Vanzolini's bald-faced saki (''Pithecia vanzolinii'') is a species of saki monkey, a type 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 Ceboi ...

. Its range is in western

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The monkey is named after Brazilian zoologist

Paulo Vanzolini Paulo Emilio Vanzolini (; April 25, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Brazilian scientist and music composer. He was best known for his samba compositions, including the famous ''"Ronda", "Volta por Cima"'', and ''"Boca da Noite"'', and for his sc ...

. This species was originally described by Hershkovitz as the subspecies '' Pithecia irrorata vanzolinii'' based on individuals collected in 1936 by Alfonso M. Olalla, but it was raised to full species status in 2014. For many years, there had been no record of the species in nature. Further specimens were collected in 1956 by Fernando Novaes (the then director of the Goeldi Museum in Pará) and his assistant Miguel Moreira. The mammals in this expedition were collected alive and prepared as museum specimens, as described by Cory T. Carvalho, the mammalogist working at the Goeldi museum at the time. After 61 years, in 2017, one individual was collected after being hunted for bush meat in an extractive community in the state of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. After not being seen alive for more than 60 years, as F. Novaes and M. Moreira collected specimens in 1956, an individual was photographed in the wild in August 2017. In January-February 2017, an expedition surveyed for large mammals, with a focus on primates, along the Eiru River and Igarapé Preto in Amazonas. ''P. vanzolinii'' was found on both sides of the Eiru River, from the mouth of the

Juruá River The Juruá River ( ; ) is a southern affluent river of the Amazon River west of the Purus River. The Juruá emerges from highlands in east-central Peru, then winds its way through lowlands in Brazil, sharing with this the bottom of the immense in ...

upriver to the Terrra Indigena Rio Eiru. In total 21 sightings of 12 groups, with 2-5 individuals per group, and a total of 34 individuals, were made. One voucher specimen was collected of an adult male, which is held in the mammal collection at Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development. The hunting of sakis by locals may threaten their survival.

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External links

Vanzolini saki monkey along the Eiru River. Photo by Christina Selby.
Vanzolini's bald-faced saki Primates of Brazil Endemic mammals of Brazil Vanzolini's bald-faced saki Vanzolini's bald-faced saki {{newworld-monkey-stub