{{Short description|Species of New World monkey}} {{Speciesbox | name = Equatorial saki<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Primates|page=147|id=12100363}}</ref> | image = Pithecia aequatorialis 1775.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Marsh, L.K. |author2=Heymann, E.W. |date=2018 |title=''Pithecia aequatorialis'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T17402A17971831 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T17402A17971831.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Pithecia | species = aequatorialis | authority = Hershkovitz, 1987 | range_map = Equatorial Saki area.png | range_map_caption = }}
The '''equatorial saki''' ('''''Pithecia aequatorialis'''''), also called the '''red-bearded saki,''' is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is found in northeastern Peru and Ecuador.<ref name="Marsh2014">{{cite journal|last1=Marsh|first1=L. K.|title=A Taxonomic Revision of the Saki Monkeys, ''Pithecia'' Desmarest, 1804|journal=Neotropical Primates|volume=21|issue=1|date=July 2014|pages=1–165|doi=10.1896/044.021.0101|s2cid=86516301 }}</ref>
Not much is known about the equatorial saki, its range being specifically unknown.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eol.org/pages/326565/overview|title=Equatorial Saki - Pithecia aequatorialis - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life|website=Encyclopedia of Life|language=en|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref>
== Description == The equatorial saki weighs between 2 - 2.5 kg, has a head-body length of 39 – 44 cm, and a tail length of 45 – 47 cm. The species' tail in not prehensile, relying on its arm and leg strength to carry itself from branch to branch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.damisela.com/zoo/mam/primates/cebidae/aequatorialis/index.htm|title=Saki Ecuatorial (In Spanish)|website=Damsiela.com}}</ref> The equatorial saki is also sexually dimorphic. It is often confused for the monk saki, but the reddish throat and chest of the equatorial saki set it apart.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/17395246|title=Equatorial Saki Monkey|website=Project Noah|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref>
== Ecology == The equatorial saki is diurnal. The species is frugivorous, but seeds and nuts constitute a large part of diet. This species also consumes leaves and insects, especially ants. The fruits that this species consumes have hard pericarps.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theprimata.com/pithecia_aequatorialis.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208225326/http://www.theprimata.com/pithecia_aequatorialis.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 8, 2008|title=Red-bearded Saki (Pithecia aequatorialis)|last=Flannery|first=Sean|website=www.theprimata.com|access-date=2017-03-15}}</ref> Most of its time is spent foraging in the middle to upper levels of the rainforest canopy.<ref name=":0" />
They seem to be found most commonly in riverside, seasonally flooded and swamp forests, but have been seen in terra firme forests as well.<ref name=":0" />
The red-bearded saki moves through the forest both quadrupedally and by leaping. When the red-bearded saki takes off from a tree branch, most likely it does this from a vertical clinging position.<ref name=":1" />
The equatorial saki lives in small groups of two to four that come together to form larger congregations. Groups of red-bearded sakis are described as closed social units. Males groom their young.<ref name=":1" />
==References== {{Wikispecies|Pithecia aequatorialis|Pithecia aequatorialis (Equatorial Saki)}} {{Reflist}}
{{Pitheciidae nav}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q255609}}
equatorial saki Category:Primates of South America Category:Mammals of Ecuador Category:Mammals of Peru equatorial saki Equatorial saki Category:Arboreal mammals
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