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The golden-backed uakari (''Cacajao melanocephalus'') or black-headed uakari, is a
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
primate 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 ...
from the family
Pitheciidae The Pitheciidae () are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly, they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris. Most species are native to the Amazon region ...
. It lives in the Amazon Rainforest, and is found in the countries of Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. It has black hair covering its body, except for a reddish abdomen, tail, and upper limbs, and a bald face. It has highly specialised teeth which allow it to eat seeds and fruits with hard shells. The name golden-backed uakari is a
neotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
proposed by Boubli ''et al.'' (2008).


Taxonomy

The species ''Cacajao melanocephalus'' was previously named the black-headed uakari and two subspecies were thought to exist: ''Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus'' (black-backed uakari) and ''Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary'' (golden-backed uakari).Hershkovitz, P. (1987). ''Uacaris. New World monkeys of the genus ''Cacajao'' (Cebidae, Platyrrhini): a preliminary taxonomic review with a description of a new sub-species.'' American Journal of Primatology 12: 1-53. However, in 2008 a new black uakari was discovered and the species group was reassessed by Boubli ''et al.'' using morphological and molecular analyses. ''Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary'' was found to be a junior synonym of ''Cacajao melanocephalus'' but its common name, golden-backed uakari, replaced the previous one, black-headed uakari. ''Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus'' was elevated to species status as ''Cacajao hosom'' (the
Neblina uakari The Neblina uakari (''Cacajao hosomi'') or black-headed uakari, is a newly described species of monkey from the far northwest Brazilian Amazon and adjacent southern Venezuela. It was found by Jean-Phillipe Boubli of the University of Auckland ...
), and the new species was named ''Cacajao ayresi'' (
Aracá uakari The Aracá uakari (''Cacajao ayresi''), also known as the Ayres black uakari, is a newly described species of monkey from the northwest Brazilian Amazon. It was found by Jean-Phillipe Boubli of the University of Auckland after following native ...
).Boubli, J. P., M. N. F. da Silva, M. V. Amado, T. Hrbek, F. B. Pontual, and I. P. Farias (2008). ''A taxonomic reassessment of black uakari monkeys, ''Cacajao melanocephalus'' group, Humboldt (1811), with the description of two new species.'' International Journal of Primatology 29: 723–749. In 2014 Ferrari ''et al'' proposed an alternative taxonomy which recognizes the Aracá uakari as a subspecies of the Golden-backed uakari, and also recognized ''Cacajao ouakary'' as a separate species from ''C. melanocephalus'', but this revision is not universally accepted.


Description

The golden-backed uakari is characterized by a black haired head, black hairless facial skin, black lower limbs and hands, black soles on hands and feet, and a reddish hued flank, tail, and upper limbs. They are noted for having a particularly short and non-
prehensile tail A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the t ...
and highly specialized teeth.
Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
is present, with females being slightly smaller than the males, having a mass generally less than 3 kg compared to an overall species' mass ranging from 2.5 to 3.7 kg.


Distribution

It is native to north-western
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 ...
, south-eastern Colombia and south-western
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 ...
, living in the Amazon Rainforest, especially in the seasonally flooded forests called igapos. No boundaries have been identified between the habitats of the three subspecies. Uakaris are known to travel several kilometers with the changing season in pursuit of certain fruits.Barnett, A. A., C. Volkmar de Castilho, R. L. Shapley, A. Anicácio (2005). ''Diet, habitat selection and natural history of ''Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary'' in Jaú National Park, Brazil.'' International Journal of Primatology 26: 949–969. Black-headed uakaris have been sighted in varying habitats apart from the igapos, including terra firme, palm swamps, low open white sand forests, rain forests, and campinarana.Bezerra, B. M., A. A. Barnett, A. Souto, G. Jones (2011). ''Ethogram and natural history of golden-backed uakaris (''Cacajao melanocephalus'').''
International Journal of Primatology The ''International Journal of Primatology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes original research papers on the study of primates. Articles published in the journal are drawn from a number of disciplines involved in primatological ...
32: 46–68.


Diet

These uakaris mainly feed on seeds and fruits, but will also eat leaves, pith and insects. They have large canines that allow them to feed on seeds from fruits with hard shells and incisors that are able to shatter the husk for access to the inner seeds. They are also known to consume fruits from many different species of trees. Overall, there is little competition with other primates for food, as most living in the same habitat do not devour hard fruits, however some competition with birds exist.Kinzey, W. G. (1992). ''Dietary and dental adaptation in the Pitheciinea.'' American Journal of Physical Anthropology 88: 499-514. Leaves are also consumed, especially when fruits are low during the dry season. Another dietary form observed is insectivory, peaking when fruit availability is low, through the consumption of fruit infested with insects or through the deliberate hunting of insects for protein. Uakaris have been seen raiding wasp nests for larvae and even eating the eggs of river turtles.


Behavior

They typically live in groups of 5-40 individuals, but occasionally more than 100 may come together. Individuals within a subgroup exist in close proximity and interact frequently. The uakari are diurnal. They move around by walking and running on all fours and even climbing and galloping. Leaping is the main method of travel, allowing them to cover a distance of 10 meters in one leap. Swimming is done only when required, as when they accidentally fall into the water. Newborn infants range from 25% to 67% of the mother's body length. After birth, the infants follow the mother for a year and a half, being carried on her back or front side.


References


External links


Photo Primate.wisc.edu
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1141864 golden-backed uakari Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Venezuela golden-backed uakari Taxa named by Alexander von Humboldt