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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Vulnerable |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
| Gestation Period: | |
Habitat:
This species occurs in a mix of habitats including lowland Amazon rainforest, Marajó várzea forest, and fragments of the northern Atlantic Forest. It is not restricted to primary habitats and presents tolerance to environmental changes and disturbances, being found in mining areas in Parà (Carvalho 2010) and occupying small size regenerating fragments in Atlantic Forest (Fialho et al. 2014).
The howler monkeys are the large leaf-eaters of the South American primate communities. The molar teeth are particularly adapted for their chewing leaves through shearing. Like the spider monkeys, they are prehensile-tailed, with a naked patch of skin on the under surface at the tip. Their most characteristic feature is the deep jaws which surround the enlarged larynx and hyoid apparatus, a resonating chamber. It is with this enlarged and highly specialized voice box that they produce their howls (grunts, roars and barks). Howling sessions, usually involving the entire group, can be heard particularly in the early morning and are audible at distances of 1-2 km (Drubbel and Gautier 1993).
They can usually be seen in groups numbering from four or five or up to 11 or so individuals. There is usually only one dominant male in the group (occasionally two), others being sub-adults, or juveniles, along with a harem of two to five females. Unlike the spider monkeys, and related to the large proportion of leaves in the diet (up to 50% of the annual diet), the howler monkeys generally have quite small and broadly overlapping home ranges, of 5 ha up to 45 ha, depending on the type of habitat (Neville et al. 1988). Pina et al. (2002) studied two groups of 5-6 and 7-9 individuals (each with just one adult male and two adult females), in Caxiuanã (Pará), with home ranges of 13.5 ha and 18.05 ha, respectively. Bonvicino (1989), in Atlantic Forest (Pacatuba, Paraìba), recorded home ranges between 4.45 ha and 9.50 ha.
Howlers are the only New World primates which regularly include mature leaves in their diet, although softer, less fibrous, young leaves are preferred when they are available. Their folivory and ability to eat mature leaves is undoubtedly one of the keys to their wide distribution and the wide variety of vegetation types they inhabit. Mature fruit is the other important food item, especially wild figs (Ficus) in many regions, but they also eat leaf petioles, buds, flowers (sometimes seasonally very important), seeds, moss, stems and twigs, and termitaria. The diet of two A. belzebul groups in the Caxiuanã National Forest was studied by Souza et al. (2002). They were largely folivorous but would switch to fruits whenever available, especially during the wet season.
Size:
Adult male: HB 44-68 cm, TL 54-74.5 cm (n=18); adult female: HB 30-64.5 cm; TL 45-70 cm (n=23) (Gregorin 1996)
Adult male weight 4.7 kg (4.1-5.2) (n=8); adult female weight 3.2 kg (2.9-3.6) (n=6) (for Atlantic Forest individuals - CPB, unpublished data)
Adult male weight 7.27 kg (n=27), adult female weight 5.52 kg (n=26) (Peres 1994)
Adult male weight 6.5-8.0 kg (mean 7.3 kg, n=27), adult female weight 4.85-6.2 kg (mean 5.5 kg, n=26) (Ford and Davis 1992).
The howler monkeys are the large leaf-eaters of the South American primate communities. The molar teeth are particularly adapted for their chewing leaves through shearing. Like the spider monkeys, they are prehensile-tailed, with a naked patch of skin on the under surface at the tip. Their most characteristic feature is the deep jaws which surround the enlarged larynx and hyoid apparatus, a resonating chamber. It is with this enlarged and highly specialized voice box that they produce their howls (grunts, roars and barks). Howling sessions, usually involving the entire group, can be heard particularly in the early morning and are audible at distances of 1-2 km (Drubbel and Gautier 1993).
They can usually be seen in groups numbering from four or five or up to 11 or so individuals. There is usually only one dominant male in the group (occasionally two), others being sub-adults, or juveniles, along with a harem of two to five females. Unlike the spider monkeys, and related to the large proportion of leaves in the diet (up to 50% of the annual diet), the howler monkeys generally have quite small and broadly overlapping home ranges, of 5 ha up to 45 ha, depending on the type of habitat (Neville et al. 1988). Pina et al. (2002) studied two groups of 5-6 and 7-9 individuals (each with just one adult male and two adult females), in Caxiuanã (Pará), with home ranges of 13.5 ha and 18.05 ha, respectively. Bonvicino (1989), in Atlantic Forest (Pacatuba, Paraìba), recorded home ranges between 4.45 ha and 9.50 ha.
Howlers are the only New World primates which regularly include mature leaves in their diet, although softer, less fibrous, young leaves are preferred when they are available. Their folivory and ability to eat mature leaves is undoubtedly one of the keys to their wide distribution and the wide variety of vegetation types they inhabit. Mature fruit is the other important food item, especially wild figs (Ficus) in many regions, but they also eat leaf petioles, buds, flowers (sometimes seasonally very important), seeds, moss, stems and twigs, and termitaria. The diet of two A. belzebul groups in the Caxiuanã National Forest was studied by Souza et al. (2002). They were largely folivorous but would switch to fruits whenever available, especially during the wet season.
Size:
Adult male: HB 44-68 cm, TL 54-74.5 cm (n=18); adult female: HB 30-64.5 cm; TL 45-70 cm (n=23) (Gregorin 1996)
Adult male weight 4.7 kg (4.1-5.2) (n=8); adult female weight 3.2 kg (2.9-3.6) (n=6) (for Atlantic Forest individuals - CPB, unpublished data)
Adult male weight 7.27 kg (n=27), adult female weight 5.52 kg (n=26) (Peres 1994)
Adult male weight 6.5-8.0 kg (mean 7.3 kg, n=27), adult female weight 4.85-6.2 kg (mean 5.5 kg, n=26) (Ford and Davis 1992).
