---
title: "What the sources say about the Tufted Capuchin | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Tufted Capuchin profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Tufted Capuchin (*Sapajus apella*)

> 45 claims from the Tufted Capuchin profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Tufted Capuchin](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/tufted-capuchin/)

## Tufted capuchin. Primate Info Net, Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.

https://primate.wisc.edu/primate-info-net/pin-factsheets/pin-factsheet-tufted-capuchin/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| smashes fruit its jaws cannot crack, or opens it with a piece of branch | the husks of which it cannot open in its teeth or jaws. It opens fruits by smashing them on tree surfaces or by using baton-like branch pieces to open the fruit (note: tagline) |
| Forests of South America, with the heart of its range in the Amazon basin, mostly in the understory and lower to middle canopy | The heart of the range of the tufted capuchin is the northwestern half of Brazil and the Amazon basin. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Forests of South America, with the heart of its range in the Amazon basin, mostly in the understory and lower to middle canopy | Within different forest types, the monkeys typically remain within the understory and lower and middle canopy (note: stats.habitat) |
| Fruit, nuts, palm pith, insects and vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and birds | the tufted capuchin diet contains fruits, insects, leaves, nectar, nuts, and pith (note: stats.diet) |
| Fruit, nuts, palm pith, insects and vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and birds | Animal prey of the tufted capuchin includes a large variety of insects in addition to vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and birds (note: stats.diet) |
| Opens otherwise inaccessible fruit by smashing it on tree surfaces or using baton-like pieces of branch | to open up otherwise inaccessible fruits ... It opens fruits by smashing them on tree surfaces or by using baton-like branch pieces to open the fruit (note: stats.superpower) |
| Some fruits have husks a tufted capuchin cannot open with its teeth or jaws. | to open up otherwise inaccessible fruits, the husks of which it cannot open in its teeth or jaws |
| Wild ones smash those fruits against tree surfaces or work them open with baton-like pieces of branch. | It opens fruits by smashing them on tree surfaces or by using baton-like branch pieces to open the fruit |
| Young capuchins have been seen copying adults, though they often fail. | Immature tufted capuchins have been observed attempting to mimic the behavior of adults but they often fail |
| Wild males average 3.65 kg and females 2.52 kg. | males averaging 3.650 kg (8.05 lb) and females averaging 2.520 kg (5.56 lb) |
| Body length (head and body) is 444 mm in males and 390 mm in females, with a tail about as long as the rest of the body. | Head and body length is 444 mm (17.48 in) for males and 390 mm (15.35 in) for females. The tail is about as long as the rest of the body |
| Tufted capuchins are omnivores: they eat both plants and animals. | The omnivorous tufted capuchin is able to exploit a wide range of food resources |
| The diet includes fruit, nuts, leaves, nectar and insects, plus frogs, lizards and birds. | the tufted capuchin diet contains fruits, insects, leaves, nectar, nuts, and pith |
| plus frogs, lizards and birds | Animal prey of the tufted capuchin includes a large variety of insects in addition to vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and birds |
| In the dry season, when food is often scarce, it relies on palm nuts and pith, the soft core of a palm. | In the dry season, when food is often scarce, the tufted capuchin relies on palm nuts and pith for nourishment |
| At one Amazon site the diet was 82 percent plants and 18 percent animal matter | Elsewhere in Amazonia, the diet of the tufted capuchin was 82% plants and 18% animal matter. |
| a typical day splits into 12 percent rest, 21 percent travel and 66 percent feeding | the diurnal tufted capuchin will divide its time into 12% rest, 21% travel and 66% feeding |
| The species lives in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela | in the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guiana, and Venezuela (note: source spells Guiana; Guyana is the country) |
| with the heart of its range in northwestern Brazil and the Amazon basin | The heart of the range of the tufted capuchin is the northwestern half of Brazil and the Amazon basin. |
| It stays mostly in the understory and the lower and middle canopy. | Within different forest types, the monkeys typically remain within the understory and lower and middle canopy |
| Troops often number in the teens or low twenties, led by an alpha male | Tufted capuchin groups are often small, numbering in the teens or lower twenties with only one to several adult males |
| led by an alpha male | The alpha male dictates group movement and activity patterns |
| the harpy eagle is the main predator | The main predator of the tufted capuchin is the harpy eagle |
| Males in the wild average about 3.65 kg and females about 2.52 kg. | males averaging 3.650 kg (8.05 lb) and females averaging 2.520 kg (5.56 lb) |
| Captive animals can be heavier, with one extreme example averaging 6.089 kg for males. | males averaging 6.089 kg (13.42 lb) |
| The Wisconsin factsheet says a captive male lived to at least 45. | a tufted capuchin male lived until he was at least 45 years old |
| They eat animals as well as plants. Prey includes insects, frogs, lizards and birds | Animal prey of the tufted capuchin includes a large variety of insects in addition to vertebrates such as frogs, lizards and birds |
| one was seen killing and eating an infant titi monkey | the tufted capuchin is a confirmed predator of titi monkeys ( Callicebus moloch ) having been observed killing and consuming an infant |
| The harpy eagle is the main predator and has been seen attacking capuchins in several places. | The main predator of the tufted capuchin is the harpy eagle ( Harpia harpyja ), which has been seen attacking capuchins in several locales |
| At one Amazon site, plants made up 82 percent of the diet. | Elsewhere in Amazonia, the diet of the tufted capuchin was 82% plants and 18% animal matter. |
| Wild tufted capuchins open tough fruit by smashing it on tree surfaces or using baton-like pieces of branch | It opens fruits by smashing them on tree surfaces or by using baton-like branch pieces to open the fruit (note: vibe.reason) |

