Brown Spider Monkey Ateles hybridus

Brown Spider Monkey Ateles hybridus

Critically endangered

Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia

Brown Spider Monkeys have striking bright brown eyes and are highly intelligent. They travel and forage in the upper levels of the forest. They spend most of their time in the canopy, sometimes use the middle and lower strata but are rarely seen in the understory. They are highly frugivorous and feed largely on ripe fleshy fruits, which comprise approximately 80% of their diet and that are mainly found in the emergent trees and upper parts of the forest canopy (Van Roosmalen and Klein 1988, Di Fiore et al. 2008, Link et al. 2012).

In Colombia and Venezuela, Brown Spider Monkeys are subject to pervasive habitat loss and to hunting (Link et al. 2013). In Colombia the habitat of Brown Spider Monkeys is extremely fragmented, and currently less than 20% of the historical distribution remains (Link et al. 2013). There may be a few populations of adequate size to be viable in the mid- to long-term (Defler et al. 2003). Habitat alteration appears to be the most important threat to the Venezuelan population of the Brown Spider Monkey. The lowland forest of the state of Zulia and the piedmont of the Perijá Mountains are heavily destroyed by expanding cattle ranching activities (B. Urbani unpubl. data).

Portillo and Velásquez (2006) undertook a gap analysis for this primate species within the Perijá Mountains and found that the remaining total forest area is still sufficiently large (813,257 ha), but only 30% is relatively well protected. The rest is affected by rapid human expansion and land clearance.

IUCN red list

Spider Monkeys by Leo’s Animal Planet

Beautiful and adorable young Leo along with his mum have made some cool videos about endangered species, and make reference to Palm Oil Detectives and palm oil as being a key threat to spider monkeys in Central and South America. Follow their channel for more

Support the conservation of this species

Fondation Ensemble

World Land Trust

Further Information

Link, A., Urbani, B., Stevenson, P.R. & Mittermeier, R.A. 2020. Ateles hybridus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T39961A17929680. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T39961A17929680.en. Downloaded on 05 March 2021.

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