The brown spider monkey or variegated spider monkey (Ateles hybridus) is a critically endangered species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.[1] Its taxonomic history has been confusing, and in the past it has been treated as a subspecies of either the Geoffroy's spider monkey or the white-fronted spider monkey.[3] Like all spider monkeys, it has very long, spindly limbs and a lengthy prehensile tail which can almost be called a fifth limb. The tail has a highly flexible, hairless tip with skin grooves which improves grip on tree branches and is adapted to its strictly arboreal lifestyle. The brown spider monkey has a whitish belly and patch on the forehead, and – highly unusual among spider monkeys – the eyes are sometimes blue.[3]
The brown spider monkey is now a highly threatened species, the population is estimated to have decreased by at least 80% and some populations have already been extirpated.[4] Few remaining populations are of adequate size to be viable long-term.[2] Almost 60 brown spider monkeys are present in various ISIS-registered zoos (mostly in Europe), but breeding success has been limited and no births were reported between May 2009 and May 2010.[5] Habitat loss is ongoing within its range, and an estimated 98% of its habitat already is gone.[6] It is also threatened by hunting (in some regions it is the favorite game) and the wild animals trade.[4] The brown spider monkey is among "The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates", and is one of only two Neotropical primates (the other being the yellow-tailed woolly monkey) to have been included in this list in both 2006-2008 and 2008-2010.[4]
A small population of fewer than 30 individuals of the subspecies A. h. brunneus has been discovered in a protected area of Colombia, the Selva de Florencia National Park. This is the southernmost population of the brown spider monkey and the only population found in a protected area.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M, eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 151. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ a b Urbani, B., Morales, A. L., Link, A. & Stevenson, P. (2008). "Ateles hybridus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
- ^ a b Emmons, L. H. (1997). Neotropical Rainforest Animals. 2nd edition. Pp. 144. ISBN 0-226-20719-6
- ^ a b c Mittermeier, R.A.; Wallis, J.; Rylands, A.B.; Ganzhorn, J.U.; Oates, J.F.; Williamson, E.A.; Palacios, E.; Heymann, E.W.; Kierulff, M.C.M.; Long Yongcheng; Supriatna, J.; Roos, C.; Walker, S.; Cortés-Ortiz, L.; Schwitzer, C., eds. (2009). Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010 (PDF). Illustrated by S.D. Nash. Arlington, VA.: IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS), and Conservation International (CI). pp. 1–92. ISBN 978-1-934151-34-1.
- ^ International Species Information System (2010). Ateles hybridus. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ Fundación ProAves (2010). Tragic demise of the Magdalena Spider Monkey. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ Dell'Amore, Christine (27 January 2012). "Near-Extinct Monkeys Found in Colombian Park". Daily News. National Geographic. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
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