| Caipora bambuiorum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Atelidae |
| Subfamily: | Atelinae |
| Genus: | †Caipora Cartelle & Hartwig, 1996 |
| Species: | †C. bambuiorum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Caipora bambuiorum Cartelle & Hartwig, 1996 | |
Caipora is an extinct genus of largeNew World monkey that lived during the Pleistocene. It contains a single species,Caipora bambuiorum. Fossils have been found only inBrazil'sToca da Boa Vista cave, alongside the largerProtopithecus. The presence of these two large arboreal monkeys inBahia suggests that the region may have supported a dense forest during the Late Pleistocene.[1][2]
Caipora bambuiorum is known from an almost complete skeleton of a late-stage subadult individual discovered in theToca da Boa Vista cave in 1992, by the spelaeological team Grupo Bambui de Pesquisas Espeleologicas. Its generic name is derived fromcaipora, a figure in Brazilian folklore, while the specific name was given in honour of the Grupo Bambui.[1]
Caipora was a large-bodied monkey: despite the subadult age of the type specimen, its postcranial skeleton is more robust than any living New World monkey, but not as robust asProtopithecus, and the individual is estimated to have weighed around 20.5 kilograms. Its upper limbs are very long, and theneurocranium is more rounded than is typical in New World monkeys.[1] Like the extant generaAteles andBrachyteles, it may have been a specialised suspensory climber and clamberer.[3]