Bearded sakis differ from the closely related saki monkeys of the genus Pithecia by a pronounced beard, a tuft of hair that extends from its jaw, down its throat to the top of its chest, and is strongly pronounced particularly in the males.

Fruits form the main part of the diet of the bearded sakis, but they also eat nuts, buds, leaves, insects and small vertebrates.

Once a year (usually in early autumn or late summer) the female bears a single offspring after a 5-month gestation.

[3] Until recently, only two species were recognized in this genus, but C. israelita was re-validated in 2003 (having long been considered a synonym of Chiropotes), where it – based on differences in colour of pelage, karyotype, and molecular analysis – also was recommended treating C. chiropotes and C. utahickae as species separate from C.

[4] The IUCN note the taxonomic confusion, but lists C. sagulatus as a valid species, with C. israelita as a synonym.