Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
These animals are a food source for indigenous tribes and are killed mainly for this reason. These monkeys are considered the most intensely hunted monkeys in South America and they have become extinct in many areas. Common woolly monkeys are unable to maintain stable populations under extreme hunting pressure. This species is very sensitive to disturbances in vegetation and their low reproductive rate makes them vulnerable to local extinction. In addition, the mother is normally killed to capture her infant and it is estimated that at least 10 females are sacrificed for every live individual that reaches the market. Many have argued that the common woolly monkey should be designated as an endangered species, but this has not yet occurred (Emmons & Feer 1990; Marsh & Mittermeier 1987; Nowak 1999.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
Unknown
The meat of common woolly monkeys is a highly sought after food by locals living near monkey populations. In Brazilian Amazonia, the skins of Lagothrix lagotricha are used for wall decoration and to make a device, called a cuica. This is used to mimic jaguar calls. Stuffed monkeys are also popular and are found in many homes. Common woolly monkeys are also sought as pets in certain areas and can be bought for around $80 U.S. dollars each (Nowak 1999; Marsh & Mittermeier 1987).
Diet of Lagothrix lagotricha consists mainly of fruits, supplemented by leaves, seeds, and some insects. Consumption of leafy material accounts for probably less than 20% of their diet. A large part of their feeding time is spent eating ripe fruit. Seeds are most important early in the rainy season when ripe fruit is not readily available. During July in Amazonian Brazil, insects comprise an important part of the diet. In captivity, female common woolly monkeys were observed to prey on sparrows and were observed to share some of the prey. Higher ranking animals in a troop often take food from lower ranking animals (Eisenberg 1989; Emmons and Feer 1990; Kinzey 1997: Moynihan 1976; Nowak 1999).
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Frugivore )
Common woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha) occur in the Neotropics of northern South America, including the upper Magdalean River valley in Colombia, throughout much of the upper Amazon basin of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil west of the Rio Negro, and in the foothills and eastern slopes of the Andes. They occur as high as 3000 meters above sea level in the Andes (Eisenberg 1989; Emmons & Feer 1990; Moynihan 1976).
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Common woolly monkeys are hardly ever found on the forest floor. Generally, they remain at a height of about 38 ft (12 m) but will come down as low as 22 ft (7m). Lagothrix lagotricha live in gallery, palm, flooded and nonflooded primary, and cloud forests. These animals prefer mature, continuous, undisturbed humid forests and are not found to inhabit secondary forest.
Range elevation: 0 to 3000 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; mountains
Average lifespan
Sex: male
Status: captivity: 24.8 years.
Average lifespan
Sex: female
Status: captivity: 30.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 25.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 25.9 years.
Common wooly monkeys are large robust animals and are one of the largest New World primates by weight. Males are generally heavier than females, and male canine teeth are significantly larger than those of females. When in captivity these animals can be much heavier in weight than 10 kg but usually individuals fall within the range of 3 to 10 kg. Head and body length ranges from 558 to 686 mm and the prehensile tail is between 600 to 720 mm. The hair is dense, short, thick, and predominantly composed of underfur. In older individuals there is a fringe of longer hair on the rear of the arms and legs and on the under belly. Color varies greatly with the upperparts being dark brown, pale smoky brown, dark gray, pale gray, red-brown, or olivaceous. In some common woolly monkeys the color of the head and limbs is distinctly darker than that of the back, in others the color is uniform. Usually the underparts are slightly lighter than the rest of the body. Common woolly monkeys have round and massive heads with naked black faces. Color varies between individuals as well as geographically. In Ecuador and Colombia, animals of different colors can be found in the same troop. Gray and almost black animals are found along the base of the Andes in Colombia, whereas olivaceous animals with dark heads are found south of the Amazon in Brazil and Bolivia. In Peru and north of the Amazon in Brazil, the brown color predominates. Newborns are straw-colored. The ears are inconspicuous and the tail is strong and prehensile. The tail is thick and muscular at the base, and tapers to the thinner tip. The limbs and body are muscular and the monkeys have a protruding potbelly. The thumbs and toes are well developed and the fingers are short and thick with long pointed nails.
Range mass: 3 to 10 kg.
Range length: 558 to 686 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Common woolly monkeys have an estrous cycle of about 12-49 days, in which estrus lasts 3-4 days. Full sexual maturity is reached at 6-8 years by females and more than 5 years by males. Copulation takes place over 6-11 days and starts when a female indicates her readiness to the male. The gestation period is about 225 days (7.5 months), and the normal litter size is one. Young are typically born in the late dry to mid-wet season. Weight of the newborn is about 140 grams and lactation continues for 9-12 months. After birth of the first young females will normally give birth every other year thereafter (Eisenberg 1989; Emmons and Feer 1990; Kinzey 1997: Moynihan 1976; Nowak 1999).
Breeding interval: These monkeys give birth once every two years.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average gestation period: 225 days.
Average time to independence: 5 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 6 to 8 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 5 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 300 g.
Average gestation period: 223 days.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 1520 days.
The young born within a group are carried for the first month on the abdomen of the mother, and climb to the mother's back more frequently six weeks after birth. Young common woolly monkeys first leave their mothers after eight weeks, and become more independent after their fifth month.
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)
The common woolly monkey, brown woolly monkey, or Humboldt's woolly monkey[3] (Lagothrix lagothricha) is a woolly monkey from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela. It lives in groups of two to 70 individuals, usually splitting the group into smaller subgroups when active.
