Vanzolini’s Bald-faced Saki

• Common Name: Vanzolini’s Bald-faced Saki
• Taxonomy Classification Year: 1987
• Monkey Size: 41 to 41 cm (16 to 16 in)
• Skin Color(s): Black
• Habitat: Forest, shrubland
• Diet: Omnivorous
• Native Countries: Brazil

Vanzolini’s bald-faced saki^[1] (Pithecia vanzolinii) is a species of saki monkey, a species of New World Monkey.

• Its distribution area is in western Brazil. With its smooth golden furry legs and Beatles-Esque bowl cut, you’ll likely remember seeing Vanzolini’s bald-faced saki monkey.
• Vanzolini’s bald-faced saki monkey was first cataloged by naturalist Alfonso Ollala in 1936. His account describes a monkey with a long, fluffy tail and golden fur on its limbs.
• However, this fluffy tail isn’t very good at swinging through the treetops. Unlike some New World monkey species, the Vanzolini bald-faced saki monkey does not have a prehensile tail.
• Instead, Alfonso compared the monkey’s movements to a cat moving through branches, deftly stepping on all four limbs, and jumping.

• This species was initially described by Hershkovitz as a subspecies Pithecia irrorata vanzolinii based on individuals collected by Alfonso M. Olalla in 1936 but was elevated to full species status in 2014.
• The monkey is named after the Brazilian zoologist Paulo Vanzolini.
• Vanzolini’s bald-faced saki has a long limb that allows it to move through the jungle more like a cat than a monkey.
• When confronted with predators, the male species would flee from the female species and young, apparently hoping the predators would chase them and leave the others alone.
• These monkeys live in challenging habitats. Unfortunately, locals often hunt them for bushmeat while logging, ranching, and road development threaten their tree homes.