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Obligatory monkey, Part I June 12, 2014

May 25, 2014

I don’t know why, but it seems like Costa Rica is inextricably linked with monkeys in people’s minds. As in “Why don’t you get me a (picture of) a monkey while you’re down there? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?” Well, monkey-people, this is for you.

A group of white-headed capuchins went right past the lab this afternoon. One of them hung around long enough for me to take this picture:

White-headed capuchin (Cebus capucinus)

Frankly, I don’t see the appeal. Is it the dark expressive eyes? The poor table manners? The fact that, barring certain toddlers and adolescent boys, there is no similar wild mammal in the US? In any case, this is the last monkey picture (and possibly the last mammal picture) I will be posting this summer.

Instead, consider this critter. Dark eyes, check. Messy eater, check. Not native to the US, check.

Black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis)