | S. oerstedii |
| Binomial name | |
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Saimiri oerstedii Reinhardt, 1872 |
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| Distribution of Saimiri oerstedii | |
The Central American squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) 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.
It is a small monkey with an orange back and a distinctive white and black facial mask. It has an omnivorous diet, eating fruits, other plant materials, invertebrates and some small vertebrates. In turn, it has a number of predators, including raptors, cats and snakes. It lives in large groups that typically contain between 20 and 75 monkeys. It has one of the most egalitarian social structures of all monkeys. Females do not form dominance hierarchies, and males do so only at breeding season. Females become sexually mature at 2½ years, and males at 4 to 5 years. Sexually mature females leave the natal group, but males can remain with their natal group their entire life. The Central American squirrel monkey can live for more than 15 years.
The Central American squirrel monkey population declined precipitously after the 1970s. This decline is believed to be caused by deforestation, hunting, and capture to be kept as pets. Efforts are underway to preserve the species. Despite the threats to the population, in 2008 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded its conservation status from "endangered" to "vulnerable".
The Central American squirrel monkey is a member of the family Cebidae, the family of New World monkeys containing squirrel monkeys, capuchin monkeys, tamarins and marmosets. Within the family Cebidae, it is a member of the subfamily Saimiriinae, the subfamily containing squirrel monkeys. It is one of five recognized species of squirrel monkey, and the only species occurring outside South America. The Central American Squirrel Monkey is placed in genus Saimiri (Voigt, 1831) along with all the other squirrel monkey species. Among the squirrel monkeys, the Central American squirrel monkey is most closely related to the common squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) and the bare-eared squirrel monkey (Saimiri ustus) and these three species form the S. sciureus species group. The binomial name Saimiri oerstedii was given by Johannes Theodor Reinhardt in honor of his fellow Danish biologist Anders Sandøe Ørsted.
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