Cebus aequatorialis J. A. Allen 1914

27.

Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchin

Cebus aequatorialis

French: Sapajou d'Equateur / German: Ecuador-Kapuzineraffe / Spanish: Capuchino ecuatoriano

Other common names: Ecuadorian Capuchin, Equatorial Capuchin

Taxonomy. Cebus aequatorialis |. A. Allen, 1914,

Rio del Oro, Manavi Province, near sea level, Ecuador.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Ecuador lowlands W of the Andes (from the Rio Esmeraldas-Guayllabamba to the S) and NW Peru (Tumbes Department, the southernmost locality is the Cerros de Amotape National Park).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 35-51 cm, tail 40-50 cm; weight 1.7-3.6 kg (males) and 1.2-2.2 kg (females). The upperparts of the Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchin, from the nape over the back, are pale cinnamon rufous, darker along the midline of the back. Front and sides of the head are a pale yellowish white, with a narrow black transverse line on the forehead forming the cap, from which a narrow median black line descends to the nose. An indistinct blackish line runs from the posterior border of the eye to the mouth. Outsides of limbs are similar in color to the body. Hands and feet are a little darker (more brownish) than the arms and legs, and the ventral surface is a little paler than flanks. The chest is lighter than the belly. Dorsal surface of the tail is dull wood-brown above, darker than the body, and undersurface of tail is much paler.

Habitat. Dry forest in lowlands and including coastal areas to wet submontane Andean forest to elevations of 1100-2040 m. The Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchin evidently prefers tall, mature terra firma forest but also uses disturbed and degraded mixed secondary forest and cultivated areas.

Food and Feeding. Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchins eat fruits, insects, and other small animals. They eat tender bases of bromeliad leaves and fruits of Vitex gigantea (Lamiaceae), Spondias (Anacardiaceae), Eugenia (Myrtaceae), Ficus (Moraceae), and Cecropra (Urticaceae).

Breeding. There is no information available for this species.

Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Surveys of the Ecuadorian Whitefronted Capuchin in 2002-2005 in western Ecuador, located eleven groups in five of eleven sites visited. three in the Cerro Blanco Forest Reserve, four in the Hacienda El Paraiso, two in Jauneche Biological Reserve Station, one in La Hesperia Biological Reserve and one in Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve. The groups ranged in size from five to 20 individuals (mean 13-9). There were generally more females in the group than males; the sex ratio was 0-8 male:1 female. The composition of six of the groups was: 1-6 adult males, 3-5 adult females, 2—4 subadult males, 2-6juveniles, and 1-2 infants. Densities were 2-22 ind/km?, with a median of 2-4 ind/km?®. Two groups in the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest had home ranges of 561 ha and 507 ha.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List (as C. albifrons aequatorialis). Forests in the western lowlands of Ecuador have been devastated over the last century, and the Ecuadorian White-fronted Capuchin is hunted and, in some areas, persecuted for crop-raiding (banana, corn, plantains, and cacao). It is known from 20 forests in Ecuador and Peru. It occurs in Bilsa Biological Station in Mache-Chindul National Park, Manglares Churute National Park, Cerro Blanco Forest Reserve, L.a Hesperia Biological Reserve, and Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve in Ecuador; and Cerros de Amotape National Park and Tumbes National Reserve in Peru. Hunting and deforestation continue, however, even in protected areas. Reports that it occurred in Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, north of the Rio Esmeraldas-Guayllabamba in Ecuador, are, it seems, unfounded, and it is believed that it disappeared from a 4000ha forest at Cabo Pasado, also in Ecuador, in 1998.

Bibliography. Albuja & Arcos (2007), Allen (1914), Encarnacion & Cook (1998), Freese & Oppenheimer (1981), Hershkovitz (1949), Hill (1960), Jack & Campos (2012), Parker & Carr (1992), Tirira (2007).