---
title: "What the sources say about the Geoffroy's Spider Monkey | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "36 claims from the Geoffroy's Spider Monkey profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Geoffroy's Spider Monkey (*Ateles geoffroyi*)

> 36 claims from the Geoffroy's Spider Monkey profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Geoffroy's Spider Monkey](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/geoffroys-spider-monkey/)

## Cortes-Ortíz et al. (2021). Ateles geoffroyi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T2279A191688782.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-1.rlts.t2279a191688782.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Endangered (EN). (note: stats.conservationStatus; category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List, taxon 2279 (prefetch 2026-10-11)) |
| The Red List rates the species Endangered. | IUCN Red List category: Endangered (EN). |

## Ateles geoffroyi (Central American spider monkey). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Ateles_geoffroyi/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The monkey whose tail works as a fifth limb. | which essentially functions as a fifth limb (note: tagline) |
| A tail that can pick things up and hold the monkey's weight | often seen hanging by one limb or by the tail, which essentially functions as a fifth limb. They walk nimbly along the upper surfaces of branches and are able to pick things up with their tails (note: stats.superpower; 'hold the monkey's weight' rests on hanging by the tail) |
| Mature rainforest and montane forest, from Mexico's coasts south to northwestern Colombia | inhabits mature rainforest and montane forest (note: stats.habitat) |
| from Mexico's coasts south to northwestern Colombia | found along both coasts of Mexico from Tamaulipas in the northeast and Jalisco in the west south to northwestern Colombia (note: stats.habitat) |
| Mainly ripe fruit, plus leaves, flowers, nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids and eggs | These monkeys eat mainly ripe friut and less frequently leaves and flowers. They may also eat some nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids, and eggs. (note: stats.diet) |
| is often seen dangling from a single arm or leg, or from its tail, which Animal Diversity Web says "essentially functions as a fifth limb" | often seen hanging by one limb or by the tail, which essentially functions as a fifth limb |
| It can pick things up with that tail too. | are able to pick things up with their tails |
| The tail runs 635 to 840 millimetres, against a head-and-body length of 305 to 630. | Head and body length ranges from 305 to 630mm, and tail length from 635 to 840mm. |
| Next to its body, the monkey has extremely long limbs. | With respest to body length, Ateles geoffroyi has extremely long limbs and tail. |
| Females mature at four years and males at five. | Males are sexually mature in five years and females in four. |
| A mother carries one baby for 226 to 232 days, and births come two to four years apart. | Gestation lasts 226 to 232 days and one young is born. Ovulation is suppressed by lactation and births occur at two to four year intervals. |
| These monkeys live in mature rainforest and montane forest, mainly in the top of the tree canopy. | inhabits mature rainforest and montane forest. ... These spider monkeys live mainly in the top of the tree canopy |
| Groups tend to hold about thirty animals, and groups of up to 100 have been reported. | tend to form groups of approximately thirty individuals. Groups of up to 100 have been reported. |
| The crowd usually splits into smaller subgroups to forage, and the whole group is together for only a few weeks a year. | these large groups split into smaller subgroups to forage and only for a few weeks out of the year is the whole group together |
| They bark when threatened, and when people come close they often throw branches, jump up and down and shake tree limbs. | "bark" when threatened and often throw branches, jump up and down, and shake tree limbs when approached by humans |
| Separated ones call with a sound like a whinny. | They emit a sound similar to a whinny when they are separated from one another. |
| Ripe fruit is the main course, with leaves and flowers less often. Nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids and eggs may turn up too, in smaller amounts. | These monkeys eat mainly ripe friut and less frequently leaves and flowers. They may also eat some nuts, seeds, insects, arachnids, and eggs. |
| Its range runs from Mexico's two coasts (Tamaulipas in the northeast, Jalisco in the west) down to northwestern Colombia. | found along both coasts of Mexico from Tamaulipas in the northeast and Jalisco in the west south to northwestern Colombia |
| Big groups of Geoffroy's spider monkeys split into smaller subgroups to forage, and the whole group is together for only a few weeks a year | these large groups split into smaller subgroups to forage and only for a few weeks out of the year is the whole group together (note: vibe.reason) |
| tags: agile | They walk nimbly along the upper surfaces of branches and are able to pick things up with their tails (note: nimble walking in the canopy) |

