The studies on sexual dimorphism available in the scientific literature have shown that Cebus apella is the most dimorphic species within the genus Cebus. However, it is worthy to say that several species of Cebus currently recognized were previously considered subspecies of C. apella, and were grouped as one single species in the studies mentioned above. This is not the case for the present report, in which I recognize six species previously assigned to C. apella. Additionally, most studies on sexual dimorphism in Cebus were based only on adult specimens, assuming that individuals exhibit no more growth after reaching complete permanent dentition. The lack of studies that take into account young or subadult specimens may result in a deficient knowledge about the origins of sexual dimorphism, because different ontogenetic processes may be related to the development of sexual dimorphism, all of them leading to similar results in adult specimens. Considering the issues mentioned above, the aims of the present study are to assess the sexual dimorphism in the skull and in the development degree of head tufts through different ontogenetic stages in six capuchin monkey species, all of them assigned to the subgenus Sapajus (Cebus apella, C. macrocephalus, C. libidinosus, C. cay, C. nigritus e C. robustus), and to evaluate the existence of taxonomic variation in the development and the amount of sexual dimorphism found. I examined 774 specimens housed in Brazilian institutions. I measured 20 cranial variables, examined 12 qualitative cranial characters, and established four character states for the development degree of the head tufts. I used the Student t Test with Bonferroni adjustment to evaluate the sexual dimorphism, and the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) followed by the Discriminant Analysis (DA) to test the statistical significance among the age classes herein recognized (infants, juveniles, subadults, and adults; the latter group was divided in AD1 and AD2 in C. apella). The results show that sexual differences in the skull of species of Sapajus can be found in subadult specimens (ca. 3.5 years old), of which the most conspicuous is the length of the upper canine. In this life stage, the sexual differences are not statistically significant. In adult specimens (ca. 5 years old), most cranial variables showed significant sexual dimorphism. The number and composition of the dimorphic variables varied among the different species included in this study. The species with more dimorphic variables were C. apella and C. robustus (N=15), followed by C. nigritus (N=13), C. libidinosus (N=10), C. cay (N=7), and C. macrocephalus (N=3). Different from previous studies available in the scientific literature, which states that sexual dimorphism in the skull of Cebus (Sapajus) arises in young specimens (ca. 27 months old), my results showed that a significant sexual dimorphism in this subgenus appears only in adult specimens. My results suggest that the heterocronic process of the hipermorphose rate is the main cause of the sexual dimorphism pattern exhibited by Sapajus. The species of capuchin monkeys included in this study exhibited different degree of development in the head tufts. In general, the development degree of this character in Cebus (Sapajus) is related to the age class to which the specimen belongs. Moreover, there is no sexual dimorphism in this character in C. cay, C. robustus, and C. nigritus. By contrast, female specimens of C. libidinosus appear to exhibit more developed head tuft than male specimens. Finally, my results suggest that the species of capuchin monkeys analyzed herein may have experienced different kinds or intensities of selective pressure relative to sexual dimorphism during their evolutionary history.
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