White Bellied Spider Monkey

Kingdom Order Family Genus Species
Animalia Primates Atelidae Ateles Ateles belzebuth
White-bellied Spider Monkey
IUCN Status: Endangered
  • Common Name: White-bellied Spider Monkey
  • Taxonomy Classification Year: 1806
  • Monkey Size: 34 to 59 cm (13.39 to 23.23 in)
  • Skin Color(s): Black and yellow-creamy
  • Habitat: Rainforest
  • Diet: Herbivorous
  • Native Countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil

White-bellied Spider Monkey Distribution

White-Bellied Spider Monkey Characteristics

White Bellied Spider Monkey

The white-bellied spider monkey[1] (Ateles belzebuth), also called the long-haired or white-fronted spider monkey, is an endangered species of spider monkey, a species of New-World monkey.

  • It is found in the northwestern Amazon in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru, extending south to the lower Ucayali River and east to the Branco.
  • The limbs of white-bellied spider monkeys are long, muscular, and very strong. In addition, its shoulders are such that its arms can fully rotate.
  • The elbows allow the forearms to pronate, and the large carpal tendons make their wrists extremely flexible.
  • Its hands are long, thin, and thumbless. Instead, their four long fingers form a perfect hook to help them swing on branches.
  • Its torso is short. All of these characteristics perfectly match this monkey’s supportive mode of locomotion.
  • Its long, muscular tail is broad at the base, thin at the tip, and can bend, twist, and curl. It’s prehensile and tactile.
  • The underside is bare with ridges like those found on the undersides of the feet and hands. They have a narrow face with a tiny chin, narrow snout, and large sockets in which almond-shaped brown eyes are fixed.
  • The skull is round, and its ears are similar to ours. White-bellied spider monkeys, which live in lowland forests, have blackish fur on their backs and front legs and creamy-yellow fur on their abdomens; those from mountain forests have a greater variety of colors.

What Do White-bellied Spider Monkeys Eat?

What Do White Bellied Spider Monkeys Eat Rubber Plants?

The White-bellied Spider Monkey diet includes[¶]:

  • Amarillo (Guatteria punctata)
  • Rabo De Ranton (Casearia aculeata).
  • Pachiuba (Socratea exorrhiza)
  • Fig (Ficus)
  • Guamo (Inga acreana)
  • Cuero De Rana (Laetia procera).
  • Abiu (Pouteria caimito)
  • Breadnut (Brosimum alicastrum)
  • Caucho Rubber (Castilla ulei).
  • Trichilia (Trichilia)
  • Hinchahuevos (Sapium laurifolium)
  • Maraximbé (Trichilia tuberculata)
  • Guiana Brosimum (Brosimum guianense).
  • Chalahuite (Inga acrocephala)
  • Pacae Colorado (Inga alba).
  • American Muskwood (Guarea guidonia).
  • Hogplum (Spondias mombin)
  • Figueira-Acreana (Ficus sphenophylla)
  • Icecreambean (Inga edulis)
  • Sweetwood (Nectandra membranacea)
  • Maripa Palm (Attalea maripa).

White-Bellied Spider Monkey Facts

Ateles Belzebuth

  • These arboreal monkeys spend most of their time in the canopy. They rarely go down. When they do, they drink water, eat dirt, traverse a treeless area, or run away from an aggressive opponent.
  • In the treetops, white-bellied spider monkeys move freely between branches. They can cover large distances quickly using various modes of locomotion.
  • White-bellied spider monkeys live in groups of 6-25 individuals, sometimes more. Group size varies by area, with larger groups found in undisturbed patches of woodland.
  • Male white-bellied spider monkeys patrol the boundaries of the group’s territory to repel potential invaders and can cause serious injury if they bite by an intruder.
  • These spider monkeys also rub leaves on their bodies. The scents can be used as a natural insect repellent, but they can also signal social status and attract a mate.

Suggested Reading: Types of Monkeys

Cite This Page

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BioExplorer.net. (2024, March 28). White-bellied Spider Monkey. Bio Explorer. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/white-bellied-spider-monkey/.
BioExplorer.net. "White-bellied Spider Monkey" Bio Explorer, 28 March 2024, https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/white-bellied-spider-monkey/.
BioExplorer.net. "White-bellied Spider Monkey" Bio Explorer, March 28 2024. https://www.bioexplorer.net/animals/mammals/monkeys/white-bellied-spider-monkey/.
Key References
  • [1]“Manually Fix”. Accessed August 18, 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-AfrotropicsKarubian, Jordan; Ottewell, Kym; Link, Andres; Di Fiore, Anthony. 2015. Genetic consequences of seed dispersal to sleeping trees by white-bellied spider monkeys. Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology. 50-58
  • [¶] – fgabriel1891/Palm-Frugivore_Interactions_Neo-AfrotropicsStevenson, Pablo R.; Link, Andres; Gonzalez-Caro, Sebastian; Fernanda Torres-Jimenez, Maria. 2015. Frugivory in Canopy Plants in a Western Amazonian Forest: Dispersal Systems, Phylogenetic Ensembles and Keystone Plants. Plos One. e0140751
  • [¶] – fgabriel1891/Palm-Frugivore_Interactions_Neo-AfrotropicsSilvius, K. M.; Fragoso, J. M. V.. 2002. Pulp handling by vertebrate seed dispersers increases palm seed predation by bruchid beetles in the northern Amazon. Journal of Ecology. 1024-1032
  • [¶] – fgabriel1891/Palm-Frugivore_Interactions_Neo-AfrotropicsDew, J. L.. 2005. Foraging, food choice, and food processing by sympatric ripe-fruit specialists: Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii and Ateles belzebuth belzebuth. International Journal of Primatology. 1107-1135
  • [¶] – fgabriel1891/Palm-Frugivore_Interactions_Neo-AfrotropicsRusso, S. E.; Campbell, C. J.; Dew, J. L.; Stevenson, P. R.; Suarez, S. A.. 2005. A multi-forest comparison of dietary preferences and seed dispersal by Ateles spp.. International Journal of Primatology. 1017-1037

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