Black Capuchin

• Common Name: Black capuchin
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1809
• Monkey Size: 32 to 55 cm (12.60 to 21.65 inches)
• Skin Color(s): Black
• Habitat: Rainforest, forest
• Diet: Omnivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil, Argentina

The black capuchin^[1], also called the black-horned capuchin, is a capuchin monkey native to the Atlantic rainforest of southeastern Brazil and extreme northeastern Argentina.

• The black capuchin gets its name from two distinct patches of black fur on its head.
• The fur on its back is black and dark brown, while its belly is lighter.
• On the face, this species has white pelage around the cheeks with black fur on the sides of the face.
• Like all capuchin species, Sapajus nigritus has a prehensile tail for grasping twigs and branches and navigating through the forest.

• The black capuchin was originally called Cebus nigritus or Cebus apella nigritus. Although this has changed, many sources still name the black capuchin as part of the Cebus genus.
• This social animal likes to live in groups, typically between 6 and 20 members, and is hierarchical.
• Black capuchins are color blind, but this enables them to overcome the hassle of finding camouflaged insects and other defensive tactics prey use, such as mimicry.
• This species can use tools and hands to shell fruit and access sheltered, shelled nuts.
• In captivity, the black-horned capuchin’s average lifespan varies between 40 and 50 years. In the wild, the average lifespan of a black capuchin is about 30 years.