White-headed capuchin – Cebus capucinus

The white-headed capuchin, also known as the white-faced capuchin or white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae.

The species include four subspecies:

• White-headed capuchin capucinus
• White-headed capuchin limitaneus
• White-headed capuchin imitator
• Cebus capucinus curtus

The white-headed capuchin is a primate and the only species of capuchin whose fur is black on the body, legs and tail. The black color extends to the back of the head, forming a cap. Its coat is also distinguished by a white coloration of the head, throat, shoulders and upper arms. The face is pink and the amount of white fur that covers it varies by age and sex classes. The Capuchin monk moves on four legs and the current captive longevity record for a Capuchin is nearly 55 years. However, the average lifespan for a Capuchin kept in captivity under good conditions is 10 years

The Capuchin monk lives in all types of wet and dry tropical forest, flooded forests, mangrove forests, gallery forests, dry deciduous forests where the downpours are absent 5 to 6 months of the year. They are found in Honduras, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Gestation lasts between 157 and 167 days. Females give birth for the first time at the age of 7 years and the average interval between births is 27 months. Males become potential breeding at the age of 6 years while many authors consider sexual maturity at 7 years in this species. There is no birth seasonality in the Capuchin monk but there is however a peak birth during the dry season.