 This monkey is named after Brazilian biologist José Márcio Ayres, formerly a senior zoologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society.José Márcio Ayres, who died in 2003, pioneered studies in uakaris and played a fundamental role in the creation of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, which is of great importance for the white uakari.Very little is known about the Aracá uakari, but based on present knowledge it has the smallest distribution of all species of uakaris (possibly as small as ) and is the only one not found in any protected area.