Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-k7p5g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T16:55:50.032Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - The taxonomic status of spider monkeys in the twenty-first century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2010

Andrew C. Collins
Affiliation:
Department of Conservation Biology, Ada F. and Daniel L. Rice Conservation Biology and Research Center, Brookfield Zoological Institution, Brookfield, IL
Christina J. Campbell
Affiliation:
California State University, Northridge
Get access

Summary

Introduction

Spider monkeys are known by multiple names to local cultures, many of which reflect their acrobatic agility in the trees, or their various differences in coat color. Some indigenous groups also apply names that reference the blue eyes exhibited in some forms of spider monkey (Konstant et al., 1985). Within the scientific literature they occupy various positions in the taxonomic relationships among members of the Atelinae subfamily (see Rosenberger et al., this volume), and have been included in vast numbers of upper-level taxonomic surveys. It is thus surprising that their species-level taxonomic status has been the subject of only a few discriminate character-based investigations over the previous century.

Pelage variation in Ateles is substantial and has been the primary characteristic considered in previous categorizations of spider monkeys. Given the wide variation in coat colors among spider monkeys, it is not surprising that the first systematic study of Ateles taxonomy (Kellogg and Goldman, 1944) relied primarily on pelage. They initially identified four species and 16 different subspecies of Ateles (Kellogg and Goldman, 1944). These subspecies represent racially identifiable groups (Kellogg and Goldman, 1944) that can theoretically be identified based on a combination of different pelage characteristics. In this chapter, I provide a review of the various studies of spider monkey taxonomy and the scientific methods used to discern relationships.

Type
Chapter
Information
Spider Monkeys
The Biology, Behavior and Ecology of the Genus Ateles
, pp. 50 - 78
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aquino, R. and Encarnacion, F. (1994). Primates of Peru. Primate Rep., 40, 1–127.Google Scholar
Avise, J. C. (1989). A role for molecular genetics in the recognition and conservation of endangered species. Trends Ecol. Evol., 4, 279–281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baal, F. L. J., Mittermeier, R. A. and Roosmalen, M. G. M. (1988). Primates and protected areas in Suriname, Oryx, 22, 7–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bramblett, C. A., Bramblett, S. S., Coelho, A. M. and Quick, L. B. (1980). Party composition in spider monkeys of Tikal, Guatemala: a comparison of stationary vs. moving observers. Primates, 21, 123–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braza, F. and Garcia, J. E. (1988). Rapport preliminaire sur les singes de la region montangneuse de Hunachaca, Bolivie. Folia Primatol., 49, 182–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, K. S. (1987). Conclusions, synthesis, and alternative hypotheses. In Biogeography and Quaternary History in Tropical America, ed. Whitmore, T. C. and Prance, G. T., Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 175–210.Google Scholar
Bush, M. B. (1994). Amazonian speciation: a necessarily complex model. J. Biogeogr., 21, 5–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, C. J. (2003). Patterns of behavior across reproductive states of free-ranging female black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 124, 166–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cant, J. G. H. (1990). Feeding ecology of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) at Tikal, Guatemala. Hum. Evol., 5, 269–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castellanos, H. G. and Chanin, P. (1996). Seasonal differences in food choice and patch preference of long-haired spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth). In Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates, ed. Norconk, M. A., Rosenberger, A. L. and Garber, P. A., New York: Plenum Press, pp. 451–466.CrossRef
Coates, A. G. and Obando, J. A. (1996). The geologic evolution of the Central American isthmus. In Evolution and Environment in Tropical America, ed. Jackson, J. B. C., Budd, A. F. and Coates, A. G., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 21–56.Google Scholar
Coelho, A. M., Coelho, L. S., Bramblett, C. A., Bramblett, S. S. and Quick, L. B. (1976). Ecology, population characteristics, and sympatric association in primates: a socio-bioenergetic analysis of howler and spider monkeys in Tikal, Guatemala. Yrbk. Phys. Anthropol., 20, 96–135.Google Scholar
Colinvaux, P. A. (1996). Quaternary environmental history and forest diversity in the Neotropics. In Evolution and Environment in Tropical America, ed. Jackson, J. B. C., Budd, A. F. and Coates, A. G., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 359–406.Google Scholar
