Cazuza’s Saki

• Common Name: Cazuza’s Saki
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 2014
• Monkey Size: 41 to 41 cm (16 to 16 in)
• Skin Color(s): “Grizzled” gray
• Habitat: Forests
• Diet: Omnivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil

Cazuza’s saki^[1] is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World Monkey. It’s native to northwestern Brazil.

• Both female and male Cazuza’s sakis have a coat distinct from all other Pithecia species.
• Unlike the white-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia), male Cazuza’s sakis are not silky black but coarse black with very light white fur at the tips and a short dark ruff.
• These Brazilian monkeys’ faces have a fuzzy white ring that distinguishes them from all other species in the genus, with white facial hair.
• Although male species share coarse lip hairs with several other species, such as the hairy (Pithecia hirsuta) and golden-faced (Pithecia chrysocephala), sakis have a different facial coloration than them.
• Female Cazuza’s sakis have faces unlike any other species of saki in the region.

• Populations of this species were previously classified as Rio Tapajós saki (Pithecia irrorata). Still, a 2014 study found that these populations had a pelage distinct from all other species in the genusand were therefore considered their own species, Pithecia cazuzai.
• The species is named in honor of the famous Brazilian primatologist, Dr.José de Sousa e Silva Júnior, nicknamed “Cazuza“.
• It is only known from a small region in northern Brazil in the state of Amazonas, where it occurs south of the Solimões River on both sides of the Juruá River at Uarini and Fonte Boa.
• This species is believed to be threatened by deforestation, poaching, and its small range. Therefore its population is believed to be declining.
• The home ranges of different groups sometimes overlap, and while interactions between groups are rare, they are often agonistic.