Yellow Monkeys: Monkeys exhibit a dazzling array of fur colors and patterns, but a select group stands out for their unique yellowish hues blending into tropical forest backdrops.
Ranging from sunny golden tones to more muted olive browns, these yellow monkeys inhabit diverse equatorial habitats across Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Yellow monkeys include both New World primates like spider monkeys and capuchins and Old World species such as macaques, langurs and gibbons. They can be found swinging through rainforest canopies, clambering across savanna branches or lazing atop jungle emergents.
Some species have yellow streaks on their limbs or tails while others don yellow fur caps or bushy beards. Their yellow patinas run the gamut from lemon and saffron to mustard and amber.
These yellow monkeys utilize their namesake colors for camouflage while foraging leaves, fruits and insects.
But the vibrant yellow flashes also serve visual communication purposes – signaling moods and reinforcing social bonds as troops travel and mingle together. Protective coloring, thermoregulation and species recognition thus all likely factored into the evolution of yellow primates.
Yellow Monkeys
Yellow monkeys exhibit their namesake yellow pigmentation on diverse areas of their bodies. Some species like blonds capuchins and buff-cheeked gibbons have predominantly yellow fur covering their backs, limbs, chests and crowns. Others only have small yellow patches, such as the golden shoulder markings of Geoffroy’s tamarins or yellow beards of bearded sakis.
Angolan Talapoin
Species Name: Miopithecus talapoin
Also known as the Southern talapoin, Angolan talapoin is a primate species in the Cercopithecidae family. Tail color varies from grayish-black to brownish-black above and is yellow or yellowish-gray below. The Angolan talapoin monkeys are among the smallest species of Old-World monkeys.
Bare-eared Squirrel Monkey
Species Name: Saimiri ustus
The bare-eared squirrel monkey also called the golden-backed squirrel monkey, is a subspecies of the Saimiri sciureus group native to the tropical forests and jungles of South and Central America. The bare-eared squirrel monkey differs from other species because it does not have ear tufts.
Bearded Capuchin
Species Name: Sapajus libidinosus
The bearded capuchin, also called the black-striped capuchin, is a New World monkey in the Cebidae family. They are found in central and northern Brazil. Until recently, the bearded capuchins were considered a subspecies of Tufted Capuchins.
Black Howler monkey
Species Name: Alouatta caraya
Alouatta caraya is found in the tropical rain forests of central South America, extending through eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina. Alouatta Caraya monkeys are sexually dimorphic, with males weighing an average of 6.7 kg and females an average of 4.4 kg.
Black Squirrel Monkey
Species Name: Saimiri vanzolinii
The black squirrel monkey, 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. The black squirrel monkey closely resembles the much more common Bolivian squirrel monkey. However, the latter lacks the central black back.
Black-capped Squirrel Monkey
Species Name: Saimiri boliviensis
The black-capped squirrel monkey is a New-World primate species endemic to the upper Amazon basin in Bolivia, eastern Peru, and western Brazil. Primarily, black-capped squirrel monkeys are arboreal and found in native and plantation forests and some managed areas close to running water.
Blond Capuchin
Species Name: Sapajus flavius
The blond capuchin monkey is one of the capuchin monkeys native to northeastern Brazil. These Blonde monkeys get their name from the distinctive golden-blond fur on their bodies. Like other primate species, the blond capuchin is threatened by poaching and trapping for the illegal pet trade.
Campbell’s Mona Monkey
Species Name: Cercopithecus campbelli
Campbell's Mona monkey, also called the Campbell's monkey or Campbell's guenon is a primate species in the Cercopithecidae family. The species was named after Henry Dundas Campbell in 1838.
Geoffroy’s Tamarin
Species Name: Saguinus geoffroyi
Geoffroy's tamarin, also called the Panamanian tamarin, red-crested tamarin, or rufous-naped marmoset tamarin, is a tamarin, a small monkey found in Colombia and Panama. In what may seem like a role reversal in many monkey species, Geoffroy's tamarins are led by the oldest female in a group.
