Cazuza's saki (''Pithecia cazuzai'') is a species of

saki monkey Sakis, or saki monkeys, are any of several New World monkeys of the genus ''Pithecia''. They are closely related to the bearded sakis of genus ''Chiropotes''. Range Sakis' range includes northern and central South America, extending from the s ...

, a type of

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboid ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to northwestern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Taxonomy

Populations in this species were formerly classified within the

Rio Tapajós saki The Rio Tapajós saki or Gray's bald-faced saki (''Pithecia irrorata'') is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey, from South America. It is found in parts of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, southeastern Peru and possibly no ...

(''P. irrorata''), but a 2014 study found these populations to have a distinct

pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

from any other species in the genus, and they were thus reclassified into their own species, ''P. cazuzai''. 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

all follow this classification. The species is named after renowned Brazilian primatologist Dr. José de Sousa e Silva Júnior, nicknamed "Cazuza".

Distribution

It is known only from a small region of northern Brazil in the state of

Amazonas Amazonas may refer to: Places * Amazon River, known as ''Amazonas'' in Spanish and Portuguese *Amazonas (Brazilian state), Brazil * Amazonas Department, Colombia * Department of Amazonas, Peru * Amazonas (Venezuelan state), Venezuela Other uses * ...

, where it is found south of the

Solimões River Solimões () is the name often given to upper stretches of the Amazon River in Brazil from its confluence with the Rio Negro upstream to the border of Peru. Geography The Amazon / Solimões river just above the confluence of the Solimões and ...

on either side of the

Juruá River The Juruá River (Portuguese ''Rio Juruá''; Spanish ''Río Yuruá'') is a southern affluent river of the Amazon River west of the Purus River, sharing with this the bottom of the immense inland Amazon depression, and having all the characterist ...

at Fonte Boa and Uarini. More information may be needed to truly quantify the species' range.

Description

Both male and female Cazuza's sakis have a distinct

from any other ''

Pithecia Sakis, or saki monkeys, are any of several New World monkeys of the genus ''Pithecia''. They are closely related to the bearded sakis of genus ''Chiropotes''. Range Sakis' range includes northern and central South America, extending from the s ...

'' species. Unlike the

white-faced saki The white-faced saki (''Pithecia pithecia''), called the Guianan saki and the golden-faced saki, is a species of the New World saki monkey. They can be found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. This species lives in the und ...

(''P. pithecia''), male Cazuza's sakis are not silky black, but rather coarsely black with very lightly white-tipped fur, and also have a short, dark ruff. Their faces have a diffuse white ring that distinguishes them from all other species in the genus with white facial hairs. Although males share thick lip hairs with several other species such as the

hairy Hairy may refer to: * people or animals covered in hairs or fur * plants covered in trichomes * insects covered in setae * people nicknamed "the Hairy" * Hairy (gene) See also * Hairies, a fictional people * Haerye, a Korean text * Hary (disam ...

(''P. hirsuta'') and golden-faced (''P. chrysocephala'') sakis, they have a different facial coloration from them. Female Cazuza's sakis have different faces from all other saki species in the region.

Status

This species is thought to be threatened by logging and

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set ag ...

, as well as its small range, and thus its population is thought to be declining. They are sometimes also found in the

pet trade Wildlife trade refers to the of products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, ti ...

. However, this species remains poorly-known and it is thus classified as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessarily ...

on the

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21306294

Cazuza's saki Cazuza's saki (''Pithecia cazuzai'') is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is endemic to northwestern Brazil. Taxonomy Populations in this species were formerly classified within the Rio Tapajós saki (''P. irrorata''), ...

Mammals of Brazil Fauna of the Amazon Endemic fauna of Brazil