Cacajao

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohors: Theria
Cohors: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Cladus: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Euarchontoglires
Ordo: Primates
Subordo: Haplorhini
Infraordo: Simiiformes
Parvordo: Platyrrhini

Familia: Pitheciidae
Subfamilia: Pitheciinae
Genus: Cacajao
Species: C. ayresi - C. calvus - C. hosomi - C. melanocephalus
Name

Cacajao Lesson, 1840

Type species: Simia melanocephalus Humboldt, 1812
Synonyms

Brachyurus Spix, 1823
Cercoptochus Gloger, 1842
Cothurus Palmer, 1899 [not of Champion, 1891 (Coleoptera)]
Neocothurus Palmer, 1903
Ouakaria Gray, 1849

References

Ferrari, S.F., Guedes, P.G., Figueiredo-Ready, W.M.B. & Barnett, A.A. 2014. Reconsidering the taxonomy of the black-faced uacaris, Cacajao melanocephalus group (Mammalia: Pitheciidae), from the northern Amazon Basin. Zootaxa 3866(3): 353–370. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3866.3.3 Paywall Reference page.

Vernacular names
dansk: Uakari
Deutsch: Uakaris
English: Uakari
español: Cacajao
français: Ouakari
italiano: Cacajao
lietuvių: Uakaris
polski: Uakari
português: Uacari
slovenščina: Uakari
svenska: Kortsvansapor
Tagalog: Cacajao
Türkçe: Uvakari
中文: 禿猴屬

Uakari (UK: /wəˈkɑːri/,[2] US: /wɑː-/)[3] is the common name for the New World monkeys of the genus Cacajao. Both the English and scientific names are believed to have originated from indigenous languages.[4]

The uakaris are unusual among New World monkeys in that the tail length (15–18 cm) is substantially less than their head and body length (40–45 cm). Their bodies are covered with long, loose hair but their heads are bald. They have almost no subcutaneous fat, so their bald faces appear almost skull-like. Like their closest relatives the saki monkeys, they have projecting lower incisors. These monkeys have the most striking red facial skin of any primate. Females choose their mates based on how red the male's face is. Evidence suggests that the red facial coloration reflects the health of the primate.[5]

The four species of uakari currently recognized are all found in the north-western Amazon basin. The bald uakari, remarkable for its brilliant scarlet complexion,[6] is found north of the Amazon River, and south of the Japurá River in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. The black-headed uakari is found north of the Amazon and south of the Rio Negro. The Neblina uakari is found north of the Rio Negro, west of the Rio Marauiá and east of the Casiquiare canal. The Aracá uakari is currently known only from the Rio Curuduri basin.

They have been observed both in small groups and in larger troops of up to 100. When traveling through the forest they move in the lower branches of the trees, though when foraging they also go up to the canopy. They mostly eat fruit, and unlike other Neotropical frugivores will consume a large amount of unripe fruit for which they have specialised dentition. They also eat flowers, seeds, invertebrates, buds and leaves.[7]

Uakari are found in neotropical Amazon flooded or riparian forests, including Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.[7]
Species

There are four species in this genus:[1][8]

Genus Cacajao
Bald uakari or red uakari, C. calvus
Cacajao calvus calvus
Cacajao calvus ucayalii
Cacajao calvus rubicundus
Cacajao calvus novaesi
Black-headed uakari species group
Golden-backed or black-headed uakari, Cacajao melanocephalus
Aracá uakari, Cacajao ayresi*
Neblina uakari, Cacajao hosomi*

In 2014 Ferrari et al. proposed an alternative taxonomy for the C. melanocephalus group which recognizes the Aracá uakari as a subspecies of the golden-backed uakari, and also recognized Cacajao ouakary as a separate species, whereas current consensus is that C. ouakary is a junior synonym of C. melanocephalus.[9][10] This revision is not universally accepted.[11]
Male bald uakari
References

Groves, C. P. (2005). "Genus Cacajao". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
"uakari". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021.
"uakari". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Barnett, Adrian A. (December 2004). "The Meanings of Cacajao and Uacari: Folk Etymology in Neotropical Primate Taxonomy". Neotropical Primates. 12 (3): 147–152. doi:10.1896/1413-4705.12.3.147. ISSN 1413-4705.
Corso, Josmael; Bowler, Mark; Heymann, Eckhard W.; Roos, Christian; Mundy, Nicholas I. (2016-04-13). "Highly polymorphic colour vision in a New World monkey with red facial skin, the bald uakari ( Cacajao calvus )". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 283 (1828): 20160067. doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.0067. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 4843651. PMID 27053753.
Wolfe, A. (1997) Primates, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, p. 159
Gron, K.J. (July 21, 2008). "Primate Factsheets: Uakari (Cacajao) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology". Retrieved July 1, 2012.
Boubli, J. P.; M. N. F. da Silva; M. V. Amado; T. Hrbek; F. B. Pontual; I. P. Farias (2008). "A taxonomic reassessment of black uakari monkeys, Cacajao melanocephalus group, Humboldt (1811), with the description of two new species" (PDF). International Journal of Primatology. 29: 723–749. doi:10.1007/s10764-008-9248-7. S2CID 26561719. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-31.
Ferrari, Stephen F.; Guedes, Patricia G.; Figueriredo-Ready, Wilsea M.B.; Barnett, Adrian A. (2014). "Reconsidering the taxonomy of the Black-Faced Uacaris, Cacajao melanocephalus group (Mammalia: Pitheciidae), from the northern Amazon Basin". Zootaxa. 3866 (3): 353–370. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3866.3.3. PMID 25283664.
"Cacajao". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
"Cacajao". ITIS. Retrieved 2 September 2022.