## Ateles geoffroyi (Central American spider monkey). AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Ateles_geoffroyi

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| An adult averages about 7.3 kilograms (7,268 grams). | Adult weight 7,268 g (note: 7.3 kg from 7,268 g; AnAge 'life history traits (averages)') |
| The ageing database AnAge lists a maximum longevity of 47.1 years in captivity, from one female that was at least that old when she died. | One captive female was at least 47.1 years old when it died in captivity |
| The oldest on record in the AnAge ageing database was a female kept in captivity, at least 47.1 years old when she died. | One captive female was at least 47.1 years old when it died in captivity |
| AnAge lists that as the maximum in captivity and gives no figure for the wild. | Maximum longevity 47.1 years (captivity) (note: faq 1; the AnAge page gives only the captive maximum, no wild figure) |
| Adults average about 7.3 kilograms, listed as 7,268 grams in the AnAge ageing database. | Adult weight 7,268 g |
| weightKg: 7.268 | Adult weight 7,268 g (note: typical adult mass) |

## Mittermeier (1978). Locomotion and Posture in Ateles geoffroyi and Ateles paniscus. Folia Primatologica.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000155862

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A study in Panama and Surinam, covering this species and its relative Ateles paniscus, sorted spider monkey movement into five patterns: walking and running on all fours, suspensory locomotion (moving while hanging), climbing, walking on two legs, and leaping. | Ateles locomotion can be divided into five patterns on the basis of limb usage: quadrupedal walking and running, suspensory locomotion, climbing, bipedalism and leaping. (note: The study was carried out in Panama and Surinam on Ateles geoffroyi and Ateles paniscus ('locomotor and postural behavior of Ateles geoffroyi and Ateles paniscus was studied in Panama and Surinam')) |
| When feeding, climbing mattered most, especially what the study calls horizontal climbing. | climbing (especially 'horizontal climbing') is the most important pattern during feeding |
| A field study in Panama and Surinam, covering this species and Ateles paniscus, found five patterns of movement: four-legged walking and running, hanging locomotion, climbing, two-legged walking and leaping. | Ateles locomotion can be divided into five patterns on the basis of limb usage: quadrupedal walking and running, suspensory locomotion, climbing, bipedalism and leaping. |

## González‐Zamora et al. (2008). Diet of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Mesoamerica: current knowledge and future directions. American Journal of Primatology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20625

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A review of 22 diet samples from five countries counted 364 plant species from 76 families in the diet, yet the majority of feeding time went to a few species in two families, Moraceae and Fabaceae. | We found 22 samples from five countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. ... In spite of showing an overall high dietetic diversity (364 species, 76 families), A. geoffroyi concentrated the majority of feeding time on a few species in the families Moraceae and Fabaceae. |
| No. At every study site reviewed, from Mexico to Panama, fruit topped the list of foods and leaves came next. | At all study sites fruits were the most common food item in the diet followed by leaves. |
| The review tallied 364 plant species eaten, but most feeding time was spent on just a few of them. | We found 22 samples from five countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. ... overall high dietetic diversity (364 species, 76 families), A. geoffroyi concentrated the majority of feeding time on a few species |

## Chapman, Chapman & McLaughlin (1989). Multiple central place foraging by spider monkeys: travel consequences of using many sleeping sites. Oecologia.

https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00378668

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A community in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, repeatedly used 11 sleeping trees, and the monkeys tended to choose the one closest to where they were feeding. | Spider monkeys repeatedly used 11 sleeping trees, and they tended to choose the sleeping site closest to their current feeding area. (note: Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica: 'a community of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica') |
| Compared with one fixed sleeping site or a random pick, choosing a tree close to the current feeding area gave the lowest travel costs in the researchers' model, and it best predicted how far the monkeys really travelled. | A comparison of the observed travel distances with distances predicted for a MCPF strategy, a single central place strategy, and a strategy of randomly selecting sleeping sites demonstrated (1) that the MCPF strategy entailed the lowest travel costs, and (2) that the observed travel distance was best predicted by the MCPF strategy. |