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title: "What the sources say about the Mantled Howler Monkey | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "41 claims from the Mantled Howler Monkey profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Mantled Howler Monkey (*Alouatta palliata*)

> 41 claims from the Mantled Howler Monkey profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Mantled Howler Monkey](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/mantled-howler-monkey/)

## Alouatta palliata (mantled howler monkey). Animal Diversity Web.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Alouatta_palliata/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A leaf-eating monkey whose males' calls seem to help keep neighbouring troops apart. | Spacing between neighboring troops seems to be dependent, at least in part, upon vocal communication between males ... This leaf grazing (folivorous) diet (note: tagline) |
| Lowland and montane rain forest | Mantled howler monkeys inhabit lowland and montane rain forests (note: stats.habitat) |
| in southern Mexico and from Honduras to western Ecuador | Mantled howler monkeys are found in southern Mexico (the states of Veracruz, Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Tabasco), from Honduras in Central America to Colombia and western Ecuador in South America (note: stats.habitat) |
| sea level to 2,500 m | This range includes most forest habitats that lie between sea level and 2500 meters |
| Mostly leaves, fruit and flowers, favouring young leaves | Food resources consist mainly of leaves, fruit, and flowers (note: stats.diet) |
| favouring young leaves | preferentially eating young leaves with higher protein to fiber ratio and lower tannin content (note: stats.diet) |
| Calls that seem to help keep neighbouring troops apart | Spacing between neighboring troops seems to be dependent, at least in part, upon vocal communication between males (note: stats.superpower) |
| Mantled howlers woof, grunt and bark as well as howl. | Calls include woofs, grunts, barks, and howls, with the characteristic howls occurring at dusk and dawn, and in response to any sort of disturbance |
| The characteristic howls come at dusk and dawn, or whenever something disturbs the troop | Calls include woofs, grunts, barks, and howls, with the characteristic howls occurring at dusk and dawn, and in response to any sort of disturbance |
| Males' calls seem to help neighbouring troops keep their distance from each other. | Spacing between neighboring troops seems to be dependent, at least in part, upon vocal communication between males |
| Males weigh 6 to 7 kg and adult females typically 4 to 5 kg. | Males have a prominent white scrotum, weigh 6 to 7 kg, and usually have a longer beard than female individuals ... Adult females typically weigh 4 to 5 kg (note: omitted clause on anatomy) |
| The body is 38 to 58 cm long, with a prehensile tail (one that can grip) of 52 to 67 cm. | Adult tail size ranges from 520 to 670 mm, and body length ranges from 380 to 580 mm (note: converted mm to cm; prehensile tail named elsewhere in the same page) |
| prehensile tail | the prehensile tail has a naked pad on the underside near its base |
| They are stocky and black, with long guard hairs on the flanks that give the "mantled" name, and most wear a yellow or brown saddle. | Mantled howler monkeys are large and stocky with black fur, and most individuals have long, yellow or brown fur saddles ... Long guard hairs are present on their flanks, earning the common name "mantled" howler monkey |
| Leaves, fruit and flowers make up most of the menu, and howlers favour young leaves, which carry more protein for their fibre and less of the plant chemicals called tannins. | Food resources consist mainly of leaves, fruit, and flowers ... preferentially eating young leaves with higher protein to fiber ratio and lower tannin content |
| They spend most of their time foraging, and their lifestyle is described as energetically conservative. | mantled howler monkeys have an energetically conservative lifestyle, perhaps related to diet and feeding style since they spend the majority of their time foraging |
| A troop of 10 to 20 monkeys usually holds 5 to 10 adult females and 1 to 3 adult males. | Group size ranges from 10 to 20 members, generally 1 to 3 adult males and 5 to 10 adult females |
| in one study, 79% of males and 96% of females did | Natal emigration is performed by both sexes, with 79% of all males and 96% of the females leaving their original social group |
| A female has her first baby at about 42 months | are typically 42 months old by their first birth |
| pregnancy lasts about 186 days | Pregnancy lasts an average of 186 days (6 months) |
| births come about 22.5 months apart | the interbirth interval is about 22.5 months |
| The species lives in southern Mexico and from Honduras to Colombia and western Ecuador, in forest from sea level up to 2,500 m. | Mantled howler monkeys are found in southern Mexico ... from Honduras in Central America to Colombia and western Ecuador in South America ... This range includes most forest habitats that lie between sea level and 2500 meters |
| Where rainforest has been chopped into fragments, especially in southern Mexico, many howlers have shifted into cacao and coffee plantations grown under shade trees. | Under pressure from rainforest fragmentation, many howlers have moved into shaded cacao and coffee plantations where forest habitat has disappeared, especially in southern Mexico |
| Adult males weigh 6 to 7 kg and adult females typically 4 to 5 kg, and a newborn weighs about 0.4 kg. The head and body measure 38 to 58 cm, and the tail adds another 52 to 67 cm. | weigh 6 to 7 kg ... Adult females typically weigh 4 to 5 kg, and newborn infants weigh 0.4 kg ... Adult tail size ranges from 520 to 670 mm, and body length ranges from 380 to 580 mm (note: FAQ; mm converted to cm) |
| The characteristic howls ring out at dusk and dawn, and in response to any kind of disturbance. Besides howls, their calls include woofs, grunts and barks. | Calls include woofs, grunts, barks, and howls, with the characteristic howls occurring at dusk and dawn, and in response to any sort of disturbance (note: FAQ) |

