The muriquis, also known as woolly spider monkeys, are the monkeys of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Brachyteles''. They are closely related to both the

spider monkey Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Ateles'', part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The ...

s and the

woolly monkeys The woolly monkeys are the genus ''Lagothrix'' of New World monkeys, usually placed in the family Atelidae. Both species in this genus originate from the rainforests of South America. They have prehensile tails and live in relatively large soc ...

. The two species are the southern (''B. arachnoides'') and northern (''B. hypoxanthus'') muriquis. They are the two largest species of

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 Ceboidea ...

s, and the northern species is one of the most endangered of all the world's monkeys. The muriqui is the largest monkey in South America, and it lives primarily in coffee estates in Southeastern Brazil. Males are the same size and weight as females.

References

External links

Conservation of the Muriqui from Brazil
* *
Primate Info Net ''Brachyteles'' Factsheet

Southern Muriqui Home Page
- Pró- Muriqui Association {{Taxonbar, from=Q857477

References

Further reading

External links