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{{Short description|Genus of mammals belonging to the New World monkeys}}
{{Other uses|undefined = }}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|name = Spider monkey<ref name=msw3/>
|image = Ateles fusciceps Colombia.JPG
|image_caption = [[Black-headed spider monkey]] (''Ateles fusciceps'')
|taxon = Ateles
|authority = [[Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|É. Geoffroy]], 1806
|type_species = ''[[Simia paniscus]]''
|type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
|range_map = Spider monkey (Ateles) range.png
|range_map_caption = Range of the spider monkeys
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision = See text
}}

'''Spider monkeys''' are [[New World monkey]]s belonging to the [[genus]] '''''Ateles''''', part of the subfamily [[Atelinae]], family [[Atelidae]]. Like other atelines, they are found in [[tropical forest]]s of Central and South America, from southern [[Mexico]] to [[Brazil]]. The genus consists of seven species, all of which are under threat; the [[brown spider monkey]] is critically endangered. They are also notable for their ability to be easily [[Monkey breeding|bred]] in captivity.

Disproportionately long limbs and long [[prehensile tail]]s make them one of the largest New World monkeys and give rise to their common name. Spider monkeys live in the upper layers of the [[rainforest]] and [[forage]] in the high canopy, from {{convert|25|to|30|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Lang2007">{{cite web |last=Cawthon Lang |first=K.A. |date=April 10, 2007 |title=Primate factsheets: black spider monkey (''Ateles fusciceps'') taxonomy, morphology, and ecology |publisher=Wisconsin Primate Research Center (WPRC) |url=http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/black_spider_monkey |access-date=May 20, 2009 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807105207/http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/black_spider_monkey |url-status=live }}</ref> They primarily eat fruits, but will also occasionally consume leaves, flowers, and insects.<ref name="Lang2007"/> Due to their large size, spider monkeys require large tracts of moist evergreen forests, and prefer undisturbed primary rainforest.<ref name="Lang2007"/> They are social animals and live in bands of up to 35 individuals, but will split up to forage during the day.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Spider monkey |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |year=2009 |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559849/spider-monkey |access-date=May 20, 2009 |archive-date=September 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904153912/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559849/spider-monkey |url-status=live }}</ref>

Recent [[meta-analysis|meta-analyses]] on [[primate cognition]] studies indicated spider monkeys are the most intelligent New World monkeys.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Deaner, R.O. |author2=van Schaik, C.P. |author3=Johnson, V.E. |name-list-style=amp |year=2006 |title=Do some taxa have better domain-general cognition than others? A meta-analysis |journal=Evolutionary Psychology |volume=4 |pages=149–196 |doi=10.1177/147470490600400114 |s2cid=16702785 |doi-access=free}}</ref> They can produce a wide range of sounds and will "bark" when threatened; other vocalisations include a whinny similar to a horse and prolonged screams.<ref name="Britannica"/>

They are an important food source due to their large size, so are widely hunted by local human populations; they are also threatened by [[habitat destruction]] due to logging and land clearing.<ref name="Britannica"/> Spider monkeys are susceptible to malaria and are used in laboratory studies of the disease.<ref name="Britannica"/> The population trend for spider monkeys is decreasing; the [[IUCN Red List]] lists one species as [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]], five species as [[endangered species|endangered]] and one species as [[Critically endangered species|critically endangered]].

