The Common Squirrel Monkey is a small agile monkey. They have a body length of approximately 32 cms (12.5 inches), a tail length of approximately 41 cms (16 inches) and they weigh between 0.5 and 0.75 Kgs (1.1 - 1.7 lbs).
Their coat is short and grey/olive in colour, with their legs being coloured yellow/orange. They have a white face and a dark coloured muzzle. Their tail is long and they use it to balance as they leap through the trees.
Habitat
Common Squirrel Monkey's live in the tropical forests of Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
They spend most of their time in the trees and they live in groups consisting of both males and females. These groups generally have 25 - 35 members, but occasionally they can have as many as 200 members.
The group all sleep together at night but during the day they split up to go in search of food.
Diet
Common Squirrel Monkey's are omnivores and their diet consists of insects, fruit, berries, flowers and nectar.
Breeding
After a gestation period of 150 - 170 days, 1 infant is born. The mother cares for the young monkey on her own, carrying it around on her back.
Between 5 and 10 weeks old the young monkey will start to leave its mother to investigate its surroundings and by the time it is 10 months old it will be independent.
Females will become mature at 2 years of age and the males 4 years of age. During the mating season males become very active and put on a lot of weight. They compete aggressively, the winner mating with most of the females.
