Squirrel Monkeys in GURPS

Saimiri sp.

Squirrel monkeys are small monkeys from Central and South America. They are largely arboreal and live in jungles. Their diet consists of insects, fruit, leaves, flowers, nectar, bark, and small vertebrates. Squirrel monkeys are noisy animals, making a racket of chirps, whistles, and squeals as they move through the trees. They have an opposable thumb, but lack a fully prehensile tail.

Squirrel monkeys live and forage in large mixed sex groups. The social system of Central American squirrel monkeys is patrilocal and largely egalitarian, with no dominance hierarchy except by males in the breeding season. South American squirrel monkeys have matrilocal societies and form stable dominance hierarchies in which either males or females are dominant, depending on the species. Even where males are dominant, females have higher status and will form coalitions against dominant males. The males are not known to form coalitions.

Squirrel monkeys are listed as having red-green colorblindness. This is true of nearly all male squirrel monkeys. Some females, however, do not have this trait. Females squirrel monkeys can freely buy off the colorblindness quirk at character creation but not thereafter.

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