Habitat

Primarily found in tropical lowland rainforest and have few restrictive habitat requirements

Natural behavior

Diurnal and arboreal, predominantly using quadrupedal walking or running. Living in home ranges but are not strictly territorial. Males establish dominance through fierce fighting and urine washing

Description

Small, white face with black nose and muzzle. Coat colour varies from brown and grey to golden. Slim, long tail with black tip, which is longer in length than their body

Distribution

Central to South America; The Amazon

Diet

Omnivore, primarily eating insects and fruit but also seeds, birds and eggs, spending much of the day foraging

Reproduction

Polygamous mating system. Breeding is highly seasonal and females will all come into oestrus at approximately the same time and lasts from August till early October. Females are responsible for almost all-infant care

Social structure

Social; living in large hierarchical groups (troops) of 40-50 individuals, may reach numbers of 200 with multi male-female groups. Males disperse from natal groups at sexual maturity while females stay within their natal group their entire lives. Males will also form bachelor groups. Both sexes have independent dominance hierarchies

Threats

Deforestation; logging for timber industry, land clearing for agriculture. Hunting for the illegal pet trade and medical research