The Cebus paella, also known as the Tufted Capuchin Monkey,  is not as popular or widely known as the Chimpanzee or Gorilla, but they are very unique and interesting.  After all, it had a supporting and comedic role in the movie Night at the Museum.

The Tufted Cappuchin Monkey is a very colorful monkey, starting with its black and brown side burns and bushy hair above its ears. This monkey also has shoulders that are paler than the rest of the back, with warm colors ranging from red to brown. Unlike the gorillas, this monkey has a pink face and weighs 3 ½ to 9 pounds and is 27 to 35 inches long. This monkey also has another amazing characteristic, its tail.  The Capuchin Monkey has a tail that is as long as its body.  These animals do very well in their habitats because of their climbing abilities and their tail which helps them control any risky movements they may make and stabilizes the monkey. The tail also helps the monkey stop while descending down trees.

This primate is found in South America and Central America and many other locations such as the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, the French Guiana, Guiana, and Venezuela. This monkey is found in the ranges of the Amazon Basin, Western Amazonia, and the lower Rio Amazon’s and the Andes Mountains. This monkeys’ population is dependent on how the forest area sustains a group.  “The habitat for a Tufted Capuchin Monkey is ideally 1000 monkeys.’’ (Gilbert and Seta in 2001) The population of these monkeys are shrinking because of the economic developments and structure developments such as roads.(Da Silva et. Al.2005).

The Capuchins’ diet is nearly like a human’s diet, eating fruits, vegetation, seeds, pith, mammals, and other animals. This animal competes mostly with its tribe because the food is so scarce. These animals mostly eat in treetops ripping apart vegetation with their hands and smashing nuts against trees. (Zoological Wildlife Foundation)

These animals have many predators such as jaguars. The Capuchin Monkeys escape their predators by blending in with their surroundings. There is one thing these animals can’t hide from and that is habitat loss, fragmentation, and floods.

As you can see the Tufted Capuchin Monkey has many interesting facts and are unique in many ways.

Author:
Published: /2012

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Sources:
John R. Oppenheimer: World Book C-Ch3 2004 ed.3 pg. 199-200 visited 2-10-11
http://animals.nationalGeographic.com/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/ visited 2-7-11
http://zoologicalwildlifefoundation.com/animals/mammals/primates/new-world-monkeys/tufted-capuchin/  visited 2-8-11
Fernando Dias De Avila: Universidad Da Brazil- 2002 ed. Encyclopedia Americana pg.612-613
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufted_Capuchin visited 2-8-11
(Gilbert and Seta 2001) http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/tufted -capuchins.com
(Da Silva et.AL.2005) http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/tufted-capuchin.com
visited 2-8-11

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Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tufted_capuchin