Capuchin Monkey

The capuchin monkeys are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are famous for their complex foraging skills, such as tool use to crack open nuts. As neotropical primates, their distribution includes tropical forests in Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina. The highest number is found in Brazil, where they are known as nail monkey ("macaco-prego"), a common name derived from the nail-like shape of the male genitalia in Brazilian Portuguese. In Central America, they are called white-faced monkeys ("carablanca") in Spanish, where they usually occupy the wet lowland forests on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panama and deciduous dry forest on the Pacific coast. Capuchins have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any nonhuman primate, as well as complex brain wiring. Their neural complexity is likely related to their sociality and advanced foraging skills. Capuchins have evolved skills to access food that other monkeys cannot — and to mentally map food sources in their territories. They are also frequent victims of illegal wildlife trafficking, which is increasing.