Fifteen species of large New World monkeys, the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics. They are famous for howls that carry through dense rainforest, made with an enlarged hyoid bone in the throat, and are the only New World monkeys that mainly eat leaves.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?In places
At a glance
Found inSouth America, Central America
HabitatRainforest, Forest
ColoursBlack, Brown, Red
SizeMedium
Length56–92 cm, plus a tail about as long
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives introops
Lives for15–20 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Forests of Central and South America.
- What it eats
- Mainly top-canopy leaves, plus fruit, buds, flowers and nuts.
Did you know
One of the loudest land animals, its howl carries far through dense rainforest.
Their noses are so keen they can smell food up to 2 km away.
Unlike other New World monkeys, both males and females have full (trichromatic) colour vision.
Often confused with
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