Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus Saimiri. Saimiri is the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (sai-mirím or çai-mbirín, with sai meaning 'monkey' and mirím meaning 'small') and was also used as an English name by early researchers.Leclerc, Georges-Louis, Comte de Buffon (1797). "The Saimiri." In: Barr's Buffon. Buffon's Natural History. pp. 251–252. London: J. S. Barr.
