Athena Review Image Archive ™
	Saimiri sciureus: male squirrel monkey skull and brain Skull and brain of a male squirrel monkey (Digimorph; Brain encyclopedia)
	Saimiri sciureus, the squirrel monkey, is a South American or New World monkey. South American monkeys or platyrrhines comprise one of the the two infraorders (Platyrrhini) of anthropoid primates, the other being Catyrrhini, the Old World monkeys. There are four varieties of S. scirreus, and three other species of Saimiri, including Saimiri boliviensis, S. vanzoini, and S. ustus. Saimiri are widespread in the Amazon basin,  living in forested areas of Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Saimiri sciureus is among the smaller platyrrhines, males and females averaging 779 gm and 668 gm respectively in weight (Fleagle, 1999). Despite its smaller size, it is closely related to Cebus, the capuchin monkey (Horovitz, 1999; Rosenberger, 2002). The eyes or orbits are closely spaced. In adults the interorbital septum is fenestrated such that the eyes are separated by only membrane.  Saimiri is largely frugivorous, but forages for insects when on the ground (Fleagle, 1999). References:    Fleagle 1999 Horovitz 1999 Rosenberger 2002
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