Gold-And-White Marmoset
Species Name: Mico chrysoleucos
The gold-and-white marmoset, also called the golden-white tassel-ear marmoset, is a species of marmoset, a tiny monkey native to the Amazon rainforest in the eastern Amazonas state of Brazil.
Maranhão Red-Handed Howler
Species Name: Alouatta ululata
The Maranhão red-handed howler (Alouatta ululata) is native to forests (e.g., Babaçu forests) in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Maranhão, and Ceará. Red-handed howler monkeys are among the least studied species of all howler monkeys.
Munduruku Marmoset
Species Name: Mico munduruku
The Munduruku marmoset (Mico munduruku) is a marmoset native to Brazil. It is only found in the southern Amazon over an area of about 120,000 km square, from the right bank of the Jamanxim River below the mouth of the Novo River to the mouth of the Tapajós River.
Red-backed Bearded Saki
Species Name: Chiropotes sagulatus
The red-backed bearded saki (Chiropotes chiropotes), also known as Guianan Bearded Saki, is a New World monkey native to South America. They live in groups of about 40 members of both sexes, sometimes separated into groups when traveling or foraging, their primary occupation.
Red-handed Howler
Species Name: Alouatta belzebul
The red-handed howler monkey (Alouatta belzebul) is an endangered species of howler monkey, a New World species. Red-handed howler monkeys are diurnal, although they spend most of the day (up to 80%) sleeping on tree branches with members of their squad.
Spix’s Red-handed Howler
Species Name: Alouatta discolor
Spix's Red-Handed Howler (Alouatta discolor) is a species of howler monkey endemic to the southeastern Amazon in Brazil. Spix's Red-headed Howler is currently on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Endangered Species List based on a population decline of more than 30% over the last 3 generations, mainly due to habitat loss.
Tantalus Monkey
Species Name: Chlorocebus tantalus
The tantalus monkey (Chlorocebus tantalus) is an Old World monkey endemic to Africa, ranging from Ghana to Sudan. It was initially described as a subspecies of Grivet (Chlorocebus aethiops). Tantalus monkeys are very similar to vervet monkeys but are smaller in size.
Toque Macaque
Species Name: Macaca sinica
The toque macaque (Macaca sinica) is a red-brown Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka, known as the rilewa or rilawa. Its common name refers to the strand of hair on its head that resembles a brimless hat.
White-bellied Spider Monkey
Species Name: Ateles belzebuth
The white-bellied spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth), also called the long-haired or white-fronted spider monkey, is an endangered species of spider monkey, a species of New-World monkey. These arboreal monkeys spend most of their time in the canopy. They rarely go down. When they do, they drink water, eat dirt, traverse a treeless area, or run away from an aggressive opponent.
White-fronted Langur
Species Name: Presbytis frontata
The white-fronted surili (Presbytis frontata) is a primate species in the Cercopithecidae family, the Old World monkeys. This species prefers to eat immature leaves than more mature leaves.
White-Throated Capuchin
Species Name: Cebus capucinus
White-throated capuchins, also called the white-headed capuchins, Colombian white-throated capuchins, and white-faced capuchins, are New World monkeys native to the tropical rainforests of western Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
Wolf’s Mona Monkey
Species Name: Cercopithecus wolfi
The Wolf's mona monkey (Cercopithecus wolfi), also called the wolf monkey, is a colorful Old-World monkey in the Cercopithecidae family. Wolf's mona monkeys have huge cheek pouches.
Yellow Baboon
Species Name: Papio cynocephalus
The yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) is another baboon species in the group of Old World monkeys. They resemble the Chacma baboon but are slightly smaller and have a less elongated snout. Yellow baboons also have white fur on internal surfaces, such as their cheeks and limbs, similar to the color of the human forearm.
Recommended Readings:
Black Monkeys | White Monkeys | Green Monkeys | Red Monkeys | Orange Monkeys | Gray Monkeys
Black Monkeys | White Monkeys | Green Monkeys | Red Monkeys | Orange Monkeys | Gray Monkeys
