Brown-backed Bearded Saki

• Common Name: Brown-backed Bearded Saki
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1823
• Monkey Size: 41 to 46 cm (16 to 18 in)
• Skin Color(s): Reddish-brown
• Habitat: Forest, rainforest
• Diet: Omnivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil, Venezuela

The brown-backed bearded Saki^[1] is one of 5 species of bearded Saki, a New World Monkey species. Bearded sakis have a unique appearance.

• Their most distinctive features are their hair and beard. The hair on the top of the head, known as the “crown lock“, is round and puffy, often forming two distinct balls.
• Their beard only adds to this effect as it is also very round and bulbous. Their face and head are black, and their nose is very flat.
• As in other primates, their eyes are located in the front of the face, allowing binocular vision. The legs and arms are long, flexible, and black.
• Brown-backed bearded sakis tail is covered in long black hairs, giving it a fox-like shape.
• The hair on the upper back and shoulders is usually longer than the rest of the body, giving them a cape appearance.
• Their backs are reddish-brown, a critical feature that sets them apart from other species in their genus.

• Brown-backed bearded saki monkeys exhibit slight sexual dimorphism: males are usually larger. In addition, they have more prominent and longer beards than females.
• They are born with prehensile tails, which they retain for the first two months of their life. This allows them to cling to their mother’s body. After this time, the tail becomes non-prehensile.
• Brown-backed bearded sakis are arboreal and diurnal, active from just after sunrise to just before sunset.
• They are believed to sleep high up in trees, with their tails wrapped around their bodies.
• Brown-backed bearded Saki gathers large troops of 20 to 30 members. Then, however, they break into smaller groups of around 9 to forage and travel, an arrangement commonly known as a “fission-fusion” social structure.