The red-backed bearded sakiBonvicino, C. R., Boubli, J. P., Otazú, I. B., Almeida, F. C., Nascimento, F. F., Coura, J. R. and Seuánez, H. N. (2003). ''Morphologic, karyotypic, and molecular evidence of a new form of Chiropotes (primates, pitheciinae).''

American Journal of Primatology American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

61(3): 123-133. (''Chiropotes chiropotes''Silva Jr., J. S. and Figueiredo, W. M. B. (2002). ''Revisão sistemática dos cuxiús, gênero Chiropotes Lesson, 1840 (Primates Pithecidae).'' Livro de Resumos do XO. Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Primatologia, Amazônia – A Última Fronteira: 21. Belém, Brazil.) is a New-World monkey, from South America. It is a species of bearded saki.

Description and physical characteristics

The Red backed bearded saki has a thick beard, especially males. It has a shock of hair on each side of its head. Its body is entirely covered with dense hair whose colour varies from red to yellowish gold. Its non-prehensile, bushy tail is almost as long as its body. Females are generally smaller than males. The latter is about 45 cm long and between 2.6 and 7.1 kg. It moves on its four legs but is able to stand upright.

Lifestyle

Diet

Red-backed bearded sakis are primarily frugivores, feeding on seeds, flowers, nuts and fruits but their diet also includes insects, larvae and spiders. They can eat about 100 different species of plants. They have dental adaptations which allow them to crack pods easily. Chiropotes sagulatus

Behaviour

Chiropotes are diurnal primates, that is to say they are active from sunrise to just before sunset. They live in groups of about forty members with both sexes, occasionally separated in clusters when travelling or looking for food, their main occupation.

Habitat

It is found North of the Amazon River and East of the Branco River, in Brazil, Venezuela and the Guianas.

Reproduction

Females give birth to one cub at a time after five months gravidity, during the rainy season.

Conservation

Red-backed bearded sakis are not considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), even if they are sometimes hunted for their meat. There are 27 red-backed bearded sakis in zoos around the world.

Taxonomy

Previously, this and all other dark-nosed

bearded saki The bearded sakis, or cuxiús, are five or six species of New World monkeys, classified in the genus ''Chiropotes''. They live in the eastern and central Amazon in South America, ranging through southern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana ...

s were included as

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

(or taxonomically insignificant variations) of '' C. satanas''. Based on

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, ...

and morphological evidence, '' C. utahickae'', ''C. chiropotes'' and ''C. sagulatus'' were split from ''C. satanas'' in 2002. ''C. chiropotes'' and ''C. sagulatus'' were the only members of the genus found north of the Amazon River, with the former west of the

Branco River The Branco River (; Engl: ''White River'') is the principal affluent of the Rio Negro from the north. Basin The river drains the Guayanan Highlands moist forests ecoregion. It is enriched by many streams from the Tepui highlands which separat ...

(a major

zoogeographic Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with geographic distribution (present and past) of animal species. As a multifaceted field of study, zoogeography incorporates methods of molecular biology, genetics, mor ...

barrier) and the latter east. Supporting evidence for the basic split into four species of dark-nosed bearded sakis was published in 2003, though with one significant difference compared to the earlier study: They treated the population east of the Branco River as ''C. chiropotes'' (''C. sagulatus'' in the 2002 study) and west of the river as '' C. israelita'' (''C. chiropotes'' in the 2002 study). The taxonomy proposed in 2003 was followed in ''

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

'' in 2005. In the study in 2003, a direct comparison of ''C. israelita'' and the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

of ''C. chiropotes'' was not included, but it is assumed that bearded sakis in Venezuela are ''C. israelita'', while ''C. chiropotes'' is not present in that country, thereby matching what would be expected from a species pair separated by the Branco River. This is potentially problematic, as the type specimen of ''C. chiropotes'' is from Venezuela,Cabrera, A. (1961). ''Catílogo de los mamíferos de America del Sur.'' Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia 4: 309-732. which could leave ''israelita'' as a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''C. chiropotes'', thereby matching the taxonomy proposed in 2002. Due to this confusion, neither ''C. sagulatus'' nor ''C. israelita'' were recognized by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

in 2008, which maintained all bearded sakis north of the Amazon River as ''C. chiropotes.'' However, regardless of the uncertainties over exactly what population the

species name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''chiropotes'' belongs to, it is clear that there are two distinct populations of bearded sakis north of the Amazon River: A reddish-backed from the Branco River and eastward, and a brown-backed from the Branco River and westward.