- Capuchin monkey
Taxobox
name = CapuchinsMSW3 Groves|pages=136-138|id=12100255]
image_width = 200px
image_caption =White-headed Capuchin ("Cebus capucinus")
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Primates
familia =Cebidae
subfamilia = Cebinae
subfamilia_authority = Bonaparte, 1831
genus = "Cebus"
genus_authority = Erxleben, 1777
type_species = "Simia capucina"
type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758
subdivision_ranks =Species
subdivision = "Cebus capucinus"
"Cebus albifrons"
"Cebus olivaceus"
"Cebus kaapori"
"Cebus apella"
"Cebus queirozi"
"Cebus libidinosus"
"Cebus nigritus"
"Cebus xanthosternos"The capuchins are the group ofNew World monkey s classified as genus "Cebus". Their name comes from their coloration, which resembles the cowls worn by the Franciscan Capuchin order of Catholicfriar s. "Cebus" is the only genus in subfamily Cebinae.The range of the capuchin monkeys includes
Central America (Honduras ) and middleSouth America (middleBrazil , easternPeru ,Paraguay ).Capuchins generally resemble the friars of their namesake. Their body, arms, legs and tail are all darkly (black or brown) colored, while the face, throat and chest are white colored, and their heads have a black cap. They reach a length of 30 to 56 cm (12 - 22 inches), with tails that are just as long as the body. They weigh up to 6 kg (13 lb, 3 oz), with brains of mass 35-40g. They are considered the most intelligent New World monkeys.Fact|date=May 2007
Like most New World monkeys, capuchins are diurnal and
arboreal . With the exception of a midday nap, they spend their entire day searching for food. At night they sleep in the trees, wedged between branches. They are undemanding regarding their habitat and can thus be found in many differing areas. Among the natural enemies of the capuchins are largefalcon s,cat s andsnake s.Fact|date=June 2008The diet of the capuchins is more varied than other monkeys in the family
Cebidae . They areomnivore s, eating not only fruits, nuts, seeds and buds, but also insects, spiders, bird eggs and small vertebrates. Capuchins living near water will also eat crabs and shellfish by cracking their shells with stones.Fact|date=June 2008Easily recognized as the "
organ grinder " or "greyhound jockey " monkeys, capuchins are sometimes kept as exotic pets. They are also sometimes used as service animals. Sometimes they plunder fields and crops and are seen as troublesome by nearby human populations. [cite book | first=Dorothy M. |last=Fragaszy | coauthors=Visalberghi, Elisabetta; Fedigan, Linda Marie | title=The Complete Capuchin: The Biology of the Genus Cebus | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year= 2005 | pages= 5| isbn= 9780521661164 ] In some regions they have become rare due to the destruction of their habitat.Fact|date=February 2007ocial structure
Capuchins live together in groups of 6 to 40 members. These groups consist of related females and their offspring, as well as several males. Usually groups are dominated by a single male, who has primary rights to mate with the females of the group, though the
White-headed Capuchin groups are led by both an alpha male and an alpha female. Mutual grooming as well as vocalization serves as communication and stabilization of the group dynamics. Theseprimate s are territorial animals, distinctly marking a central area of their territory with urine and defending it against intruders, though outer zones of these areas may overlap.Females bear young every two years following a 160 to 180 day gestation. The young cling to their mother's chest until they are larger, when they move to her back. Adult male capuchins rarely take part in caring for the young. Within four years for females and eight years for males, juveniles become fully mature. In captivity, individuals have reached an age of 45 years, although life expectancy in nature is only 15 to 25 years.
Intelligence
Capuchins are considered the most intelligent New World monkeysFact|date=September 2008 and are often used in laboratories. The
Tufted Capuchin is especially noted for its long-term tool usage, one of the few examples of primate tool use other than byape s. Upon seeingmacaw s eatingpalm nut s, cracking them open with their beaks, these capuchins will select a few of the ripest fruits, nip off the tip of the fruit and drink down the juice, then seemingly discard the rest of the fruit with the nut inside. When these discarded fruits have hardened and become slightly brittle, the capuchins will gather them up again and take them to a large flat boulder where they have previously gathered a few river stones from up to a mile away. They will then use these stones, some of them weighing as much as the monkeys, to crack open the fruit to get to the nut inside. Young capuchins will watch this process to learn from the older, more experienced adults.Fact|date=June 2008During the mosquito season, they crush up
millipedes and rub the remains on their backs. This acts as a naturalinsect repellent .Fact|date=June 2008elf-awareness
When presented with a reflection, capuchin monkeys react in a way that indicates an intermediate state between seeing the mirror as another individual and recognizing the image as self.
Most animals react to seeing their reflection as if encountering another individual they don't recognize. An experiment with capuchins shows that they react to a reflection as a strange phenomenon, but not as if seeing a strange capuchin.
In the experiment, capuchins were presented with three different scenarios:
# Seeing an unfamiliar, same-sex monkey on the other side of a clear barrier
# Seeing a familiar, same-sex monkey on the other side of a clear barrier
# A mirror showing a reflection of the monkeyWith scenario 1, females appeared anxious and avoided eye-contact. Males made threatening gestures. In scenario 2, there was little reaction by either males or females.
When presented with a reflection, females gazed into their own eyes and made friendly gestures such as lip-smacking and swaying. Males made more eye contact than with strangers or familiar monkeys but reacted with signs of confusion or distress, such as squealing, curling up on the floor or trying to escape from the test room. [cite journal | author=de Waal FB, Dindo M, Freeman CA, Hall MJ | title=The monkey in the mirror: Hardly a stranger | journal=
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume=Epub ahead of print | issue= | year=2005 | pages= | pmid=16055557]Theory of mind
The question of whether capuchin monkeys have a theory of mind—whether they can understand what another creature may know or think—has been neither proven nor disproven conclusively. If confronted with a "knower-guesser" scenario, where one trainer can be observed to know the location of food and another trainer merely guesses the location of food, capuchin monkeys can learn to rely on the knower. [cite journal | last = Kuroshima | first = Hika | coauthors = Kazuo Fujita, Akira Fuyuki, Tsuyuka Masuda | year = 2002 | month = March | title = Understanding of the relationship between seeing and knowing by tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) | journal = Animal Cognition | volume = 5 | issue = 1 | pages = 41–48 | doi = 10.1007/s10071-001-0123-6 | id = ISSN|1435-9448 | url = http://www.springerlink.com/index/ELTR6PV6B8RVTPDA.pdf ] This has, however, been refuted as conclusive evidence for a theory of mind as the monkeys may have learned to discriminate knower and guesser by other means. [cite journal | author = Heyes, C. M. | year = 1998 | title = Theory Of Mind In Nonhuman Primates | journal = Behavioral and Brain Sciences | id = bbs00000546 | url = http://www.bbsonline.org/documents/a/00/00/05/46/index.html | doi = 10.1017/S0140525X98000703 | volume = 21] Non-human
great ape s have not been proven to develop a theory of mind either; human children commonly develop a theory of mind around the ages 3 and 4.Human assistance
Some organizations, such as Helping Hands in
Boston ,Massachusetts , have been training capuchin monkeys to assist quadriplegics in a manner similar tomobility assistance dog s. After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Around the house, the monkeys help out by doing tasks including microwaving food, washing the quadriplegic's face, and opening drink bottles. They do not always do well in these situations as they often have their teeth removed to avoid risking a bite to the owner.Fact|date=October 2008Classification
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