Range:
Alouatta belzebul is endemic to Brazil presenting a disjunct distribution, with a group of populations in the eastern portion of the Amazon and another in the Atlantic Forest.
The Amazonian population has its eastern boundary in the “Mata dos Cocais” in the states of Maranhão and Tocantins, where the geographic distribution coincides with the limits of the Amazon biome. The Xingu River is apparently the western boundary. In the north the species is limited by the Amazon River, although there are records of populations in southern Amapá (Gregorin 2006) and Oriximiná, Pará (Bonvicino et al. 1989). The latter may be a mistake because Oliveira et al. 2009 reported that the species occurring in Oriximiná was A. macconnelli, widely distributed on the northern bank of the Amazon River. Further surveys are needed at the headwaters of the Xingu and in the Xingu-Iriri interfluve to establish what species of Alouatta occur in these areas. At the northern end of the state of Tocantins, the species is sympatric with A. caraya with isolated populations north of the city of Babaçulândia, where Fabiano R. de Melo and Raony M. Alencar (pers. comm.) found a mixed group (A. caraya female with A. belzebul male), demonstrating the existence of a small contact zone in the region.
The Atlantic Forest population currently occurs in 18 forest fragments, one in Pernambuco, one in Rio Grande do Norte (northern limit) and the remainder in the states of Paraíba and Alagoas. The southern limit is marked by São Francisco River, the eastern by the Atlantic Ocean and the western by Coruripe locality (Coruripe, AL) (Fialho et al. 2014).
The extent of occurrence (EOO) for this species in Amazon region is larger than 800,000 km² and in the Atlantic Forest its EOO is approximately 16,600 km². The area of occupancy (AOO) of the Amazon population exceeds 2,000 km²; that of the Atlantic Forest population is estimated to be less than 160 km² (Fialho et al. 2014).
The Amazonian population has its eastern boundary in the “Mata dos Cocais” in the states of Maranhão and Tocantins, where the geographic distribution coincides with the limits of the Amazon biome. The Xingu River is apparently the western boundary. In the north the species is limited by the Amazon River, although there are records of populations in southern Amapá (Gregorin 2006) and Oriximiná, Pará (Bonvicino et al. 1989). The latter may be a mistake because Oliveira et al. 2009 reported that the species occurring in Oriximiná was A. macconnelli, widely distributed on the northern bank of the Amazon River. Further surveys are needed at the headwaters of the Xingu and in the Xingu-Iriri interfluve to establish what species of Alouatta occur in these areas. At the northern end of the state of Tocantins, the species is sympatric with A. caraya with isolated populations north of the city of Babaçulândia, where Fabiano R. de Melo and Raony M. Alencar (pers. comm.) found a mixed group (A. caraya female with A. belzebul male), demonstrating the existence of a small contact zone in the region.
The Atlantic Forest population currently occurs in 18 forest fragments, one in Pernambuco, one in Rio Grande do Norte (northern limit) and the remainder in the states of Paraíba and Alagoas. The southern limit is marked by São Francisco River, the eastern by the Atlantic Ocean and the western by Coruripe locality (Coruripe, AL) (Fialho et al. 2014).
The extent of occurrence (EOO) for this species in Amazon region is larger than 800,000 km² and in the Atlantic Forest its EOO is approximately 16,600 km². The area of occupancy (AOO) of the Amazon population exceeds 2,000 km²; that of the Atlantic Forest population is estimated to be less than 160 km² (Fialho et al. 2014).
Conservation:
Alouatta belzebul is one of the five species included in the Brazilian government conservation action planning system: Plano de Ação Nacional para a Conservação dos Primatas do Nordeste (ICMBio 2012). It is listed on Appendix II of CITES and listed as Endangered -A2cd+B2ab(ii)(iii)+C2a(i)- on Brazilian Red List (MMA 2014).
The species has been recorded from the following protected areas:
Atlantic Forest:
Amazon:
The species has been recorded from the following protected areas:
Atlantic Forest:
- Rio Grande do Norte: Mata da Estrela RPPN (2,039 ha) (Fialho et al. 2014);
- Paraíba: Guaribas Biological Reserve (4,052 ha) (re-introduced), Fazenda Pacatuba RPPN (266 ha), Engenho Gargaú RPPN (1,058 ha) and Terras Indígenas Potiguaras (Indigenous and Community Conserved Area) (Fialho et al. 2014);
- Alagoas: Murici Ecological Station (6,131), RPPN Reserva Santa Tereza (100 ha) (Fialho et al. 2014).
Amazon:
- Pará: Caxiuanã National Forest (317,946 ha) (Jardim and Oliveira 1997; Pina et al. 2002), Tapirapé Biological Reserve (99,272 ha) (Rylands and Bernardes 1989), Carajás National Forest (392,725 ha) (Carvalho et al. 2014), Tapirapé-Aquiri National Forest (196,501 ha), Igarapé Gelado Protected Area (23,285 ha) ( Carvalho unpublished data).
- Maranhão: Gurupí Biological Reserve (271,197 ha) (Rylands and Bernardes 1989) e Quilombo do Frexal Extractive Reserve (9,338 ha) (Fialho unpublished data).
- Tocantins: Araguaia National Park (562,312 ha) (Ibama 2001).