A type of spider monkey found in South America; also spelled coati.
From Tupi (indigenous South American language) coaita or coati, referring to these arboreal primates. The word entered English through Portuguese colonial contact.
Coaitas are incredible acrobats—they have 35-vertebra tails (compared to humans' 33) that work like a fifth limb, letting them swing through rainforest canopies with gymnastic precision.
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