Collins, A. C. and Dubach, J. (2000a). Phylogenetic relationships of spider monkeys (Ateles) based on mitochondrial DNA variation. Int. J. Primatol., 21, 381–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, A. C. and Dubach, J. (2000b). Biogeographic and ecological forces responsible for speciation in Ateles. Int. J. Primatol., 21, 421–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, A. C. and Dubach, J. M. (2001). Nuclear DNA variation among spider monkeys (Ateles). Mol. Phylo. Evol., 19, 67–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cracraft, J. (1988). Deep-history biogeography: retrieving the historical pattern of evolving continental biotas. Syst. Zool., 37, 221–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crockett, C. M., Brooks, R. D., Crockett-Meacham, R., Crockett-Meacham, S. and Mills, M. (1997). Recent observations of Nicaraguan primates and a preliminary conservation assessment. Neotrop. Primates, 5, 71–74.Google Scholar
Dahl, J. F. (1986). The status of howler, spider and capuchin monkey populations in Belize, Central America. Primate Rep., 14, 161.Google Scholar
daSilva, J. M. C. and Oren, D. C. (1996). Application of parsimony analysis of endemicity in Amazonian biogeography: an example with primates. Biol. J. Lin. Soc., 59, 427–437.Google Scholar
deBoer, L. E. M. and deBruijn, M. (1990). Chromosomal distinction between the red-faced and black-faced black spider monkeys (Ateles paniscus paniscus and A. p. chamek). Zoo Biol., 9, 307–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Fiore, A. and Campbell, C. J. (2007). The atelines: variation in ecology, behavior, and social organization. In Primates in Perspective, ed. Campbell, C. J., Fuentes, A., MacKinnon, K. C., Panger, M. and Bearder, S. K., Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 155–185.Google Scholar
Engel, S. R., Hogan, K. M., Taylor, J. F. and Davis, S. K. (1998). Molecular systematics and paleobiogeography of the South American sigmodontine rodents. Mol. Biol. Evol., 15, 35–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Estrada, A. and Coates-Estrada, R. (1988). Tropical rain forest conversion and perspectives in the conservation of wild primates (Alouatta and Ateles) in Mexico. Am. J. Primatol., 14, 315–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fedigan, L. M., Fedigan, L., Chapman, C. and Glander, K. E. (1988). Spider monkey home ranges: a comparison of radio telemetry and direct observation. Am. J. Primatol., 16, 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferrari, S. F. and Lopes, M. A. (1992). New data on the distribution of primates in the region of the confluence of the Jiparana and Madeira rivers in Amazonas and Rondonia, Brazil. Goeldiana Zoologia, 11, 1–13.Google Scholar
Ferrari, S. F. and Lopes, M. A. (1996). Primate populations in eastern Amazonia. In Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates, ed. Norconck, M. A., Rosenberger, A. L. and Garber, P. A., New York: Plenum Press, pp. 53–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferrari, S. F., Iwanga, S. and Lourenco, da Silva J. (1996). Platyrrhines in pimenta bueno, Rondonia, Brazil. Neotrop. Primates, 4, 151–153.Google Scholar
Ferrari, S. F., Lopes, M. A., Cruz-Neto, E. H.et al. (1995). Primates and conservation in the Guajara-Mirim state park, Rondonia, Brazil. Neotrop. Primates, 3, 81–82.Google Scholar
Freese, C. (1976). Censusing Alouatta palliata, Ateles geoffroyi, and Cebus capucinus in the Costa Rican dry forest. In Neotropical Primates: Field Studies and Conservation, ed. Thorington, R. W. and Heltne, P. G., Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, pp. 4–9.Google Scholar
Froehlich, J. W., Supriantna, J. and Froehlich, P. H. (1991). Morphometric analyses of Ateles: systematic and biogeographic implications. Am. J. Primatol., 25, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcia, M., Caballin, M. R., Aragones, J., Goday, C. and Egozcue, J (1975). Banding patterns of the chromosomes of Ateles geoffroyi with description of two cases of pericentric inversion. J. Med. Primatol., 4, 108–113.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
García-Orduña, F., Rodríguez-Luna, E. and Canales-Espinosa, D. (1993). Effects of habitat fragmentation on howler monkey (Alouatta palliata mexicana) and spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus) populations in Veracruz state, Mexico. Am. J. Primatol., 30, 312–313.Google Scholar
Granjon, L., Cosson, J. F., Judas, J. and Ringuet, S. (1996). Influence of tropical rainforest fragmentation on mammal communities in French Guiana: short-term effects. Acta Oecol., 17, 673–684.Google Scholar
Groves, C. P. (1989). A Theory of Human and Primate Evolution. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 127–131.Google Scholar
Haffer, J. (1982). General aspects of the refuge theory. In Biological Diversification in the Tropics, ed. Prance, G. T., New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 5–22.Google Scholar
Haffer, J. (1987). Quaternary history of tropical America. In Biogeography and Quaternary History in Tropical America, ed. Whitmore, T. C. and Prance, G. T., Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 1–18.Google Scholar
