The
Golden Spider Monkey is a new world
monkey. They are small ranging in
length from 15 to 25
inches with a 20 to 35 inch long
tail.
Golden Spider Monkeys have light to dark
brown fur with white
markings on their faces. They have dark brown fur on their feet and hands.
Scientific Name: Ateles Geoffroyi.
Habitat: They live in the trees in lowland and tropical rain forests. Their range includes Central American and South Mexico.
Diet: They eat mainly fruits, nuts, and leaves. They supplement this diet with occasional insects and bird eggs.
Social Organization: They live in groups that range from 2-40 members. Females take the lead in the organization of the groups. Most of the group's activities revolve around gathering food. While they patrol their territory and avoid the territory of others, they rarely fight if confronted with another group. The membership in these groups is very fluid, with sub-groups breaking off and forming together.
Wacky Trivia: Lacking thumbs, they don't groom one another. Instead they just scratch away bugs and parasites. Apparently, zoos have something they feed monkeys called "monkey chow".