Black Squirrel Monkey

• Common Name: Black Squirrel Monkey
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1985
• Monkey Size: 27 to 32cm (11 to 13 in)
• Skin Color(s): Blackish-gray
• Habitat: Rainforest
• Diet: Omnivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil

The black squirrel monkey^[1], also called the black-headed squirrel monkey or the blackish squirrel monkey is a small New-World monkey native to the central Amazonian region of Brazil.

• Black squirrel monkeys are primates with dark eyes surrounded by a round mask of white fur.
• The short, dense fur on its back is black-grey, while its underbelly, forearms, and limbs are yellowish.
• Its ears and neck are white, and the skin around its nostrils and lips is hairless and black.
• The black hair above the eyes forms a flat arch and sits lower on the forehead than in other squirrel monkey species. This is one of the main distinguishing features that set them apart from other species of squirrel monkeys.
• In addition, its long, slender tails, narrower than those of other squirrel monkey species, are used for balance when climbing branches and are twice their body length.
• The tip of the tail is dark in color and much bushier than the rest.

• The black squirrel monkey closely resembles the much more common Bolivian squirrel monkey. However, the latter lacks the central black back.
• The species has one of the narrowest geographic ranges for a primate, living in the Várzea forest at the confluence of the Solimões and Japura rivers.
• They get their common name from the black band that runs from the head to the tip of the tail.
• They are social primates that travel in large groups within their habitat with other black squirrel monkeys.
• Black squirrel monkeys are easy targets for their predators due to their small size body. However, it can resist predators when traveling in large troops.