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Squirrel Monkeys

Squirrel Monkeys Facts, Size, Diet and Habitat

Posted on January 26, 2020March 4, 2022
(Last Updated On: March 4, 2022)

The squirrel monkeys have a slender build with a small thin dense coat. The ears, throat, head, back, and legs of the squirrel monkeys gray-green to yellow.

The squirrel monkeys are the New World monkeys of the Simairi species. The Cymry subfamily is the only genus in Cimirin. The name of the genus is of the genus hat and was also used by early researchers as an English name.

The squirrel monkeys live on canopy levels in the tropical forests of Central and South America. While most species of parapatric or allopatric ranges are on Amazon, S. orstedi is found separately in Costa Rica and Panama.

Common squirrel monkeys are caught for a pet business and medical research but are not threatened. Two squirrel monkey species are threatened: Central American squirrel monkey and black squirrel monkey have been listed as vulnerable by IUCN.

Description

The fur of a squirrel monkey is short and close, colored black on the shoulders and yellowish orange on its back and hands. The upper parts of their heads are hairy.

These black-and-white faces are named in their several Germanic languages ​​(e.g., German Totenkopfen, Swedish Dodschleapor, Dutch Dudschfuadapjes) and Slovenian (Smrothoglavka) “head of the monkey”.

The squirrel monkeys are 25 to 35 centimeters (9.8 to 13.8 inches) tall, with a tail 35 to 42 centimeters (14 to 17 inches).

Male squirrel monkeys weigh 750 to 1,100 grams (26 to 39 oz). The girl’s weight 500 to 750 grams (18 to 26 oz). Both men and women are equipped with a long and wavy tail, flat nails and pointed nails.

Female squirrel monkeys have pseudo-penises, which they use to demonstrate dominance over small monkeys, similar to male squirrel monkeys displaying their dominance.

Behavior and Ecology

Like the relatives of their New World monkeys, most squirrel monkeys are daily and arboreal. Unlike other New World monkeys, their tail is not used for climbing but as a kind of “balance pole” and a tool. Their movement to the branches can be very fast.

Squirrel monkeys have up to 500 members in multiple male / multi-female groups live These large groups can sometimes be subdivided into smaller troupes.

There are many vocal calls to the groups, including a warning word to protect the group from the big falcon, which is a natural threat.

Their small size makes them susceptible to predators like snakes and felids. To identify the region, squirrel monkeys rub their tail and skin with their urine.

The squirrel monkeys are eating algae, primarily fruits and insects. Sometimes they also eat seeds, leaves, flowers, buds, nuts, and eggs.

Squirrel monkey confluence is subject to seasonal effects. Females give birth to babies 150 to 170 days after gestation.

Only mothers take care of their children. Breastfeeding by the age of 4 months by Simeri orsthetti, SS boliviensis is not completely weaned until 18 months of age. Female squirrel monkeys reach sexual maturity at the age of 2-2.5 years, while males take up to the age of 3.5-54.

They are about fifteen years old in the wild and survive more than twenty years in captivity. Menopause in girls probably occurs in middle age.

In our smaller species a common squirrel monkey lives in our sanctuary in conjunction with large capuchins and spider monkeys. Due to their small size, they are often strategized for taking pictures in the wild.

And are naturally at risk for lightning, jaguar and snake hunters. Comparatively individual in nature, the squirrel monkey (even kept as a pet) usually does not attract human attention to other aspects such as the awakened capuchin monkey.

Physical Properties

The squirrel monkey has red-orange fur and yellow-orange arms, hands and feet with a grayish color, and a small bunch of white eyes along the edges of their ears.

Well after looking around, one can see a circle of brown-black fur around the face. Squirrel monkeys are very light: Men weigh 554-1150 grams and are about 318 mm tall.

The female is slightly heavier at 651-1250g and about 316mm taller. If you can see the wood monkeys in their natural habitat, notice that other subspecies, the Cimiri Boelviensis or Bolivian monkey, have a darker head and a larger tail than the common squirrel monkey. The tail of both species is non-prenatal.

Squirrel Monkeys

Residence

The squirrel monkey naturally extends from Brazil to the north-west to Peru and Ecuador (usually along the Amazon River) in the east of South America. These primates live in the tropical lowlands of the river, rainforest, moist and damp environment.

The squirrel monkeys spend most of their time in the trees as well as in the fields, making them quadruped-arboreal. These are not good jumpers, however, only jump 2m or less at a time.

Diet

The squirrel monkeys are insect-frugivores. Thus, their diet consists mainly of insects and fruits. It is not uncommon to see worms and butterflies eat while they are hated.

By the fire of the New World, they were even known to attack and eat small birds and bats! It could be said that squirrel monkeys are certainly not lazy, as they spend about 10 percent of their day’s rest.

Life cycle

Squirrel monkeys give birth to a single baby, for which the gestation period is 145 days. Women take the most responsibility for the upbringing of the young, carrying the babies on their backs for about a month after birth. On average, squirrel monkeys live about 20 years

Color vision

The color vision in this specis has been widely studied as a way to support human illness. Twenty-two genes are found on the X chromosome for color recognition in humans.

Generally, one gene (OPN1LW) produces a pigment that is most sensitive to wavelengths of 564 nm, while another gene (OPN1MW) produces a pigment sensitive to 534 nm.

They have only one gene on the X chromosome, but are present in three varieties: one is the most susceptible to 538 nm, one to 551 nm, and one to 561 nm. Since men only have one X chromosome, they are bipolar, albeit with different sensitivities.

Girls have two X chromosomes, so some of them may have copies of two separate alleles. The three alleles appear to be equally common, causing one-third to double the females, and two-thirds to be trichromatic.

Recently, gene therapy gave the human OPN1 LW gene to adult male squirrel monkeys, creating behavior consistent with the trichromatic spectrum.

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