Haffer, J. (1997). Alternative models of vertebrate speciation in Amazonia: an overview. Biodiv. Conserv., 6, 451–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartwig, W. C. (1995). A giant new world monkey from the Pleistocene of Brazil. J. Hum. Evol., 28, 189–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernandez-Camacho, J. and Cooper, R. W. (1976). The nonhuman primates of Colombia. In Neotropical Primates: Field Studies and Conservation, ed. Thorington, R. W. and Heltne, P. G., Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, pp. 35–69.Google Scholar
Hershkovitz, P. (1968). Metachromism or the principle of evolutionary change in mammalian tegumentary colors. Evolution, 22, 556–575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hershkovitz, P. (1969). The evolution of mammals in southern continents. VI. The recent mammals of the neotropical region: a zoogeographic and ecological review. Quart. Rev. Biol., 44, 1–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillis, D. M., Moritz, C. and Mable, B. K. (1996). Molecular Systematics, 2nd edn. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, pp. 243–245.Google Scholar
Iwanaga, S. and Ferrari, S. F. (2002). Geographic distribution and abundance of woolly (Lagothrix cana) and spider (Ateles chamek) monkeys in southwestern Brazilian Amazonia. Am. J. Primatol., 56, 57–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karesh, W. B., Wallace, R. B., Painter, R. L. E.et al. (1998). Immobilization and health assessment of free-ranging black spider monkeys (Ateles paniscus chamek). Am. J. Primatol., 44, 107–123.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellogg, R. and Goldman, E. A. (1944). Review on the spider monkeys. Proc. US Mus. Nat. Hist., 96, 1–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kimbel, W. H. and Martin, L. B. (1993). Species and speciation: conceptual issues and their relevance for primate evolutionary biology. In Species, Species Concepts, and Primate Evolution, ed. Kimbel, W. H. and Martin, L. B., New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinzey, W. G. (1997). New World Primates: Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, pp. 192–199.Google Scholar
Klein, L. L. and Klein, D. B. (1977). Feeding behavior of the Colombian spider monkey. In Primate Ecology, ed. Clutton-, T. H. Brock, London: Academic Press, pp. 153–185.Google Scholar
Konstant, W., Mittermeier, R. A. and Nash, S. D. (1985). Spider monkeys in captivity and in the wild. Primate Conserv., 5, 82–109.Google Scholar
Kunkel, L. M., Heltne, P. G. and Borgaonkar, D. S. (1980). Chromosomal variation and zoogeography in Ateles. Int. J. Primatol., 1, 223–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madden, R. H. and Albuja, L. (1987). Conservation status of Ateles fusciceps fusciceps in northwestern Ecuador. Int. J. Primatol., 8, 513.Google Scholar
Massey, A. (1987). A population survey of Alouatta palliata, Cebus capucinus and Ateles geoffroyi at Palo Verde, Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 35, 345–347.Google Scholar
Medeiros, M. A., Barroso, R. M. S., Pieczarka, et al. (1997). Radiation and speciation of spider monkeys, genus Ateles from the cytogenetic viewpoint. Am. J. Primatol., 42, 167–178.3.0.CO;2-V>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Melnick, D. J. and Hoelzer, G. A. (1993). What is mtDNA good for in the study of primate evolution?Evol. Anthropol., 2, 2–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milton, K. (1981). Estimates of reproductive parameters for free-ranging Ateles geoffroyi. Primates, 22, 574–579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, J. (1993). Inbreeding and outbreeding in primates: what's wrong with “the dispersing sex”? In The Natural History of Inbreeding and Outbreeding, ed. Moore, J., Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Nieves, M., Ascunce, M. S., Rahn, M. I. and Mudry, M. D. (2005). Phylogenetic relationships among some Ateles species: the use of chromosomic and molecular characters. Primates, 46, 155–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norconck, M. A., Sussman, R. W. and Phillips-Conroy, J. P. (1996). Primates of Guyana shield forests. In Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates, ed. Norconck, M. A., Rosenberger, A. L. and Garber, P. A., New York: Plenum Press, pp. 69–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nunes, A. (1995). Status, distribution and viability of wild populations of Ateles belzebuth marginatus. Neotrop. Primates, 3, 17–18.Google Scholar
Nunes, A. (1998). Diet and feeding ecology of Ateles belzebuth belzebuth at Maraca ecological station, Roraima, Brazil. Folia Primatol., 69, 61–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pieczarka, J., Nagamachi, C. Y. and Barroso, R. M. S. (1989). The karyotype of Ateles paniscus paniscus (Cebidae, Primates): 2n = 32. Revista Brasilia Genetica, 12, 543–551.Google Scholar