The taxonomy of the common woolly monkey is still debated. Fooden classified it is as one of two species under the genus Lagothrix with four sub-species (L. l. lagotricha, L. l. lugens, L. l. cana, and L. l. poeppgigii.[4] Later, an analysis of craniodental morphology suggested a move of all sub-species to the species level and also led to the yellow-tailed woolly monkey (formerly Lagothrix flavicauda) being moved to a monotypic genus Oreonax.[5] Genetic analyses also identify distinct groups, but different groupings from morphological and molecular data continue to make this a difficult issue that might be addressed with larger data sets.[6] A 2014 study found the genus Lagothrix to comprise only two species: L. lagothrica and L. flavicauda, with L. lagothrica containing five subspecies; the results of this study have been followed by the American Society of Mammalogists and the IUCN Red List.[7][8][9]
Many published sources use the specific name lagothricha rather than the etymologically correct lagotricha, since Fooden adopted this spelling when he revised the genus.[4] Von Humboldt used both spellings in his original description of the species.
These five subspecies are known:[9]
Common woolly monkeys are large compared to most other tree-dwelling primates, with a head-body length of 40 to 60 centimetres (1.3 to 2.0 ft), a tail length of 55 to 75 centimetres (22 to 30 in), and a weight of 5.5 to 10.8 kilograms (12 to 24 lb). Contrary to their name, they may also be a shade of grey or black as well as brown, and are darker on the head and underparts. The face is naked of any fur and is typically black. Most male woolly monkeys are larger than the females, also having larger canines. Common woolly monkeys are also diurnal.[10]
The common woolly monkey is present in the upper Amazon basin in South America, ranging from the Rio Tapajos in Brazil, to eastern Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, with scattered populations north to Venezuela. They also used to be found in Bolivia, however it is likely they have been extirpated by hunters.[10][11]
Common woolly monkeys are omnivorous, but mainly frugivorous.[12] Their diet consists primarily of fruits containing 1 or 2 large seeds and fruits that are lower in fat and higher in sugar and water.[13] Although they prefer certain fruits such as fruits from the Fabaceae (Legume), Moraceae (fig), Convolvulaceae, and Sapotaceae families, which represent roughly 50% of consumption time,[14] fruit abundance and production influence their diet more than preference.[15] As such, during periods of scarcity, fruit consumption tends to decrease and leaf and insect consumption increases. Females with dependents tend to eat more leaves, most likely because the leaves contain more protein, which helps the female produce more milk,[14] whereas juvenile woolly monkeys have been observed to eat more arthropods than other members of the group.[13]
The common woolly monkey exhibits generalist and opportunistic foraging behavior,[15] spending a large amount of time eating and moving in the pursuit of food, covering roughly 2 km per day.[13] They tend to prefer fruit species with a clumped fruit distribution and fruits produced by large trees because these tend to produce a larger crop size and reduce the energy spent traveling between fruit patches.[15] Females with offspring were observed to be more efficient foragers than juveniles and adult males. Inter-group competition during feeding times causes the juveniles to be displaced by the adult males and females with offspring resulting in an increase in feeding on arthropods and leaves.[13]
They are found in the rainforest, usually in the canopy of the tallest trees, though they may also be found at shrub layer.[16] In certain seasons it is also common for groups to enter flooded forests, due to a higher concentration of berries.
Females drive the relationships that develop between opposite sexes within communities.[17] They do not mingle with other females, whereas males will engage with either sex. Females are possessive of males and may harass others that try to interact with a male. Although they are dominant within their group, females are accepting to outsiders of both genders if there are no offspring-producing females present.[18]
Woolly monkeys have been observed using all four legs when walking/running and climbing, and efficiently making use of intermediate branches rather than just terminal branches when climbing.[19] They act as more effective seed dispersers than the morphologically spider monkey due to longer seed retention time in the digestive tract and the higher variety of seeds eaten.[20] Another influence on seed dispersal rate may be that insects constitute part of their diet.[21]
The common woolly monkey is classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN.[1] It occurs both inside and outside of areas that are protected by national park laws.[22]
Although the common woolly monkey has a much wider range compared to the other species in the genus Lagothrix (the yellow-tailed woolly monkey),[23] it is regarded as vulnerable because of predicted future pressures.[1] Human activity is the biggest threat for this species, particularly the building of new highways through parts of the Amazon and the attendant deforestation and increase in human activity. This leads to displacement and provides new access into the forests, creating the opportunity for more hunting to occur.[24] Hunting is mostly carried out by the indigenous communities of this region of the Amazon. Its large size makes the brown woolly monkey highly susceptible to being hunted by locals.[25] Individuals may also be sold locally as pets.[23] After the mothers are hunted, the babies can be sold for up to approximately $80 USD.[25] Declining populations of woolly monkeys may have wider ecosystem impacts due to their function as seed dispersers and their role as both predator and prey.
Many South American national parks have specific laws that prevent both deforestation and the hunting of animals, whereas some do not forbid hunting. Parks and reserves that fully protect the brown woolly monkey include Sumaco-Napo Galeras National Park, Cayambe-Coca and Cofán-Bermejo Ecological Reserve and Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in Ecuador; Nevado de Huila, Puracé, Cueva de los Guacharos and Picachos Natural National Parks in Colombia; and Majuna-Kichwa and Yaguas Reserved Zone in Peru. Algodón Medio Putumayo and Bajo Putumayo-Yagua in Peru offer partial protection. It has been suggested that the local extirpation of the species in some parts of its former range in Brazil was caused by the lack of hunting laws enforced upon indigenous groups.[24]
Data related to Lagothrix lagotricha at Wikispecies
The common woolly monkey, brown woolly monkey, or Humboldt's woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha) is a woolly monkey from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela. It lives in groups of two to 70 individuals, usually splitting the group into smaller subgroups when active.
