White-faced capuchin, or white headed capuchin, can refer to either of two species of

gracile capuchin monkey Gracile capuchin monkeys are capuchin monkeys in the genus ''Cebus''. At one time all capuchin monkeys were included within the genus ''Cebus''. In 2011, Jessica Lynch Alfaro ''et al.'' proposed splitting the genus between the robust capuchin ...

: * ''Cebus imitator'', the

Panamanian white-faced capuchin The Panamanian white-faced capuchin (''Cebus imitator''), also known as the Panamanian white-headed capuchin or Central American white-faced capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae. Native to the for ...

, also known as the Panamanian white-headed capuchin or Central American white-faced capuchin * ''Cebus capucinus'', the

Colombian white-faced capuchin The Colombian white-faced capuchin (''Cebus capucinus''), also known as the Colombian white-headed capuchin or Colombian white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae. It is native to the ext ...

, also known as the Colombian white-headed capuchin There are 2 subspecies of Colombian white-headed capuchin: * ''C. c. capucinus'' * ''C. c. curtus'' (Gorgona white-headed capuchin) ''C. imitator'' has a range in Central America, in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The range of ''C. capucinus'' is primarily in South America, in western Colombia and northwest Ecuador, although its range extends into the easternmost portion of Panama. ''C. c. curtus'' has a range restricted to Gorgona Island, while ''C. c. capucinus'' covers the remainder of the ''C. capucinus'' range. The two species differ slightly in appearance. Both are smallish monkeys which have black bodies, tails and limbs, with white faces, throats, chests and shoulders. But females of ''C. imitator'' have brownish or grayish elongated frontal tufts which are lacking in ''C. capucinus''. ''C. imitator'' had been regarded as a subspecies of ''C. capucinus'' until genetic studies in the 2010s revealed that the two species separated as much as 2 million years ago. Although the Colombian white-headed capuchin retained the scientific name ''C. capucinus'' from prior to the species being split, almost all previous research on white-faced capuchins under the name ''C. capucinus'' had actually been on the Central American species ''C. imitator'' as there have not been any field studies on the South American species.

References

{{reflist Capuchin monkeys Primates of North America Primates of South America