Pithecia monachus (E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6632289 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6632251 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8477905E-8658-C34B-2D20-A147136DFA7C |
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Carolina |
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scientific name |
Pithecia monachus |
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33. View On
Monk Saki
French: Saki moine / German: Monchsaffe / Spanish: Saki cabelludo
Other common names: Hairy Saki; Geoffroy's Monk Saki (monachus), Miller's Monk / Miller's Saki (milleri)
Taxonomy. Simia monacha E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812 ,
Brazil. Restricted by P. Hershkovitz in 1987 to “ left bank of the Rio Solimoes between Tabatinga and the Rio Tonantins.”
The type specimen, a juvenile male, was collected by A. Rodrigues Ferreira between 1783 and 1792, and it was taken from the Museu Real d’Ajuda, Lisbon, to the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, in 1808. There is still uncertainty aboutits true identity and origins. The taxonomy of Pithecia followed here is that proposed by Hershkovitz in 1987. A taxonomic revision currently being undertaken by L. K. Marsh will provide a broader and more accurate understanding of the diversity and distributions of the sakis. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
P.m. milleri Allen, 1914 — S Colombia (Andean foothills up to ¢.500-700 m above sea level in the Caqueta Department, S of the rios Yari and Caqueta, but extending NE to the area of LLa Macarena in Meta Department, E to at least Puerto Leguizamo on the left bank of the Rio Putumayo) and NE Ecuador (N of the Rio Napo); itis unclear how far E it occurs between the rios Napo and Putumayo into Peru. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 39.8-48 cm (males) and 37-46 cm (females), tail 30-5 50 cm (males) and 41.1-48 cm (females); weight 2.5-3.1 kg (males) and 1.3-2.5 kg (females) for “Geoffroy’s Monk Saki” (P. m. monachus). Head-body 33-48 cm (males) and 39 cm (females), tail 44-49.6 cm (males) and 41 cm (females); weight 2.6-2.8 kg (males) and 2-2 kg (females) for the “Miller’s Monk Saki” (P. m. mulleri). Dorsal pelage of adult male Geoffroy’s Monk Sakis is black, with very little white stippling overall. Its hands and feet are mottled black and white. Face of male is very brown and goes darker with age. Hair is pressed against the body, especially in older individuals, with a definite crease up the forehead ending in a star or “pit” between and just above eyes. Malar lines are white and vary in width depending on age because white below cheek lines can blend into malars. There are also fine white hairs along upper lip. A striking feature in older males is the multifolded glandular throat sack, which is more pronounced in Geoffroy’s Monk Saki than other species of saki. Overall, pelage of female Geoffroy’s Monk Sakis is similar to males in that it is black, with some stippling throughout. Females tend to be slightly more grizzled, especially on their forearms. Young, breeding-aged females can have very loose brownish to whitish mottled faces. Older females have soft, loose dark brown foreheads, with shaggy white below, looking “two-toned.” Malar lines are shaggy and white, and in older females, they can blend in with the white lower cheek hairs. Ruff on female Geoffroy’s Monk Sakis is darker brown or black, with occasionally lighter tips that are less extensive than in males. Females have less extensive throat glands than males. Hands and feet of older females are whiter than those of males. The original description of the male type specimen of Miller's Monk Saki provided by Allen is, “Upperparts, limbs and tail black, the hairs with long pale yellowish [white] tips; face sparsely clothed with short whitish hairs; front half of head mars brown, the hairs short and course; underparts thinly haired, fore neck naked; hairs dark brown with whitish tips on the throat and belly and with yellowish brown tips over the pectoral region; hands yellowish white, feet whitish grizzled with black.” Female Miller's Monk Sakis are much grayer overall than female Geoffroy’s Monk Sakis. Their faces are shaggier and whiter in general, sometimes with a distinct white band across forehead. They have longer, shaggier, white malar lines and indistinct white across lips. Hands and feet are whitish and less distinct in general than those of Geoffroy’s Monk Sakis.
Habitat. Terra firma and white-water seasonally inundated forest (varzea) and Mauritia palm swamp forest. Unlike the White-faced Saki ( P. pithecia ), Monk Sakis occupy more of the middle and upper forest canopies.
Food and Feeding. While the Monk Saki appears to be the most studied species of sakis, because of taxonomic confusion, they in fact have been little studied. They eat fleshy fruits, including arils of Copaifera pubiflora and Inga ; seeds of Pithecellobium (all Fabaceae ); figs ( Ficus , Moraceae ); fruits of Brosimum (Moraceae) and Pourouma (Urticaceae) ; and palm fruits, especially from Mauritia flexuosa and, to a lesser extent, Oenocarpus bataua (both Arecaceae ). Monk Sakis also eat leaves and insects.
Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species.
Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Four groups studied at Puerto Bermudez, Peru, each consisted of an adult pair, 1-2 subadults, and 1-2 juveniles, with group sizes of 4-5 individuals. Elsewhere in Peru, they occur in groups of up to eight individuals, with 1-3 adult males and 1-2 adult females. Home ranges are 9-7-42 ha (average 24-9 ha).
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List, including the nominate subspecies monachus , but the subspecies muller: is listed as Data Deficient. Miller's Monk Saki occurs in the 422,000ha La Paya National Park in Colombia. It is possible that because they occur in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador, they may be found across the border west into Peru in the Zona Reserva Gueppi, north of the Napo, but there are no records of them in that region.
Bibliography. Aquino & Encarnacién (1994b), Bennett et al. (2001), Defler (2004), Happel (1982), Hernédndez-Camacho & Cooper (1976), Hershkovitz (1979b, 1987a), Norconk (2011), Norconk & Setz (2013), Voss & Fleck (2011), Heymann & Bartecki (1990), Marsh & Veiga (2008a).
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