Tufted Capuchin - Taxonomy and Phylogeny

Taxonomy and Phylogeny

At one point all tufted capuchins were classified as Cebus apella. Under such taxonomy, the range of C. apella would extend throughout much of South America from Colombia to northern Argentina. More recent taxonomic studies have been carried out by Torres de Assumpção (1983; Torres 1988). Groves (2005) recognized the following subspecies for the tufted capuchins:

• Cebus apella apella
• Cebus apella fatuellus
• Large-headed capuchin, Cebus apella macrocephalus
• Cebus apella margaritae
• Cebus apella peruanus
• Cebus apella tocantinus

In 2011, Jessica Lynch Alfaro et al proposed that the robust capuchins such (formerly the C. apella group) be placed in a separate genus, Sapajus, from the gracile capuchins (formerly the C. capucinus group) which retain the Cebus genus.