Porter, C. A., Page, S. L., Czelusniak, J.et al. (1997). Phylogeny and evolution of selected primates as determined by sequences of the e-globin locus and 5′ flanking regions. Int. J. Primatol., 18, 261–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riddle, B. R. (1996). The molecular phylogeographic bridge between deep and shallow history in continental biotas. Trends Ecol. Evol., 11, 207–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rossan, P. N. and Baerg, D. C. (1977). Laboratory and feral hybridization of Ateles geoffroyi panamensis Kellogg and Goldman, 1944, in Panama. Primates, 18, 235–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, N. (1996). The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates. East Hampton, NY: Pogonias Press, pp. 107–117.Google Scholar
Russo, S. E., Campbell, C. J., Dew, J. L., Stevenson, P. R. and Suarez, S. A. (2005). A multiforest comparison of dietary preferences and seed dispersal by Ateles spp. Int. J. Primatol., 26(5), 1017–1037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rylands, A. B., Schneider, H., Mittermeier, R. A., Groves, C. and Rodriguez-Luna, E. (2000). An assessment of the diversity of new world primates. Neotrop. Primates, 8, 61–93.Google Scholar
Sampaio, M. I., Schneider, M. P. C. and Schneider, H. (1993). Contribution of genetic distances studies to the taxonomy of Ateles, particularly Ateles paniscus paniscus and Ateles paniscus chamek. Int. J. Primatol., 14, 895–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, H., Schneider, M. P. C., Sampaio, I.et al. (1993). Molecular phylogeny of the new world monkeys. Mol. Phylogen. Evol., 2, 225–242.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shedd, D. H. and Macedonia, J. M. (1991). Metachromism and its phylogenetic implications for the genus Eulemur (Prosimii: Lemuridae). Folia Primatol., 57, 221–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shimooka, Y. (2003). Seasonal variation in association patterns of wild spider monkeys (Ateles belzebuth belzebuth) at La Macarena, Colombia. Primates, 44, 83–90.Google ScholarPubMed
Silva-Lopez, G., Motta-Gill, J. and Hernandez, A. I. (1996). Taxonomic notes on Ateles geoffroyi. Neotrop. Primates, 4, 41–44.Google Scholar
Smith, M. F. and Patton, J. L. (1993). The diversification of South American murid rodents: evidence from mitochondrial DNA sequence data for the Akodontine tribe. Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 50, 149–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stevenson, P. R., Quiñones, M. J. and Ahumada, J. A. (1998). Effects of fruit patch availability on feeding subgroup size and spacing patterns in four primate species at Tinigua National Park, Colombia. Int. J. Primatol., 19, 313–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sussman, R. W. and Phillips-Conroy, J. E. (1995). A survey of the distribution and density of the primates of Guyana. Int. J. Primatol., 16, 761–790.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Symington, M. M. (1987). Sex ratio and maternal rank in wild spider monkeys: when daughters disperse. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 20, 421–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Symington, M. M. (1988). Demography, ranging patterns, and activity budgets of black spider monkeys (Ateles paniscus chamek) in the Manu national park, Peru. Am. J. Primatol., 15, 45–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Symington, M. M. (1990). Fission-fusion social organization in Ateles and Pan. Int. J. Primatol., 11, 47–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Timock, J. and Vaughan, C. (2002). A census of mammal populations in Punta Leona private wildlife refuge, Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropical, 50, 134–141.Google ScholarPubMed
Van der Hammen, T. (1982). Paleoecology of tropical South America. In Biological Diversification in the Tropics, ed. Prance, G. T., New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 60–66.Google Scholar
van Roosmalen, M. G. M. (1980). Habitat preferences, diet, feeding strategy, and social organization of the black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus paniscus) in Surinam. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Wageningen, Netherlands.
Wallace, R. B., Painter, R. L. E., Taber, A. B. and Ayres, J. M. (1996). Notes on a distributional river boundary and southern range extension for two species of Amazonian primates. Neotrop. Primates, 4, 149–151.Google Scholar
White, B. N. (1986). The isthmian link, antitropicality and American biogeography: distributional history of the Atherinopsinae (Pisces: Atherinidae). Syst. Zool., 35, 176–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfheim, J. H. (1983). Primates of the World: Distribution, Abundance, and Conservation. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, pp. 246–256.Google Scholar
Yanez, A. H. (1991). Conservation of Mexican spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus) on the west end of the Sierra Madre of Chiapas, Mexico. Am. J. Primatol., 24, 108.Google Scholar
Youlatos, D. (2003). Multivariate analysis of organismal and habitat parameters in two Neotropical primate communities. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 123, 181–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×