Squirrel monkey

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Often seen across the Amazon Basin, these monkeys are called squirrels because they are small and agile and spend most of their lives in trees, mainly eating fruit and insects. However, like other New World monkeys, they cannot use their tails to climb. On average, squirrel monkeys are 9.8 to 14 inches long and weigh 1.7 to 2.4 pounds. They have short, brownish-gray fur on their heads and shoulders, and yellow-ocher fur on their backs and arms. The fur on their faces is black and white, making them vaguely resemble a skeleton. For this reason, the German name for squirrel monkeys is totenkopfafen, which means the main monkey of death.