biology

Red-faced spider monkey

Red-faced spider monkey is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Red-faced spider monkey rather than just read about it. In short: The red-faced spider monkey (Ateles paniscus), also known as the Guiana spider monkey or red-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey found in the rain forests in northern South America. The species faces issues with hunting and habitat loss, so is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist.

Key takeaways

Red-faced spider monkey belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Red-faced spider monkey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Red-faced spider monkey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The red-faced spider monkey (Ateles paniscus), also known as the Guiana spider monkey or red-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey found in the rain forests in northern South America. The species faces issues with hunting and habitat loss, so is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist.

Description

The red-faced spider monkey has long, black hair and a red or pink face that is bare except for a few short, white hairs. Infants are born with dark faces, which lighten as they age. Sexual dimorphism in the species is small; the head-body length of the male is 55.7 cm (21.9 in) on average, while the female is around 55.2 cm (21.7 in) in length. The male weighs around 9.1 kg (20 lb), while the female weighs around 8.4 kg (19 lb). The tail is prehensile (capable of grasping) and its fingers and limbs are long, agile and strong.

Behavior The red-faced spider monkey exhibits a fission-fusion society, associating with large groups of up to 30 individuals during the night, but choosing to spend the days travelling. At night, they often sleep in large groups called bands. Bands typically consist of several females, with their respective young, along with a few males for protection. The only range size estimate was 255 ha (630 acres), of which 220 ha (540 acres) had suitable habitat. The red-faced spider monkey feeds on a variety of foods and would be considered an omnivore. It will eat termites and grubs, but also feeds on supple leaves, flowers, mature seeds, tips of roots, fungi, berries and fruit. They may also consume honey, decaying wood or tree bark. It has a gestation period of 226–232 days, is weaned after four or five years when it reaches sexual maturity, and has a life span of up to 33 years in captivity.

Habitat and distribution

The red-faced spider monkey is a habitat specialist, found in undisturbed primary rainforests, in northern Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana and Venezuela. Because of its ability to climb and jump, it tends to live in the upper layers of the rainforest trees and forages in the high canopy.

Conservation The red-faced spider monkey occurs in many protected area across its range, and is protected in the Amazon under the Amazon Animal Protection Act of 1973. It is listed by the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable.

References

Further reading Neotropical Rainforest Mammals (1997), Louise Emmons and Francois Feer MacDonald, David W. (2006). Encyclopedia of Mammals, Volume 2. Facts on File. p. 333. Burnie, David and Wilson, Don (2001). Animals. DK Publishing, Inc. p. 123. Stewart, Melissa (2008). New World Monkeys. Lerner Publications Company. p. 27-29 Redmond, Ian (2008). The Primate Family Tree. Firefly Books Ltd. p. 97

External links Primate Info Net Ateles paniscus Factsheet

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Red-faced spider monkey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Red-faced spider monkey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Red-faced spider monkey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Red-faced spider monkey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Red-faced spider monkey

In research: Red-faced spider monkey appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Red-faced spider monkey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Red-faced spider monkey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, Arboreal mammals, IUCN Red List vulnerable species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Red-faced spider monkey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Red-faced spider monkey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Red-faced spider monkey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Red-faced spider monkey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Red-faced spider monkey in simple terms?

Why does Red-faced spider monkey matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Red-faced spider monkey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Red-faced spider monkey.