Pitheciids are small to medium-sizedmonkeys, ranging from 23 cm in head-body length for the smaller titis, to 44–49 cm for the uakaris. They have medium to long fur, in a wide range of colors, often with contrasting patches, especially on the face.
They arediurnal andarboreal animals, found in tropical forests from low-lying swamp to mountain slopes. They are predominantlyherbivorous, eating mostly fruit and seeds, although some species will also eat a small number of insects. Sakis and uakaris have adiastema between thecanine andpremolar teeth, but the titis, which have unusually small canines for New World monkeys, do not.[2] All species have thedental formula:2.1.3.32.1.3.3
Females give birth to a single young after agestation period of between four and six months, depending on species. The uakaris and bearded sakis arepolygamous, living in groups of 8-30 individuals. Each group has multiple males, which establish a dominance hierarchy amongst themselves. The titis andPithecia sakis, by contrast, aremonogamous and live in much smaller family groups.[2]
There are 54 currently recognizedextant species of pitheciid monkey, grouped into twosubfamilies and sixgenera.[1][3] Eleven extinct genera known from the fossil record are placed in the family, extending the age of the family to the Miocene.[4][5]
^abcdBoubli, J. P.; M. N. F. Da Silva; M. V. Amado; T. Hrbek; F. B. Pontual; I. P. Farias (2008). "A Taxonomic Reassessment ofCacajao melanocephalus Humboldt (1811), with the Description of Two New Species".International Journal of Primatology.29 (3):723–741.doi:10.1007/s10764-008-9248-7.S2CID26561719.
^abSilvestro, Daniele; Tejedor, Marcelo F.; Serrano Serrano, Martha L.; Loiseau, Oriane; Rossier, Victor; Rolland, Jonathan; Zizka, Alexander; Antonelli, Alexandre; Salamin, Nicolas (2017). "Evolutionary history of New World monkeys revealed by molecular and fossil data".bioRxiv10.1101/178111.
