The Mexican howler (''Alouatta palliata mexicana'') is a subspecies of the

mantled howler The mantled howler (''Alouatta palliata'') is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America. It ta ...

, ''A. palliata''. This subspecies is found predominantly in forests between south eastern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and north eastern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Typical of its species, the Mexican howler monkey has a prehensile tail, a deep jaw, and a large pharynx which it uses to make characteristically deep and resonating howls. Mantled howler monkeys are known for forming unusually large cohorts averaging 14 members and sometimes extending to 40 members.

Taxonomy

There are five subspecies of the ''A. palliata'' which are ''Alouatta palliata aequatorialis'', ''Alouatta palliata coibensis'', ''Alouatta palliata palliata'', ''Alouatta palliata trabeata'' and ''Alouatta palliata mexicana''. Compared with members of the howler monkey genus, the Mexican howler is

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

with the

Guatemalan black howler Guatemalan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Guatemala * A person from Guatemala, or of Guatemalan descent. For information about the Guatemalan people, see Demographics of Guatemala and Culture of Guatemala. For spec ...

, ''A. pigra'', in

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

, Mexico. The Mexican howler differs from the

golden-mantled howler The golden-mantled howler (''Alouatta palliata palliata'') is a subspecies of the mantled howler, ''A. palliata''. It ranges throughout much of Central America, in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and possibly Panama. The range limi ...

, ''A. palliata palliata'', primarily in aspects of

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

morphology, and in some differences in pelage. The golden-mantled howler's range includes parts of Guatemala and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, and it is not clear if the Mexican and golden-mantled howler's

ranges In the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament, the word ranges has two very different meanings. Leviticus In Leviticus 11:35, ranges (כירים) probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual numbe ...

currently are in contact.

Geography

The Mexican howler monkey is primarily located between south eastern

and north eastern

.Estrada, A., Juan-Solano, S., Ortiz M.T., Coates-Estrada, R., 1999, Feeding and general activity patterns of a howler monkey (Alouatta palliata) troop living in a forest fragment at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico. American Journal of Primatology, 48(3) 167-83.

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, this subspecies was determined to be

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

. due to the loss of its natural habitat as a result of deforestation. It is now located only in patches of forestry within these regions because loss of habitat has been so extensive. Disturbances to the habitat of the Mexican howler have caused detrimental effects to the spatial organization of the different groups of howler monkeys. These groups are forced into closer proximity to each other contributing to the scarcity of food and depletion of nutrients as these monkeys are forced to scavenge.

Diet

The Mexican howler can eat a remarkable variety of foods including leaves, flower, buds, petioles, and fruits. This subspecies of howler monkey is known to be a frugivore and a behavioural

folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1 ...

s. Their digestive system is slow and they have significantly fewer enzymes for protein and fiber digestion than other frugivores, but they compensate for this by selectively eating leaves with less fiber. Consequently, much of this the Mexican howler monkey's activity is dedicated for foraging for fruit and young leaves which it can easily digest. Frugivory is typically observed in

New World monkeys New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboide ...

instead of

Old World monkeys Old World monkeys are primates in the family (biology), family Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genus, genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons (genus ''Papio''), red colo ...

, but howler monkeys are an exception to this categorization.

Behavior

This howler monkey species has compensated for its adapted digestive system by minimizing energy output as much as possible. The Mexican howler exhibits limited interaction with members of its species and very minor aggressive behavior. There is evidence of physical aggression between members of the species during migratory periods or changes in dominance. Males, when fighting for dominance, have been observed to target juveniles, sometimes even killing them, and physically injuring older males. For a younger male to take control of a group, he must first kill the dominant male, exhibiting extensive aggression. Females also show aggression when asserting dominance, though this is usually limited to harassment behavior like hair pulling and biting.Glander, K. E. (1992). Dispersal patterns in Costa Rican mantled howling monkeys. Int. J. Primatol. 13: 415–436.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3612918 Howler monkeys Mammals of Mexico Primates of Central America Primates of North America Mammals described in 1902