Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Scientific Name: Ateles fusciceps robustus

Range: S. Mexico to central Bolivia and Brazil

Habitat: Tropical and montane forests

Diet: Wild: Fruits, nuts, seeds, buds, flowers, leaves, insects, arachnids, eggs Zoo: Monkey chow, yams, fruit, endive, sunflower seeds

Gestation: 226-232 days

Litter: 1

Description: Males and females are about the same size and weigh 17-19 lbs. The tail is prehensile, long, and extremely flexible. The naked skin on the lower third of the tail is specialized, bearing “fingerprints”, sweat glands and sensory nerve endings, as in the hand. They are arboreal, and probably only the gibbon exceeds this animal in agility in the trees. Their slender limbs give them diverse locomotor abilities. During travel they use both arboreal quadrapedalism and suspensory brachiation. During feeding they almost always hang by their tails and use all four limbs to seize and open fruit. Their social structure is like that of chimpanzees. Groups are generally large, comprising a dozen or so individuals of both sexes and all ages. Spider monkeys share their food with one another, an unusual behavior. The most frequently heard call resembles the whinny of a horse, and is made when monkeys are separated. They will defend their territory, but prefer to make a discrete retreat.

Where in the Zoo? I can be found in the New World Monkey Exhibits at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.