==Evolutionary history==
Theories abound about the evolution of the [[Atelinae|atelines]]; one theory is they are most closely related to the [[Muriqui|woolly spider monkey]]s (''Brachyteles''), and most likely split from woolly monkeys (''[[Lagothrix]]'') in the South American lowland forest, to evolve their unique locomotory system.<ref name="Kinzey1997">{{cite book |author=Kinzey, W.G. |title=New world primates: ecology, evolution, and behavior |publisher=Aldine Transaction |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-202-01186-8}}</ref> This theory is not supported by fossil evidence. Other theories include ''[[Brachyteles]]'', ''Lagothrix'' and ''Ateles'' in an unresolved [[Speciation|trichotomy]],<ref>{{cite book |author=Ford, S.M. |year=1986 |chapter=Systematics of the New World monkeys |title=Comparative Primate Biology, Volume I: Systematics, Evolution and Anatomy |editor=Swindler, D.R. |editor2=Erwin, J. |pages=73–135 |publisher=Alan R. Liss |location=New York}}</ref> and two clades, one composed of ''Ateles'' and ''Lagothrix'' and the other of ''[[Alouatta]]'' and ''Brachyteles''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Kay, R.F. |year=1990 |title=The phyletic relationships of extant and fossil Pitheciinae (Platyrrhini, Anthropoidea) |journal=[[Journal of Human Evolution]] |volume=19 |issue=1–2 |pages=175–208 |doi=10.1016/0047-2484(90)90016-5|bibcode=1990JHumE..19..175K }}</ref> More recent molecular evidence suggests the Atelinae split in the middle to late [[Miocene]] (13 [[Megaannum|Ma]]), separating spider monkeys from the woolly spider monkeys and the woolly monkeys.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Schneider, H. |title=The current status of the New World monkey phylogeny |journal=Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |volume=72 |year=2000 |doi=10.1590/S0001-37652000000200005 |issue=2 |pages=165–172 |pmid=10932115 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Taxonomic classification == 
The genus name ''Ateles'' derives from the [[ancient greek]] word {{wikt-lang|grc|ἀτέλεια}} ({{grc-transl|ἀτέλεια}}), meaning "incomplete, imperfect",<ref>{{Cite book |title=Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français |last=Bailly |first=Anatole |date=1981 |publisher=Hachette |isbn=978-2010035289 |location=Paris |oclc=461974285}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tabularium.be/bailly/ |title=Greek-French dictionary online |last=Bailly |first=Anatole |website=www.tabularium.be |access-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000653/http://www.tabularium.be/bailly/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in reference to the reduced or non-existent thumbs of spider monkeys.

The genus contains seven species, and seven subspecies.<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=150–151|id=12100392}}</ref>

*'''Family [[Atelidae]]'''
**Subfamily [[Howler monkey|Alouattinae]]: howler monkeys 
**Subfamily [[Atelinae]]
***'''Genus ''Ateles''''': spider monkeys
****[[Red-faced spider monkey]], ''Ateles paniscus''
****[[White-fronted spider monkey]], ''Ateles belzebuth''
****[[Peruvian spider monkey]], ''Ateles chamek''
****[[Brown spider monkey]], ''Ateles hybridus''
****[[White-cheeked spider monkey]], ''Ateles marginatus''
****[[Black-headed spider monkey]], ''Ateles fusciceps''
*****[[Brown-headed spider monkey]], ''Ateles fusciceps fusciceps''
*****[[Colombian spider monkey]], ''Ateles fusciceps rufiventris''
****[[Geoffroy's spider monkey]], ''Ateles geoffroyi''
*****[[Hooded spider monkey]] ''Ateles geoffroyi grisescens''
*****[[Yucatan spider monkey]], ''Ateles geoffroyi yucatanensis''
*****[[Mexican spider monkey]], ''Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus''
*****[[Nicaraguan spider monkey]], ''Ateles geoffroyi geoffroyi''
*****[[Ornate spider monkey]], ''Ateles geoffroyi ornatus''
***'''Genus ''[[Muriqui|Brachyteles]]''''': muriquis (woolly spider monkeys) 
***'''Genus ''[[Woolly monkey|Lagothrix]]''''': woolly monkeys

