White-fronted spider monkey
| White-fronted spider monkey | ||||||||||||
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White- fronted spider monkey ( Ateles belzebuth ) |
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| Ateles Belzebuth | ||||||||||||
| ( É. Geoffroy , 1806) |
The white- fronted spider monkey or gold- fronted spider monkey ( Ateles belzebuth ) is a species of primate from the family of spotted monkeys (Atelidae).
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features
White-fronted spider monkeys, like all spider monkeys, are slender primates. The limbs are long and the thumbs receded. The tail, which is also very long, is designed as a grasping tail, it is hairless on the underside of the tip. The head body length is 34 to 58 centimeters, the tail is 61 to 88 centimeters long. The weight varies between 7 and 10 kilograms, with the males being slightly heavier than the females. The fur is black or brown, the belly and the inside of the legs are lighter in color. Only around a third of the animals have the yellow-brown or white, triangular spot that gives them their name on the forehead.
distribution and habitat
White-fronted spider monkeys live in northwestern South America . They occur in southern Venezuela , southern Colombia , Ecuador , northern Peru and the far northwest of Brazil . Their habitat are tropical forests, they live both in the flatlands and in mountain forests up to 1800 meters above sea level.
Lifestyle and diet
White-fronted spider monkeys are diurnal tree dwellers. They climb quickly and skillfully through the branches, using the prehensile tail as well as the long, flexible limbs. They can hang by just one limb or tail for long periods of time.
They live together in groups. The group size and composition is variable and also depends on the food available, usually 20 to 40 animals. Large groups often split up into smaller subgroups to search for food. The individual subgroups communicate with one another with loud screams, screams also serve to point out other animals to their own territory. The home ranges cover 150 to 250 hectares.
The diet consists mainly of ripe fruits, to a lesser extent they also consume leaves and other plant material.
Reproduction
Mating can take place all year round. After a gestation period of around seven months, the female gives birth to a single young. This is weaned after about a year and sexually mature at four to five years. The reproduction rate is low, a female can only give birth every two to four years.
Danger
The main threats to the white-fronted spider monkey are hunting for its meat, which has led to local extinction in some places, and habitat destruction through deforestation and mining. The IUCN lists the species as endangered .
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2003, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