## AnAge entry for Alouatta palliata. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, AnAge.

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

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The AnAge database estimates that wild adults live 16 years on average | In the wild, adults are estimated to live on average 16 years |
| gives a captive maximum of 24 years | Maximum longevity 24 years (captivity) |
| By AnAge's estimate, adults in the wild live about 16 years on average. Its captive maximum of 24 years rests on one wild-born female who lived more than 15 years in captivity and may have been as old as 24. | Maximum longevity 24 years (captivity) Source ref. 671 Sample size Small Data quality Acceptable Observations In the wild, adults are estimated to live on average 16 years [ 0434 ]. One wild born female lived more than 15 years in captivity and could have been as old as 24 [ 0671 ]. (note: FAQ) |

## Cortes-Ortíz et al. (2021). Alouatta palliata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T39960A190425583.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-1.rlts.t39960a190425583.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF copy of the Red List checked against taxon id 39960) |
| The Red List rates it Vulnerable. | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Vulnerable. | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: FAQ; 2021 is the assessment year in the DOI and title) |

## Maya Lastra et al. (2024). Mantled howler monkey males assess their rivals through formant spacing of long-distance calls. Primates.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-024-01120-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| males were less likely to approach recorded calls that sounded like a large rival, and approached small-sounding ones faster. | Low formant spacing calls were less likely to elicit approaches whereas high formant spacing calls resulted in quicker approaches. (note: low spacing = emulating large individuals, per the abstract) |
| Researchers tested this on 11 adult males by playing them calls from strangers. | We studied the behavioral responses of 11 adult males to playback experiments of long-distance calls from unknown individuals |
| The males always called back. | Playbacks always elicited vocal responses |
| a feature of a voice that tracks the caller's body size | Formant frequency spacing of long-distance vocalizations is allometrically related to body size |
| the males also showed stronger hormone responses to the large-sounding calls | Males showed stronger hormonal responses to low than to both intermediate and high formant spacing calls. (note: low = large-sounding) |
| Male mantled howlers judge a rival by the sound of his call: in playback tests they were less likely to approach calls that sounded like a large male | Low formant spacing calls were less likely to elicit approaches whereas high formant spacing calls resulted in quicker approaches. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Bergman et al. (2016). Striking differences in the loud calls of howler monkey sister species (Alouatta pigra and A. palliata). American Journal of Primatology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22539

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the black howler's exaggerated roars seem better suited to contests between groups, while the mantled howler's calls may suit attracting mates and competing within groups | The exaggerated roars and intense calling patterns in A. pigra seem more suitable for intergroup competition, whereas A. palliata calls may be better suited for mate attraction and competition within groups. (note: A. pigra = black howler; the abstract calls the two 'closely related' and 'sister species') |

## Estrada & Coates-Estrada (1991). Howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata), dung beetles (Scarabaeidae) and seed dispersal: ecological interactions in the tropical rain forest of Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. Journal of Tropical Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1017/s026646740000585x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| one study found them eating the fruit of 35 plant species and spreading the seeds of 28 | Howlers consumed the fruits of 35 species of plants. The seeds of 28 of these were dispersed by the monkeys. |
| a clump stayed on the ground for only 2.5 hours on average | Faecal clumps (20 mg) remained on the ground for an average of only 2.5 h |
| Dung beetles then bury the droppings quickly | Rapid relocation and burial of dung by dung beetles |