The southern muriqui (''Brachyteles arachnoides'') is a

muriqui The muriquis, also known as woolly spider monkeys, are the monkeys of the genus ''Brachyteles''. They are closely related to both the spider monkeys and the woolly monkeys. Species The two species are: They are the two largest species ...

(woolly spider monkey)

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

endemic to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Taxonomy

Taxonomy of muriquis is controversial because some scientists believe that they are a monotypic genus while others favor a 2-species classification system.

Distribution and habitat

Southern muriquis are now found only in specific areas of the Atlantic rainforest located in Brazil, South America, more specifically they are found in the Brazilian

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Paraná,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. This

New World monkey 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 Ceboi ...

is known locally as ''mono carvoeiro'', which translates to "charcoal monkey".

Description

Muriquis are the largest New World monkeys and largest non-human native primates in the Americas. Male muriquis have a head-body length of , with a tail of and a body weight of . Females have a head-body length of , a tail length of and a body weight of . The tails are fully

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origin ...

. The southern muriqui, ''B. arachnoides'', has a solid black face, distinguishing it from the northern species, '' B. hypoxanthus'', which has a black face mottled with pink.

Diet

Southern muriqui are frugivores, which means that fruit is the preferred food type. They have been claimed to possess the most diverse fruit diet in the Atlantic, and also consume leaves, flowers and a few species of seeds (such as sapucaia, amexia-bicha, ''

Inga ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...

'', '' Bicuiba'' and jatobá). The southern muriqui can use more than one dietary type to fulfill nutrient and energy needs. Muriquis play a major role in seed dispersal and are known to provide complementary foraging opportunities for tapirs.

Behavior

Like chimpanzees, male southern muriquis are philopatric, while females immigrate to spread genetic diversity and avoid incestuous breeding with their relatives. They preferentially eat fruit, flowers, and buds and rely on tree bark and leaves as fallback food. Males within a community are tolerant of each other and intergroup aggression is rare. Although this species is nicknamed the "hippie monkey", due to their relaxed intergroup relationships, their attitude towards outsider males is far from harmonious, as a group of males was observed killing a male from outside their group (a trait shared with chimpanzees), though it is not known if this degree of aggression is natural or induced due to a lack of resources. It is unclear if Northern muriquis also exhibit this degree of aggression.

Conservation

This species is considered endangered because of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, hunting pressures, and historic population declines. Only two captive populations of the southern muriqui exist. They are housed at the zoos of

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

and

Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Cam ...

. The latter is located 80 km from the only long-term investigation of the southern muriqui in continuous forest, the Carlos Botelho State Park. The wild population was estimated at 1,300 in 2005. Muriquis are the largest neotropical species and are considered a

flagship species In conservation biology, a flagship species is a species chosen to raise support for biodiversity conservation in a given place or social context. Definitions have varied, but they have tended to focus on the strategic goals and the socio-economi ...

. In 2005, scientists, zookeepers, NGOs, and many others discussed priorities and strategies to protect muriquis from extinction. The Brazilian government in 2010 recognized the National Action Plan for the Conservation of Muriquis.

References

External links

*Pró-Muriqui Association �
Conservation Research of southern muriqui ''(Brachyteles arachnoides)''

Conservation of the Muriqui from Brazil
{{Authority control southern muriqui Endemic mammals of Brazil Primates of Brazil Fauna of the Atlantic Forest southern muriqui Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire