The bearded sakis, or cuxiús are five or six species of

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ( ...

s, classified in the genus ''Chiropotes''. They live in the eastern and central

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, ranging through southern

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

and northern and central

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The species are entirely

allopatric Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...

, their distributions being separated by major rivers. Bearded sakis differ from the closely related

saki monkey 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 ...

s of the genus ''

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 ...

'' by a pronounced beard, a tuft of hair that extends from its jaw, down its throat to the top of its chest, and is strongly pronounced particularly in the males. The tail is long and hairy, and is used for balance and not grasping. Bearded sakis reach from 32 to 51 cm in size and a weigh from 2 to 4 kg. Like many New World monkeys, bearded sakis are diurnal and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

. They inhabit

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s, usually in the crowns of tree. They move on all four by the branches, spending most of the day searching for food. At the night they sleep clasped to thicker branches, never spending successive nights in the same tree. Bearded sakis live together in groups of approximately 18 to 30 animals. Within the group they communicate with bird-like twitter and high whistles. Sometimes they mingle with other

primates Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

such as capuchin and

squirrel monkey Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus ''Saimiri''. ''Saimiri'' is the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (''sai-mirím'' or ''çai-mbirín'', with ''sai'' meaning 'monkey' and ''mirím'' ...

s. Fruits form the main part of the diet of the bearded sakis, but they also eat nuts, buds, leaves, insects and small

vertebrates Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

. Once a year (usually in early autumn or late summer) the female bears a single offspring after a 5-month gestation. After about three months it begins to explore its environment independently and on it is briefly cured. Bearded sakis reach full maturity at 4 years of age. Their life expectancy is approximately 15 years. Bearded sakis are highly sensitive to hunting and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Consequently, two of the five species recognized by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(they do not recognize ''C. israelita'', but do recognize ''C. sagulatus'') are considered at least vulnerable, with ''C. satanas'' being

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Classification

Chiropotes albinasus White nosed beard saki

Until recently, only two species were recognized in this genus, but ''C. israelita'' was re-validated in 2003 (having long been considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Chiropotes''), where it – based on differences in colour of pelage,

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

, and

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

analysis – also was recommended treating ''C. chiropotes'' and ''C. utahickae'' as species separate from ''C. satanas''. The

note the taxonomic confusion, but lists ''C. sagulatus'' as a valid species, with ''C. israelita'' as a synonym. * Genus ''Chiropotes'' **

Black bearded saki The black bearded saki (''Chiropotes satanas'') is a species of New World monkey, native to the Amazon rainforest of South America, specifically to an area of north-eastern Brazil. It is one of five species of bearded saki. Bearded sakis are med ...

, ''Chiropotes satanas'' **

Red-backed bearded saki The red-backed bearded sakiBonvicino, C. R., Boubli, J. P., Otazú, I. B., Almeida, F. C., Nascimento, F. F., Coura, J. R. and Seuánez, H. N. (2003). ''Morphologic, karyotypic, and molecular evidence of a new form of Chiropotes (primates, pithec ...

, ''Chiropotes chiropotes'' **

Brown-backed bearded saki The brown-backed bearded saki (''Chiropotes israelita'') is one of five species of bearded saki, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to the Amazon in north-western Brazil (north of the Rio Negro and west of the Branco River) and southern V ...

, ''Chiropotes israelita'' **

Uta Hick's bearded saki Uta Hick's bearded saki (''Chiropotes utahicki'') is an endangered species of bearded saki, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to Brazil, where restricted to the Amazon between the Xingu and Tocantins Rivers. It was formerly treated as a ...

, ''Chiropotes utahicki'' **

White-nosed saki The white-nosed saki (''Chiropotes albinasus'') is a species of bearded saki, a type of New World monkey, endemic to the south-central Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Both its scientific and common name were caused by the authors working from dead ...

, ''Chiropotes albinasus'' ** Reddish-brown bearded saki, ''Chiropotes sagulates''

References

External links

Primate Info Net ''Chiropotes'' Factsheets
{{Taxonbar, from=Q809594 Sakis and uakaris Taxa named by René Lesson