Golden-backed Black Uakari

About the Golden-backed Black Uakari

The golden-backed uakari (Cacajao melanocephalus) or black-headed uakari, is a New World primate from the family Pitheciidae. It lives in the Amazon rainforest, and is found in the countries of Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. It has black hair covering its body, except for a reddish abdomen, tail, and upper limbs, and a bald face. It has highly specialised teeth which allow it to eat seeds and fruits with hard shells.

The species Cacajao melanocephalus was previously named the black-headed uakari and two subspecies were thought to exist: Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus (black-backed uakari) and Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary (golden-backed uakari). However, in 2008 a new black uakari was discovered and the species group was reassessed using morphological and molecular analyses. Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary was found to be a junior synonym of Cacajao melanocephalus but its common name, golden-backed uakari, replaced the previous one, black-headed uakari. Cacajao melanocephalus melanocephalus was elevated to species status as Cacajao hosom (the Neblina uakari), and a new species was named Cacajao ayresi (Aracá uakari). A proposed an alternative taxonomy which recognizes... Wikipedia →