Did you know it's almost a New Year!?!?

Cute little squirrel monkey looking all shocked. Photographed at the Norfolk Zoo today.

ORDER: Primates
FAMILY: Cebidae
GENUS: Saimiri
SPECIES: sciureus

Adult squirrel monkeys are not very big - they are about as big as a squirrel - 10-14 inches (26-36 cm). Males are larger than females. Their fur is short, thick, soft, and brightly colored. The skin on lips and around nostrils is black with almost no hair. These monkeys are white around the eyes, ears, throat, and on sides of neck. The top of the head is black to grayish, back forearms, hands, and feet are reddish or yellow with shoulders and hind feet mostly gray. The thumb is short but well developed. Their under parts are whitish to yellowish, and the tail is bi-colored with a black tip.

The common squirrel monkey is found in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Paraguay and Venezuela; a small population has been introduced to Southern Florida. This species prefers rainforests, and can adapt to different kinds of rainforests. The common squirrel monkey prefers to live in the middle canopy, but will occasionally come to the ground or go up into the high canopy. They like vegetation which provides good cover from birds of prey like the rainforest, savannah, mangroves, or marshlands.