Central American Squirrel Monkey

This small monkey has an orange back, olive shoulders, hips and tail, white underparts and orange hands and feet. The white face has black rims around the eyes and black around the nose and mouth, and there is a black cap on the head and a black tip to the tail. The tail is longer than the body but is used for balance rather than gripping. Males average about 16% heavier than females, and the northern Costa Rican form has a lighter cap than the southern form (Wikipedia, general species account).

Groups are large, about 20–75 monkeys, and move steadily through the lower canopy and understory foraging almost constantly. Studies at Corcovado found that groups slept in just a few isolated-crown trees and that females form no dominance hierarchies, so social life is unusually egalitarian. Mating there occurs in the mid-wet season, from about August to early October. Hawks, cats and snakes are among its predators, and at Corcovado several bird species, including motmots and trogons, regularly follow groups (Wikipedia, general species account; GBIF species profile).

The Costa Rican population fell sharply after the 1970s, attributed to deforestation, hunting and capture for the pet trade. It can be seen in Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Parks, though less often than white-faced capuchins and howlers (Wikipedia, general species account). On this guide it is a target species of both, and of the Osa Peninsula.