[3] The Colombian white-faced capuchin was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

[5] Some primatologists continue to consider the Panamanian and Colombian white-faced capuchins as a single species.

[3] In 2012 a study by Boubli, et al demonstrated that C. imitator and C. capucinus split up to 2 million years ago.

[9][10] The coloration is black on the body, tail, legs and the top of the head, with white chest, throat, face, shoulders and upper arms.

[8] The white-faced capuchin is found in the extreme north-western strip between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains in Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.