The Trinidad white-fronted capuchin is a subspecies (''Cebus albifrons trinitatis'') or species (''Cebus trinitatis'') of

gracile capuchin monkey Gracile capuchin monkeys are capuchin monkeys in the genus ''Cebus''. At one time all capuchin monkeys were included within the genus ''Cebus''. In 2011, Jessica Lynch Alfaro ''et al.'' proposed splitting the genus between the robust capuchin ...

. It is found on the island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Taxonomy

Boubli ''et al''. found in a 2012 study that the capuchins on

had derived from within ''C. olivaceus brunneus'' (or more specifically, the mitochondrial genes of the single Trinidad specimen they sampled derived from ''brunneus''). However, the morphological distinctiveness of Trinidad populations has led to doubts over its taxonomic position. Further complicating this taxonomy is the fact that subsequent morphological inspection of the ''C. brunneus'' specimens used for the study found them to be distinct from the actual type specimen of ''C. brunneus''. Due to this controversy, taxonomic authorities take differing views on the Trinidad capuchins; the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

classifies them as a distinct, critically endangered species (''C. trinitatis''), the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

recognizes them as conspecific with ''C. brunneus'', and the

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

considers them a subspecies of the

Humboldt's white-fronted capuchin Humboldt's white-fronted capuchin (''Cebus albifrons'') is a species of gracile capuchin monkey. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and potentially the island of Trinidad. Taxonomy The species name ''Cebus albifrons'' was formerly co ...

(''C. a. trinitatis''). Furthermore, the ITIS listing for ''C. a. trinitatis'' notes:

Habitat and distribution

The Trinidad white-fronted capuchin is found on the island of Trinidad. It prefers

primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

but is also found in various types of

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

. It tends to prefer moister and less disturbed forest than other capuchin species. The Trinidad white-fronted capuchin is classified as critically endangered by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

, having a population of only 50 mature individuals.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12744911 Capuchin monkeys Mammals of the Caribbean Mammals of Trinidad and Tobago Subspecies Mammals described in 1942