Cazuza's saki (''Pithecia cazuzai'') is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to northwestern Brazil.

Taxonomy

Populations in this species were formerly classified within the

Rio Tapajós saki The Rio Tapajós saki or Gray's bald-faced saki (''Pithecia irrorata'') is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America. It is found in parts of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, southeastern Peru and possibly nor ...

(''P. irrorata''), but a 2014 study found these populations to have a distinct pelage from any other species in the genus, and they were thus reclassified into their own species, ''P. cazuzai''. The

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

, IUCN Red List, and ITIS all follow this classification. The species is named after renowned Brazilian primatologist Dr. José de Sousa e Silva Júnior, nicknamed "Cazuza".

Distribution

It is known only from a small region of northern Brazil in the state of Amazonas, where it is found south of the Solimões River on either side of the Juruá River at Fonte Boa and Uarini. More information may be needed to truly quantify the species' range.

Description

Both male and female Cazuza's sakis have a distinct pelage from any other ''

Pithecia Sakis, or saki monkeys, are any of several New World monkeys of the genus ''Pithecia''. They are closely related to the bearded sakis of genus ''Chiropotes''. Range Sakis' range includes northern and central South America, extending from the so ...

'' species. Unlike the white-faced saki (''P. pithecia''), male Cazuza's sakis are not silky black, but rather coarsely black with very lightly white-tipped fur, and also have a short, dark ruff. Their faces have a diffuse white ring that distinguishes them from all other species in the genus with white facial hairs. Although males share thick lip hairs with several other species such as the hairy (''P. hirsuta'') and golden-faced (''P. chrysocephala'') sakis, they have a different facial coloration from them. Female Cazuza's sakis have different faces from all other saki species in the region.

Status

This species is thought to be threatened by

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

and poaching, as well as its small range, and thus its population is thought to be declining. They are sometimes also found in the pet trade. However, this species remains poorly-known and it is thus classified as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

on the IUCN Red List.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21306294 Cazuza's saki Mammals of Brazil Fauna of the Amazon Endemic fauna of Brazil Cazuza's saki