==Anatomy and physiology==
[[File:Spider monkey -Belize Zoo-8b.jpg|thumb|[[Geoffroy's spider monkey]]]]
[[File:Spider Monkey Skeleton.jpg|thumb|Spider monkey [[skeleton]] on display at [[The Museum of Osteology]], [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]]]
Spider monkeys are among the largest New World monkeys; [[black-headed spider monkey]]s, the largest spider monkey, have an average weight of {{convert|11|kg}} for males and {{convert|9.66|kg|lb|abbr=on}} for females.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Youlatos, D. |year=2002 |title=Positional behavior of black spider monkeys (''Ateles paniscus'') in French Guiana |journal=[[International Journal of Primatology]] |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=1071–93 |doi=10.1023/A:1019602116805 |s2cid=28478677}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Di Fiore, A.  |author2=Campbell, C.J. |name-list-style=amp |year=2007 |chapter=The atelines: variation in ecology, behavior, and social organization |title=Primates in Perspective |editor=Campbell, C.J. |editor2=Fuentes, A. |editor3=MacKinnon, K.C. |editor4=Panger, M. |editor5=Bearder, S.K. |location=New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=155–85}}</ref> Disproportionately long, spindly limbs inspired the spider monkey's [[common name]]. Their deftly [[prehensile tail]]s,<ref>{{cite book |author=Benson, Elizabeth P. |title=Birds and Beasts of Ancient Latin America |page=60 |isbn=9780813015187 |year=1997|publisher=University Press of Florida }}</ref> which may be up to {{convert|89|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, have very flexible, hairless tips and skin grooves similar to [[fingerprint]]s. This adaptation to their strictly [[arboreal]] lifestyle serves as a fifth hand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Swing through the trees With amazing spider monkeys |url=http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/150512-spider-monkeys-prehensile-tails-vin?sf9136397=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005050620/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/150512%2Dspider%2Dmonkeys%2Dprehensile%2Dtails%2Dvin?sf9136397%3D1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 5, 2017 |website=video.nationalgeographic.com |access-date=May 13, 2015}}</ref> When the monkey walks, its arms practically drag on the ground. Unlike many monkeys, they do not use their arms for balance when walking, instead relying on their tails. The hands are long, narrow, and hook-like and have reduced or nonexistent thumbs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spider monkeys |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/spider-monkeys/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222212651/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/spider-monkeys/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |website=[[National Geographic (magazine) |National Geographic]] |date=10 September 2010 |access-date=June 20, 2017}}</ref> The fingers are elongated and recurved.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/rainforests/spidermonkey.html |title=Rainforest spider monkey |publisher=Animal Corner |date=November 11, 2013 |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=July 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726050137/http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/rainforests/spidermonkey.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Their hair is coarse, ranging in color from ruddy gold to brown and black, or white in a rare number of specimens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150417-ghost-monkey-albino-bear-elephant-animals-science |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418035656/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150417-ghost-monkey-albino-bear-elephant-animals-science/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2015 |date=April 17, 2015 |title=Watch incredibly rare white monkeys ghost through a forest |publisher=National Geographic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: rare ghost monkeys filmed in Colombia |url=http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/150417-ghost-monkeys-colombia-vin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423054035/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/150417-ghost-monkeys-colombia-vin |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 23, 2015 |website=video.nationalgeographic.com |access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref> The hands and feet are usually black. Heads are small with hairless faces. The [[nostril]]s are very far apart, which is a distinguishing feature of spider monkeys.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gorog, A. |url=http://www.animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ateles_geoffroyi.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040224101830/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ateles_geoffroyi.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 24, 2004 |work=[[Animal Diversity Web]] |title=''Ateles geoffroyi'' |access-date=October 2, 2007}}</ref>

Spider monkeys are highly agile, and they are said to be second only to the [[gibbon]]s in this respect. They have been seen in the wild jumping from tree to tree.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/392092 |author=Rosenberger, Alfred L. |author2=Halenar, Lauren |author3=Cooke, Siobhán B. |author4=Hartwig, Walter C. |name-list-style=amp |title=Spider Monkeys: The Biology, Behavior and Ecology of the Genus ''Ateles'' |pages=19–49 |publisher=[[Academia.edu]] |date=March 15, 2008 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511721915.002 |chapter=Morphology and evolution of the spider monkey, genus ''Ateles'' |isbn=9780511721915}}</ref>

{{anchor|Pseudo-penis}}
Female spider monkeys have a [[clitoris]] that is especially developed; it may be referred to as a [[pseudo-penis]] because it has an interior passage, or urethra, that makes it almost identical to the [[penis]], and retains and distributes urine droplets as the female moves around. This urine is emptied at the bases of the clitoris, and collects in skin folds on either side of a groove on the perineal.<ref name="Dixson">{{cite book |last=Dixson |first=Alan F. |title=Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans |isbn=978-0-19-954464-6 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2012 |page=364}}</ref> Researchers and observers of spider monkeys of South America look for a scrotum to determine the animal sex because these female spider monkeys have pendulous and erectile clitorises long enough to be mistaken for a penis; researchers may also determine the animal's sex by identifying [[Territory (animal)#Scent marking|scent-marking]] glands that may be present on the clitoris.<ref name="Roughgarden, 2004">{{cite book |last=Roughgarden |first=Joan |year=2004 |title=Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-24073-5 |page=40}}</ref>

==Behavior==
[[File:BrownSpiderMonkey (edit2).jpg|thumb|left|175px|As is the case with all species of spider monkeys, the [[brown spider monkey]] is [[threatened]] by hunting and habitat loss.]]