## Cebus apella (brown capuchin). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cebus_apella/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A stocky Amazon monkey | This species is robust and stocky. (note: tagline) |
| A deep lower jaw and large jaw muscles suit a diet of large fruits and rough vegetation. | Brown capuchin monkeys have a deep lower jaw and large jaw muscles to accomodate a diet of large fruits and rough vegetation. |

## AnAge entry for Sapajus apella. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Sapajus_apella

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The longevity database AnAge puts the species' maximum at 46 years in captivity, from one animal that was about that age when it died. | Maximum longevity 46 years (captivity) |
| from one animal that was about that age when it died | One specimen was about 46 years old when it died in captivity |
| lists 46 years in captivity for the species, based on one animal that was about that age when it died | Maximum longevity 46 years (captivity) |
| weightKg: 2.643 | Adult weight 2,643 g (note: typical adult mass) |

## Cebus apella (Tufted Capuchin). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies.

https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Cebus_apella%20-%20Tufted%20Capuchin.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Capuchins wash their hands and feet in urine and spread the scent over their fur, and by that odor they can tell members of other groups from their own. | Washing their hands and feet in urine as well as cover their fur with the urine scent is a common attribute of the capuchins. Due to the distinct odor from urine-washing; capuchins can differentiate between members of other groups and others of their own species (note: source scope is 'the capuchins'; 'by that odor they can tell' paraphrases 'Due to the distinct odor ... can differentiate') |

## Laird et al. (2020). Muscle architecture dynamics modulate performance of the superficial anterior temporalis muscle during chewing in capuchins. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63376-y

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a study of three adult female captive tufted capuchins (Sapajus apella) | three adult (ages 7–11 years) female Sapajus apella housed in the Animal Resources Center at the University of Chicago |
| X-ray video of a chewing muscle | Using bi-planar videoradiography and the X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) workflow, dynamic muscle architecture data can be collected while animals feed unrestrained. (note: video of X-rays = videoradiography) |
| on tougher foods, such as popcorn seeds and cashews, the muscle's fibers rotated less as they shortened, a setup that favors more force | lower gear ratios (low muscle velocity relative to fascicle velocity) were observed when animals chewed on more mechanically resistant foods. At lower gear ratios, fibers rotated less during shortening resulting in smaller pinnation angles, a configuration that favors increased force production. |
| popcorn seeds and cashews | the mechanically challenging foods—popcorn seeds and cashews |

## Lynch Alfaro et al. (2011). Explosive Pleistocene range expansion leads to widespread Amazonian sympatry between robust and gracile capuchin monkeys. Journal of Biogeography.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02609.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Genetic work points to an explosive expansion in the late Pleistocene, when the robust capuchins, the group called Sapajus, spread from the Atlantic Forest into the Amazon. | the current wide-ranging sympatry of Cebus and Sapajus across much of the Amazon Basin was the result of a single explosive late Pleistocene invasion of Sapajus from the Atlantic Forest into the Amazon |

## Boubli et al. (2021). Sapajus apella. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T172351505A192594550.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-1.rlts.t172351505a192594550.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: GBIF's copy of the Red List, taxon id 172351505 matches the assessment DOI) |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus) |