Black Spider Monkey Characteristics

Kingdom	Order	Family	Genus	Species
Animalia	Primates	Atelidae	Ateles	Ateles paniscus

black spider monkey Distribution

Countries

Brazil

French Guiana

Guyana

Peru

Bolivia

Ateles paniscus, the black spider monkey^[1], is one of three sub-species of spider monkeys.

They are found in healthy tropical forests in South and Central America.
Black spider monkeys show slight variation in appearance, but males are larger than females.
Both females and males have an average weight of 9.11 kg and 8.44 kg, respectively. They have small heads in relation to their bodies.
Also, they have long legs and arms and a tail that helps them balance when moving through the treetops.
Aside from the face, feet, and hands, they are covered in jet-black hair longer than a typical primate.

The black spider monkey preys on^[¶]:

Of all the Ateles species, Ateles paniscus is the largest.
They prefer pristine (mature) rainforests and rarely venture into disturbed habitats, making them particularly vulnerable to forest fragmentation.
Their prehensile tail allows these primates to find stability when perched on branches, reach out for food at the end of brittle branches when suspended, and as a fifth limb to move around dangerous spots.
These South-American monkeys spend most of their time in the middle and upper regions of the tree canopy. At night they sleep in groups in the trees for protection.
Ateles paniscus initiate courtship by playing and wrestling with members of the opposite sex.

Suggested Reading: What Types of Monkeys Are There?

Bio Explorer. (2026, January 28). Black Spider Monkey. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/black-spider-monkey/

Key References

^[1] – “Black spider monkey – Wisconsin National Primate Research Center – UW-Madison”. Accessed August 09, 2022. Link.
^[¶]– Fricke, E.C., Svenning, J. Accelerating homogenization of the global plant-frugivore meta-network. Nature 585, 74-78 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2640-y.
^[¶]– fgabriel1891/Palm-Frugivore_Interactions_Neo-AfrotropicsQuiroga-Castro, V. D.; Roldan, A. I.. 2001. The fate of Attalea phalerata (Palmae) seeds dispersed to a tapir latrine. Biotropica. 472-477
^[¶]– fgabriel1891/Palm-Frugivore_Interactions_Neo-AfrotropicsKahnF. & de GranvilleJ. 1992. Palms in forest ecosystems of Amazonia. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.