Spider monkeys form loose groups, typically with 15 to 25 individuals,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/f/SpiderMonkey.pdf |title=Spider monkey fact sheet |publisher=World Animal Foundation |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111012405/http://www.worldanimalfoundation.net/f/SpiderMonkey.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> but sometimes up to 30 or 40.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dept.lamar.edu/biology/Belize%20study%20abroad/critter%20pages%2012/Spider%20Monkey.htm |title=Spider monkey |publisher=[[Lamar University]] |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111010943/http://dept.lamar.edu/biology/Belize%20study%20abroad/critter%20pages%2012/Spider%20Monkey.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=journal>{{cite thesis |author=Weghorst, Jennifer Anne |title=Behavioral Ecology and Fission-fusion Dynamics of Spider Monkeys (''Ateles geoffroyi'') in Lowland Wet Forest |publisher=[[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University]] |type=PhD dissertation |place=St. Louis, Missouri |year=2007 |pages=191–192 |isbn=9780549465928 |id={{ProQuest|3299985}} }}</ref> During the day, groups break up into subgroups. The size of subgroups and the degree to which they avoid each other during the day depends on food competition and the risk of predation. The average subgroup size is between 2 and 8<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.planetwildlife.com/information/species/spider-monkey?section=behaviour |title=Spider monkey |publisher=Planet Wild Life |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112051029/http://www.planetwildlife.com/information/species/spider-monkey?section=behaviour |url-status=live }}</ref> but can sometimes be up to 17 animals.<ref name=journal/> Also less common in primates, females rather than males disperse at [[puberty]] to join new groups. Males tend to stick together for their whole lives. Hence, males in a group are more likely to be related and have closer bonds than females. Males also cement bonds through "grappling": prolonged hugging, face greeting, tail intertwining, and genital manipulation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gottstein |first=Malika |date=August 7, 2024 |title=Same-sex sexual behavior in brown-headed spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps fusciceps) during grappling between two subadult males |journal=Primates |volume=65 |issue=5 |pages=379–382 |doi=10.1007/s10329-024-01147-3 |doi-access=free |pmid=39110296 |pmc=11335772 }}</ref> However, the strongest social bonds are between females and their young offspring.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://animals.pawnation.com/spider-monkeys-life-canopy-3385.html |author=Agnew, Corrie |title=A spider monkey's life in the canopy |publisher=PawNation |work=[[Demand Media]] |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111020944/http://animals.pawnation.com/spider-monkeys-life-canopy-3385.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Spider monkey hanging out on a boat in Belize.jpg|thumb|Spider monkey standing at the edge of a boat]]

Spider monkeys communicate their intentions and observations using postures and stances, such as postures of sexual receptivity and of attack. When a spider monkey sees a human approaching, it barks loudly similar to a dog. When a monkey is approached, it climbs to the end of the branch it is on and shakes it vigorously to scare away the possible threat. It shakes the branches with its feet, hands, or a combination while hanging from its tail. It may also scratch its limbs or body with various parts of its hands and feet. Seated monkeys may sway and make noise. Males and occasionally adult females growl menacingly at the approach of a human. If the pursuer continues to advance, the monkeys may break off live or dead tree limbs weighing up to {{convert|4|kg}} and drop them towards the intruder. The monkeys also defecate and urinate toward the intruder.<ref name=JoM/>

Spider monkeys are [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] and spend the night sleeping in carefully selected trees. Groups are thought to be directed by a lead female, which is responsible for planning an efficient feeding route each day. [[Personal grooming|Grooming]] is not as important to social interaction, owing perhaps to a lack of thumbs.<ref name=macalester>{{cite web |url=http://www.macalester.edu/~montgomery/spidermonkey.html |title=Spider monkey |publisher=Mac Como Zoo |work=[[Macalester College]] |access-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111010948/http://www.macalester.edu/~montgomery/spidermonkey.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Spider monkeys have been observed avoiding the upper canopy of the trees for locomotion.<ref name=chapmanresearch>{{cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579f7a82e3df28bd59b244eb/t/580faa196b8f5b70e6111e9c/1477421596907/Association+patterns+of+spider+monkeys.pdf |title=Association patterns of spider monkeys: the influence of ecology and sex on social organization |publisher=[[Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology]] |year=1990 |volume=26 |pages=409–414 |access-date=2021-10-06 |archive-date=2021-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006100234/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/579f7a82e3df28bd59b244eb/t/580faa196b8f5b70e6111e9c/1477421596907/Association+patterns+of+spider+monkeys.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> One researcher speculated this was because the thin branches at the tops of trees do not support the monkeys as well.<ref>Allen, William (English cardinal). "On standby for the new ark: if spider monkeys are chosen to ride out the 'demographic winter,' here is what latter-day Noahs will have to know." The Sciences 34.n5 (Sept-Oct 1994): 15(3). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. BENTLEY UPPER SCHOOL LIBRARY (BAISL). 6 Oct. 2009
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=EAIM {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303002225/http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=EAIM |date=2013-03-03 }}</ref>

