List of Costa Rican monkey species

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Small monkey with white face, black eyes and nose and dark head and widow's peak facing forward
Central American squirrel monkey, Saimiri oerstedii, smallest of the Costa Rican monkey species
Capuchin monkey standing on four limbs amongst leaves; the monkey has a white face, head and chest and is black elsewhere
Panamanian white-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator)

Four species of monkey are native to the forests of

New World Monkeys.[3] Two of the species, the Central American squirrel monkey and the white-faced capuchin, belong to the family Cebidae, the family containing the squirrel monkeys and capuchins. The other two species belong to the family Atelidae, the family containing the howler monkeys, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys and muriquis.[4][5] Each of the four species can be seen in national parks within Costa Rica, where viewing them in natural surroundings is a popular tourist attraction.[6][7] A place where all four species can be seen is Corcovado National Park, on the Osa Peninsula.[8]

The smallest of the Costa Rican monkey species is the Central American squirrel monkey. Adult males average 0.8 kg (1.8 lb) and adult females average 0.7 kg (1.5 lb).

Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and on the Pacific coast of Panama near the Costa Rican border.[1][10] In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revised its conservation status to "vulnerable" after rating it "endangered" since 1982.[11] The Central American squirrel monkey is most often seen in Manuel Antonio National Park and Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica.[12]

The other three species have wider ranges within Costa Rica, each being found in forests over much of the country.

prehensile tail.[1][18] The IUCN has rated the white-faced capuchin and mantled howler in the lowest conservation risk category of "least concern", and has rated Geoffroy's spider monkey as "endangered".[14][15][17] Both the white-faced capuchin and the mantled howler are commonly seen in Costa Rica's parks.[13][19]

It is unknown why the Central American squirrel monkey has such a restricted range relative to the other Costa Rican monkey species. One theory is that the Central American squirrel monkey's ancestors arrived in Central America earlier than the ancestors of the other species. Under this theory, the squirrel monkey's ancestors arrived in Central America between 3 and 3.5 million years ago, but could not compete effectively when the ancestors of the other species arrived in Central America about 2 million years ago. The other species thus drove the squirrel monkey out of most of its original range. Another factor may be the Central American squirrel monkey's preference for lowland, coastal areas, which may make them more vulnerable to significant population declines due to occasional major hurricanes.[20]

Two other monkey species are sometimes reported as living in Costa Rica, Geoffroy's tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi) and the Panamanian night monkey (Aotus zonalis or Aotus lemurinus zonalis).[1][21][22] The western edge of Geoffroy's tamarin's known range is just west of the Panama Canal zone, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the Costa Rica border, and thus reports of it living in Costa Rica are most likely erroneous.[1][21] Confusion may have resulted from the fact that over part of its range Geoffroy's tamarin is locally referred to as mono titi, which is a name also used for the Central American squirrel monkey in Costa Rica.[1] Reports of the Panamanian night monkey living in Costa Rica are plausible, since the species is known to occur on the Caribbean coast of Panama not far from the Costa Rica border.[1][22] However, reports of it living in Costa Rica have not been confirmed by scientists.[1][22]

Key

Monkey lying on a branch: mostly black with rust-colored hair on its side.
Female mantled howler (Alouatta palliata)
Common Name Common name of the species, per Wilson, et al. Mammal Species of the World (2005)
Scientific Name Scientific name of the species
Family Family within New World monkeys to which the species belongs
Average Size – Male Average size of adult male members of the species, in kilograms and pounds, per Campbell, et al. Primates in Perspective (2007)
Average Size – Female Average size of adult female members of the species, in kilograms and pounds, per Campbell, et al. Primates in Perspective (2007)
Conservation Status Conservation status of the species, per
IUCN
as of 2008
Range Countries in which the species occurs;

Costa Rican monkey species

Spider monkey seated on the ground. Dark head, face, hands and feet, light chest and white on nose, around eyes and around mouth.
Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi)
Common Name Scientific Name Family Average Size – Male Average Size – Female Conservation Status Range References
Central American squirrel monkey
Saimiri oerstedii
 		Cebidae 0.829 kg (1.83 lb) 0.695 kg (1.53 lb) Endangered Costa Rica, Panama [9][11][23]
Panamanian white-faced capuchin
Cebus imitator
 		Cebidae 3.668 kg (8.09 lb) 2.666 kg (5.88 lb) Vulnerable Honduras through Ecuador [2][9][14][24]
Mantled howler
Alouatta palliata
 		Atelidae 7.150 kg (15.76 lb) 5.350 kg (11.79 lb) Vulnerable Mexico through Ecuador [15][16][25]
Geoffroy's spider monkey
Ateles geoffroyi
 		Atelidae 8.210 kg (18.10 lb) 7.700 kg (16.98 lb) Endangered Mexico through Panama [16][17][26]

References

  1. ^
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  10. ISBN 0-226-20721-8
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  11. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T19836A9022609.en
    . Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  12. ISBN 1-86450-034-4
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  13. ^
    ISBN 0-19-506401-1
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  14. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T81257277A191708164.en
    . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  15. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T39960A10280447.en
    . Retrieved 27 December 2017.
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    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T2279A9387270.en
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  25. OCLC 62265494
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  26. OCLC 62265494
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