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White-faced saki

Pithecia pithecia

Description: Pale-faced or White-faced saki monkeys are sexually dimorphic. Males are solid glossy black with a white face and black snout. The females are an agouti brown with a black face and white stripes along the nose. Newborns are the color of females. Both sexes possess a long, bushy, non-prehensile tail.

Size: Pale-faced sakis have a head and body length of 15 inches (38 cm) with males being only slightly longer. Males are significantly heavier, weighing up to 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg), while females only reach 3.8 pounds (1.7 kg)

Behavior: They prefer the larger branches of the lower canopy and can be observed on the ground. They live in small family groups consisting of the parents and two to three offspring. They have been observed leaping over 30 feet (9 m) from one tree to another.

Diet: Sakis feed on fruit seeds and animal prey. They have the ability to crack open hard nuts with their canine teeth.

Senses: Sight is their primary sense.

Communication: A Pale-faced saki will put on an impressive display when threatened, its hair will rise and its whole body will shake.

Reproduction: A single baby is born between December and April after a gestation period of 163- 176 days. The young is weaned after four months and sexually mature at 24 months.

Habitat/range: Pale-faced sakis are found in secondary, savannah and marsh forests of Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela.

Status: IUCN Least Concern (LC); CITES Appendix II.Included in AZA Species Survival Plan®(SSP). This program cooperatively manages specific, and typically threatened or endangered populations.

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Lagomorpha
Family:Pitheciidae
Genus:Pithecia
Species:pithecia