Geoffroy's spider monkey
| Geoffroy's spider monkey | |
|---|---|
 |
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| A. g. ornatus in southern Costa Rica | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Atelidae |
| Genus: | Ateles |
| Species: | A. geoffroyi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Ateles geoffroyi Kuhl, 1820 |
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| Subspecies | |
|
5, see text |
|
 |
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| Distribution of A. geoffroyi (blue) and A. fusciceps (red) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
A. frontatus (Gray, 1842) |
|
5, see text
A. frontatus (Gray, 1842)
A. melanochir (Desmarest, 1820)
A. trianguligera (Weinland, 1862)
Geoffroy's spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), also known as the black-handed spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the black-headed spider monkey (A. fusciceps), found in Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador as the same species as Geoffroy's spider monkey.
It is one of the largest New World monkeys, often weighing as much as 9 kg (20 lb). Its arms are significantly longer than its legs, and its prehensile tail can support the entire weight of the monkey and is used as an extra limb. Its hands have only a vestigial thumb, but long, strong, hook-like fingers. These adaptations allow the monkey to move by swinging by its arms beneath the tree branches.
Geoffroy's spider monkey lives in fission–fusion societies that contain between 20 and 42 members. Its diet consists primarily of ripe fruit and it requires large tracts of forest to survive. As a result of habitat loss, hunting and capture for the pet trade, it is considered to be endangered by the IUCN.
Geoffroy's spider monkey belongs to the New World monkey family Atelidae, which contains the spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, muriquis and howler monkeys. It is a member of the subfamily Atelinae, which includes the spider monkeys, woolly monkeys and muriquis, and of the genus Ateles, which contains all the spider monkeys. The genus name Ateles means "imperfect", a reference to the vestigial thumb. The species name geoffroyi is in honor of French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire.
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