By Carl Flink
Geographic Range
Ateles paniscus are found in tropical Central and South America, north of the Amazon river and east of the Rio Negro (White 1986).
Biogeographic Regions:
neotropical 
(native ).
Habitat
Ateles paniscus are found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.
Terrestrial Biomes:
rainforest .
Physical Description
(15.4 to 19.8 lbs)
Ateles paniscus are one of the largest neotropical primates. They exhibit some sexual dimorphism, males are somewhat heavier than females. Their common name is black spider monkey, and they have, as their name implies, long, flowing, black fur. Their faces can vary from black to pink. An aspect of spider monkeys that has created much interest, is their anatomical and locomotory adaptions that are very similar to those of apes (McFarland Symington 1988). (McFarland Symington, 1988)
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry .
Sexual dimorphism: male larger.
Reproduction
These monkeys produce offspring every 25 to 42 months.
Groups are normally made up of 15 adult females, 5 adult males, and various subadults and young. Males mate with multiple females and cooperate to defend access to females. Mating occurs randomly, with no dominance heierarchy (McFarland Symington 1988).
Mating systems:
polygynous .
The gestation period is 7.5 months and interbirth interval is 25 to 42 months (one of the longest in non-apes species). Sexual maturity occurs at 3-4 years of age (McFarland Symington 1988).
Key reproductive features:
iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous .
Weaning of infants typically occurs at 12-15 months but young do not reach independence until at least 17 months of age.
Parental investment:
pre-fertilization (provisioning, protecting: female); pre-hatching/birth (provisioning: female, protecting: female); pre-weaning/fledging (provisioning: female, protecting: female); pre-independence (protecting: female); extended period of juvenile learning.
Behavior
Ateles paniscus spend a large amount of their time resting. One study calculated an average of 45% time spent resting, with feeding occurring 29% of the time and 26% spent in travel (McFarland Symington 1988). They have a fusion-fission social organization, where the larger group spends most of their time in smaller subgroups, but cooperate as a larger group to defend territory (McFarland Symington 1988). Presumably, splitting up permits greater success in finding scattered food resources (Norconk and Kinzey 1994).
Food Habits
They are primarily frugivorous, making up 85 to 90% of their diet (McFarland Symington 1988). They use the complete variety of fruits available to them, and may use fruits at different stages of ripeness in order to reduce competition with other frugivorous species throughout their range (Norconk and Kinzey 1994). For example, A. paniscus eat fruit only if it is ripe. Other species of primates can eat harder fruit, and therefore, are not in direct competition with A. paniscus. When fruits are not available, A. paniscus may eat leaves (Norconk and Kinzey 1994).
Plant Foods:
leaves; fruit.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
No negative impacts on humans.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Ateles paniscus are wary of humans and their settlements. They leave areas of forests that are near logging trails or areas that have been cleared for farming. They are occasionally hunted by humans.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: [link]:
Least Concern.
US Federal List: [link]:
No special status.
CITES: [link]:
Appendix II.
Ateles paniscus have an unusually long interbirth interval, making them particularly vulnerable to the pressures of hunting and habitat destruction (McFarland Symington 1988).
Other Comments
A. paniscus are important in seed dispersal in tropical forests (Norconk and Kinzey 1994).
For More Information
Find Ateles paniscus information at
Contributors
Carl Flink (author), University of Michigan.
Phil Myers (editor), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan.
