[2][3] However, a 2019 study, also analyzing pelage color variation across the range of the P. irrorata species complex, delineated only two distinctive groups corresponding to P. irrorata and Vanzolini's bald-faced saki (P. vanzolini), with the distinctive pelage used to distinguish P. mittermeieri falling within the range of variation of P. irrorata.

[4] Based on this study, the American Society of Mammalogists (tentatively, pending further phylogenetic studies) synonymized mittermeieri with irrorata,[5] but the IUCN Red List and ITIS retain mittermeieri as a distinct species.

[1][6] This species is named after famed American primatologist Russell Mittermeier.

Their range has significantly shrunk from its former extent due to human impacts, and presently, most populations are found south of the Aripuanã River in Mato Grosso state.

[2][8] In the southern portion of its range (Rondônia), it is threatened by hunting and habitat loss, and in the more northern portions of its range it is threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation.