Coat howler monkey
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Mantled Howler Monkey ( Alouatta palliata ) |
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| Alouatta palliata | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1849 |
The coat howler monkey ( Alouatta palliata ) is a species of primate from the genus of the howler monkey within the spider- tailed monkey (Atelidae). It lives in Central and Northwestern South America and is named after the red and gold fringes on its flanks.
features
Mantled howler monkeys are large, stockily built primates. They reach a head body length of 46 to 63 centimeters, the tail is 55 to 70 centimeters long. At 4.5 to 9.8 kilograms, males are significantly heavier than females, who weigh 3.1 to 7.6 kilograms. The fur of these animals is colored black, the name-giving feature are the red-gold fringes that extend on the flank. The face, which is also black, is hairless, and there is a beard on the chin, which is significantly longer in males than in females. The hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage of the larynx are, like all howler monkeys, greatly enlarged. The scrotum is strikingly white in color in adult males. As with all howler monkeys, the tail can be used as a prehensile tail, it is hairless on the rear part of the underside.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the coat howler monkey stretches from Mexico on the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico and Honduras to western Colombia and Ecuador . However, they are missing in Yucatán , in Belize and Guatemalan Peten , where she from Guatemala howler monkeys are replaced, as well as on the Pacific coast of Guatemala and El Salvador . Their habitat are primary and secondary tropical rainforests , mangrove forests , gallery forests , dry forests and coffee plantations. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 2500 meters. Usually they are in the upper tree regions. Occasionally they also go to the ground, where they can flee a person behind them. Coat howler monkeys have also been observed swimming.
Lifestyle and diet
Coat howler monkeys are diurnal tree dwellers. To get to other trees, they sometimes come to the ground, they are also good at swimming. They tend to be slow climbers and seldom jump; when they eat, they often hang by their limbs or their prehensile tail. In general, they lead a sedate, energy-saving way of life and often take breaks, which is due to the low nutritional value of their leaf food. They are pure herbivores, in addition to leaves, which are their main food, they also eat fruits and flowers every season. On average, leaves make up two thirds of their food, around 18% is the proportion of flowers and fruits have a proportion of only around 12%.
Coat howler monkeys live in groups of 10 to 20 animals, which are made up of around 1 to 3 males, 5 to 10 females and their young animals. If the group becomes too large or the proportion of females too small, the young either leave the group or are chased away. Both sexes develop a hierarchy that affects, among other things, access to food resources and reproduction.
The roar, which usually sounds in the early morning, is mainly used for communication between different groups in order to make other animals aware of their own whereabouts. In addition, individual animals seek connection to a group (migration among the groups is relatively high) and thus signal their presence.
Reproduction
Reproduction can take place all year round, there is no fixed mating season. As a rule, the female approaches the male and indicates her willingness to mate with rhythmic tongue movements. If the male also responds with tongue movements, the female turns and raises her pelvis, whereupon the male begins copulation.
After a gestation period of around six months, the female usually gives birth to a single young. For the first few months, the young stay almost exclusively with their mother, after which they become increasingly independent. Sexual maturity occurs at three to four years of age, and young animals often leave their birth group at this point.
Systematics
The coat howler monkey is one of twelve species in the genus of howler monkeys . In the Handbook of the Mammals of the World , it is divided into five subspecies.
- A. palliata palliata , the nominate form, occurs from northeast Guatemala (mouth of the Río Motagua ) to eastern Costa Rica or western Panama.
- A. palliata aequatorialis lives west of the western cordillera (Cordillera Occidental) of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador, in the extreme northwest of Peru ( Tumbes region ) and in Panama, up to the distribution area of A. palliata palliata to the west .
- A. palliata coibensis occurs on the island of Coiba and the neighboring island of Jicaron off the Pacific coast of Panama and is slightly smaller than the mainland forms, has a darker fur and a stronger sexual dimorphism .
- A. palliata mexicana lives in the south and southeast of Mexico in the states of Veracruz , Tabasco , Campeche , Oaxaca and in the north of Chiapas and is distinguished from the nominate form mainly on the basis of skull morphometry.
- A. palliata trabeata is endemic to the Panamanian Azuero peninsula and is walnut brown in color with long, golden coat hair .
Groves made Alouatta coibensis a separate species in 2001 with Alouatta trabeata as a synonym . However, this is not supported by a comparison of the mitochondrial DNA . In fact, all subspecies are very similar genetically, in color, and in terms of their morphometry . In the north of the distribution area A. palliata palliata hybridizes with the Guatemala howler monkey ( Alouatta pigra ), in the north-west of Colombia A. palliata aequatorialis lives sympathetically with the red howler monkey ( Alouatta seniculus ). In the case of hybrids, the females are fertile and the males are sterile.
Danger
Although coat howler monkeys suffer from the progressive destruction of their habitat and hunting, overall the species is classified as "not endangered" ( least concern ) according to the IUCN Red List . The species occurs in numerous protected areas (e.g. Cahuita National Park and Caña Blanca wildlife sanctuary in Costa Rica, Coiba National Park in Panama, Los Katíos National Park in Colombia, Machalilla National Park in Ecuador).
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Distribution map at the IUCN
- ↑ a b c d A. B. Rylands, RA Mittermeier: Family Atelidae (Howlers, Spider and Woolly Monkeys and Muriquis). In: Russell A. Mittermeier , Anthony B. Rylands, Don E. Wilson : Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 3: Primates. Lynx Editions, 2013, ISBN 978-84-96553-89-7 , pp. 532-533.
- ^ C. Groves: Primate Taxonomy. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 2001, ISBN 1-56098-872-X .
