SPIDER MONKEY

SPIDER MONKEY

Spider monkeys of the genus Ateles are New World monkeys in the subfamily Atelinae , family Atelidae . Like other atelines , they are found in the tropical forests of Central and South America , from southern Mexico to Brazil . The genus contains seven species , all of which are under threat; The black-headed spider monkey , and brown spider monkey are critically endangered .

Disproportionately long limbs and long prehensile tails make them one of the largest New World monkeys and gives rise to their common name. Spider monkeys live in the upper layers of the rainforest, and forage in the high canopy, from 25 to 30 m (82 to 98 ft).  They primarily eat fruits, but will also occasionally consume leaves, flowers, and insects.  Due to their large size, spider monkeys require large tracts of moist evergreen forests, and prefer undisturbed primary rainforest. They are social animals and live in bands of up to 35 individuals but will split up to forage during the day .

Recent meta-analyzes on primate cognition studies indicated spider monkeys are the most intelligent New World monkeys.  They can produce a wide range of sounds and will "bark" when threatened; other vocalisations include a whinny similar to a horse and prolonged screams. 

They are an important food source due to their large size, they are widely hunted by local human populations; they are also threatened by habitat destruction due to logging and land clearing.  Spider monkeys are susceptible to malaria and are used in laboratory studies of the disease. The population trend for spider monkeys is decreasing; The IUCN Red List lists those species as vulnerable, four species as endangered and two species as critically endangered.

The female chooses a male from her group for mating. Both males and females use "anogenital sniffing" to check their mates for readiness for copulation. The gestation period ranges from 226 to 232 days. Each female bears only one offspring on average, every three to four years.

Until six to ten months of age, infants rely completely on their mothers.Males are not involved in raising the offspring.

A mother carries her infant around her belly for the first month after birth. After this, she carries it on her lower back. The infant wraps its tail around its mother's and tightly grabs her midsection.Mothers are very protective of their young and are generally attentive mothers. They have been seen grabbing their young and putting them on their backs for protection and to help them navigate from tree to tree. They help the more independent young to cross by pulling branches closer together. Mothers also groom their young.

The diets of spider monkeys consist of about 71.4 to 84 percent of fruits and nuts. They can live for long periods on only one or two kinds of fruits and nuts. They eat the fruits of many big forest trees, and because they swallow fruits whole, the seeds are eventually excreted and fertilized by the feces. Studies show the diet of spider monkeys changes their reproductive, social, and physical behavioral patterns. Most feeding happens from dawn to 10 am. Afterward, the adults rest while the young play. Through the rest of the day, they may feed infrequently until around 10 pm. If food is scarce, they may eat insects, leaves, bird eggs, bark and honey.

Spider monkeys have a unique way of getting food: a lead female is generally responsible for finding food sources. If she cannot find enough food for the group, it splits into smaller groups that forage separately.[citation needed.The traveling groups have four to nine animals. Each group is closely associated with its territory. If the group is big, it spreads out.

Spider monkeys form loose groups of 15 to 25 individuals, but can have even 30 to 40.During the day, groups break up into subgroups of two to eight animals. This social structure (fission-fusion) is found in only two other types of primates: chimpanzees and Homo sapiens. The size of subgroups and the degree to which they avoid each other during the day depends on food competition and the risk of predation. The average subgroup size is between 2 to 8 but can sometimes be up to 17 animals. Also less common in primates, females rather than males disperse at puberty to join new groups. Males tend to stick together for their whole lives. Hence, males in a group are more likely to be related and have closer bonds than females. The strongest social bonds are formed between females and their young offspring.

Spider monkeys are diurnal and spend the night sleeping in carefully selected trees. Groups are thought to be directed by a lead female, which is responsible for planning an efficient feeding route each day. Grooming is not as important to social interaction, owing perhaps to a lack of thumbs.

Spider monkeys have been observed avoiding the upper canopy of the trees for locomotion. One researcher speculated this was because the thin branches at the tops of trees do not support the monkeys as well.

At 107 grams (3.8 oz), the spider monkey brain is twice the size of a howler monkey brain of equivalent body size; this is thought to be a result of the spider monkeys' complex social system and their frugivorous diets, which consist primarily of ripe fruit from a wide variety (over 150 species) of plants. This requires the monkeys to remember when and where fruit can be found. The slow development may also play a role: the monkeys may live from 20 to 27 years or more, and females give birth once every 17 to 45 months. Gummy, presumably the oldest living spider monkey in captivity, is presumed to have been born wild in 1962 and currently resides at Fort Rickey Childrens Discovery Zoo located in Rome, NY.