The Ecology

of Spider MonkeysBy: Zachariah Wood

History of Spider Monkeys

• 70 different species of Platyrrhines (new world monkeys). (Spider Monkey, 10/10/11)

• Fossils show that monkeys have appeared throughout Central and South America, Cuba, and Africa. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)

• Natives brought monkeys to the islands of Cuba. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)

• The tail of New World Monkeys differs from old world monkeys because the tail allows them to use it as a fifth hand. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)

History continued…

• The Scientific name is Ateles Geoffroyi. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)

• The order is Primates. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)• The family is Cebidae. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)• The subfamily is Atelinae. (Spider

Monkey,10/10/11)• The Genus is Ateles. (Spider Monkey,10/10/11)

Habitat

• Spider monkeys live in many different habitats like, evergreen rainforests, semi deciduous and mangrove forests. (Spider Monkeys, 11/24/11)

• They live mostly in the trees in the upper canopy. They barely ever touch the ground. (Spider Monkeys, 11/24/11)

• They can be found in other forests that have limited hunting and predators. (Spider Monkeys, 11/24/11)

• They seem to be more flexible than the other primate families to adapting to their habitats. (Spider Monkeys, 11/24/11)

Behavior

• Spider monkeys live in groups of around 30 called troops. (Spider Monkey Evolution, 11/25/11)

• The females have a bigger lead role in the troop then the males do. (Spider Monkey Evolution, 11/25/11)

• Spider monkeys tend to be diurnal which means sleep at night and active during the day. (Spider Monkey Evolution, 11/25/11)

• They mainly choose large trees that contain a large quantity of food for the troop. (Spider Monkey Evolution, 11/25/11)

Anatomy• They have long lanky

arms and legs prehensile(gripping) tails.

• Spider monkeys can weigh from 13 to 25 pounds.

• They on average are 19 inches tall in height.

• Their tails are 27 to 30 inches long.

Breeding• They reproduce year round without a set breeding season.• Birth happens around every three years. (Vaughan, 11/24/11)• The baby is nursed for two years. (Vaughan, 11/24/11)• After two years, the monkey or juvenile will walk by themselves, but

close to their mothers. (Vaughan, 11/24/11)• The small monkeys will begin to explore other small monkey around

their age while staying within the group. (Vaughan, 11/24/11)

Feeding

• Spider Monkeys are known as fruigivorous.• Fruigivorous are eating mainly fruits and

seeds.• They usually eat around 10am then at 10pm.• During the day they infrequently eat.• Spider monkeys eat when they get the food

while hanging.• They do not carry their food with them.

The sound of a spider monkey

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ekilby/4512740684/

Ecological Relationships

• The monkey helps plants by dispersing the seeds when they drop it or after they release their waste. (Walker, 11/24/11)

• The main plant the receives the most benefit is the strangler fig. (Walker, 11/24/11)

Bibliography“Feeding Habits Of Spider Monkeys.” AngryDmonkey. 2010. 24 Nov. 2011.

<http://angrydmonkey.com/feeding-habits-of-spider-monkeys.html.>

“Spider Monkey.” Honolulu Zoo. 2010. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.honoluluzoo.org/spider_monkey.htm>.

“Spider Monkey Evolution.” Macalester. 2010. 25 Nov. 2011. <http://www.macalester.edu/~montgomery/SpiderMonkeyExtra.html >.

“Spider Monkeys.” Monkey Maddness. 2004. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.monkeymaddness.com/Speciesspecific/spider.html>.

Vaughan, Jennifer. “Life Cycle of a Spider Monkey.” eHow. 2011. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_6113405_life-cycle-spider-monkey.html>.

Walker, Talmadge. “What is the Mutualism of a Spider Monkey?” eHow. 2011. 26 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/info_8795895_mutualism-

spider-monkey.html>.

Photos and Videos“I’m Being Spliced With….. Ateles Geoffroyi?” 19 Nov. 2009. Images, Google. 5 Dec. 2011.

<http://www.google.com/imgres?q=spider+monkey+anatomy&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=376&bih=613&tbm=isch&tbnid=OIGzmBIVGe2B4M:&imgrefurl=http://seanyb-art.blogspot.com/2010/10/im-being-spliced-with-ateles-geoffroyi.html&docid=66h-xFLkVtOQWM&imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1zAt4AV4T7c/TKs_fvVhrDI/AAAAAAAAACY/KD0fg6cBzgY/s1600/sc-265-a-

lg.jpg&w=1000&h=694&ei=B2PdTtbhNqPV0QHOjKGlCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=63&vpy=148&dur=676&hovh=187&hovw=270&tx=220&ty=103&sig=118317085838854379399&page=1&tbnh=128&tbnw=146&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0>.ianmichaelthomas. “Spider Monkey.” 4 May 2008. Flickr, Yahoo. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/7533960@N02/2468838279/ >.ianmichaelthomas. “Spider Monkey.” 4 May 2008. Flickr, Yahoo. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/7533960@N02/2468825019/ >.leesmyth. “Multi-Tasking Primates.” 9 Aug. 2006. YouTube. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/user/leesmyth?feature=watch#p/ u/90/XimAcG33bCM>.sftrajan. “Spider Monkey.” 5 June 2008. Flickr, Yahoo. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/sftrajan/2685547755/>.sypix. “Baby Red-faced Spider Monkey.” 29 June 2010. Flickr, Yahoo. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/sypix/4746072438/>.