Spider Monkeys are ‘œNew World’ monkeys, and they are so called because they are found in Central and South America and parts of Mexico. Their genus is Ateles and family Atelidae.

Some facts about Spider Monkeys are:

• They are called spider monkeys because they like to hang upside down with all hands, feet and tail holding on to the tree branch which makes them look like a spider.

• Their tails are super strong because of which they can actually use it as an extra limb which helps them in swinging about. It may be for this reason that they can swing from branch to branch at extraordinary speed.

• Spider Monkeys have only 4 fingers and no thumbs or even shrunken thumbs. This is not because they are less evolved but because they have no need of the thumb.

• Average life span across species in 20 to 40 years.

• They do not have a specific breeding season and can mate all year around. They only mate once in 3 or 4 years and usually have only 1 offspring with the mother providing maximum parental care.

• Generally they feed on fruits, leaves, seeds and in some species, even wood.

• They have various communication methods including touching and licking each other and a variety of sounds like screaming, barking, whistling, grunting etc.

• The various types of spider monkeys are differentiated by the way they look i.e. colour of their fur or various parts of their skin.

• Ateles paniscus are black spider monkeys found in the north of the Amazon River. They have small heads and long limbs with a tail which helps balance them. They are a playful lot who like to wrestle and play with the female choosing her mate by sitting in his lap. They live long lives with the oldest known male monkey being 46. They are hunted by humans for game.

• Ateles geoffroyi, a sub species of Ateles paniscus, are black handed, have long limbs and tails with small heads but marked muzzles, with black, brown or reddish fur and pale skin around eyes and mouth. They live in groups of around 30 beings.

• Ateles belzebuth have white bellies and are found in the Amazon. Their arms and legs are also longer than their body. They live in grounds dominated by females. They are most active during the day when they go looking for food.

• Ateles fusciceps are brown headed monkeys whose tails are much longer than their bodies. Another distinctive feature is a white ring surrounding their eyes. Though they live in groups, it is hard to find them in grounds as they are always scattered all over the place.

• Other types are Chamek spider monkey and white whiskered spider monkey.

• Neither of the black spider species have a negative impact on human beings.

Spider monkeys are in danger of extinction because of hunting, threat to their natural habitat and also because they are a food source for some people in those areas. Since they don’t breed in abundance their numbers are declining.