[1][2] Based on the species and subspecies proposed by Groves in 2001 and 2005, robust capuchin monkey taxa include:[2][3]

[1][4] Philip Hershkovitz and William Charles Osman Hill published taxonomies of the capuchin monkeys in 1949 and 1960, respectively.

[1] Over time, the original C. apella was split into the additional species of robust capuchin monkeys recognized today.

[1] After further studies of the morphology and genetics of the capuchin monkeys, Lynch Alfaro, Silva and Rylands proposed elevating Sapajus to a separate genus in 2012.

[1] The genetic studies led by Lynch Alfaro concluded that robust and gracile capuchin monkey genera diverged about 6.2 million years ago.

[1][2] In contrast, capuchins diverged from their nearest common relative, squirrel monkeys, over 13 million years ago.

[1] Lynch Alfaro suggested that the formation of the Amazon River may have caused the split that led to separation of robust and gracile capuchins.

[1][2] In the late Pleistocene, about 400,000 years ago, robust capuchins began to expand their range northwards into the Cerrado and the Amazon.