The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are considered among the most intelligent primates and are known 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 and to mentally map food sources in their territories. They are also frequent victims of illegal wildlife trafficking, which is increasing.
Etymology
The word capuchin derives from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, who wear brown robes with large hoods. When Portuguese explorers reached the Americas in the 15th century, they found small monkeys whose coloring resembled these friars, especially when in their robes with hoods down, and named them capuchins. When the scientists described a specimen (thought to be a golden-bellied capuchin) they noted that: "his muzzle of a tanned color, ... with the lighter color around his eyes that melts into the white at the front, his cheeks ... give him the looks that involuntarily reminds us of the appearance that historically in our country represents ignorance, laziness, and sensuality." The scientific name of the genus, Cebus comes from the Greek word κῆβος (kêbos), meaning a long-tailed monkey.