At {{convert|107|g}}, the spider monkey [[brain]] is twice the size of the brain of a [[howler monkey]] of equivalent body size;<ref>{{cite book |author=Milton, Katharine
 |title=Diet and Primate Evolution |chapter=Nutritional anthropology: biocultural perspectives on food and nutrition |journal=Scientific American |editor1=Goodman, Alan |editor2=Dufour, Darna |editor3=Pelto, Gretel |place=Mountain View, California |publisher=[[Mayfield Publishing Company]] |year=2000 |volume=269 |issue=2 |pages=46–54 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0893-86 |pmid=8351513}}</ref> this is thought to be a result of the spider monkeys' complex social system and their [[frugivorous]] diets, which consist primarily of ripe fruit from a wide variety (over 150 species) of plants. This requires the monkeys to remember when and where fruit can be found. The slow development may also play a role: the monkeys may live from 20<ref name=iwe>{{cite book |author=Burton, Maurice |author2=Burton, Robert |name-list-style=amp |title=International Wildlife Encyclopedia |year=2002 |pages=2477–2479 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |isbn=9780761472667}}</ref> to 27 years or more, and females give birth once every 17 to 45 months.<ref>{{cite book |author=Henderson, Carrol L. |title=Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica |year=2002 |page=454 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=9780292734593}}</ref> Gummy, presumably the oldest spider monkey in captivity, is presumed to have been born wild in 1962, resided at Fort Rickey Children's Discovery Zoo located in Rome, New York,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fortrickey.com/oldest-spider-monkey-in-the-world-at-fort-rickey/ |title=Oldest spider monkey in the world at Fort Rickey |publisher=Fort Rickey Children's Discover Zoo |work=Fort Rickey Children's Discovery Zoo |access-date=November 13, 2014 |date=December 29, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410180527/https://www.fortrickey.com/oldest-spider-monkey-in-the-world-at-fort-rickey/|archive-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref> and died at the age of 61, after living about twice as long as the average spider monkey.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/2023/06/08/fort-rickey-gummy-oldest-spider-monkey-has-died/70301508007/ |title=She was one of the world's oldest spider monkeys. Fort Rickey zoo mourns loss of Gummy |last1=Harris |first1=Edward |newspaper=Utica Observer dispatch |date=8 June 2023 |access-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

==Diet==
[[File:Spider Monkey, Tortuguero.jpg|thumb|right|Geoffroy's spider monkey (''Ateles geoffroyi'') browsing, showing the exceptionally long limbs that give them their name.]]
Spider monkeys eat fleshy fruits 71 to 83 percent of the time.<ref name=chapmanresearch/> They can live for long periods on only one or two kinds of fruits and nuts. They eat the fruits of many big forest trees, and because they swallow fruits whole, the [[seed]]s are eventually excreted and [[fertilizer|fertilized]] by the [[feces]]. Studies show the diet of spider monkeys changes their reproductive, social, and physical behavioral patterns. Most feeding happens from dawn to 10 am. Afterward, the adults rest while the young play. Through the rest of the day, they may feed infrequently until around 10 pm. If food is scarce, they may eat [[insect]]s, leaves, bird eggs, [[Bark (botany)|bark]] and [[honey]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Wildlife and Plants |year=2007 |publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish Corporation]] |edition=3rd |volume=16 |page=1009 |isbn=9780761477105}}</ref>

Spider monkeys have a unique way of getting food: a lead female is generally responsible for finding food sources. If she cannot find enough food for the group, it splits into smaller groups that forage separately.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} The traveling groups have four to nine animals. Each group is closely associated with its territory.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gordon |first=Nick |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/features/192index.shtml |magazine=[[BBC Wildlife]] |title=Monkey business |access-date=October 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712231913/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/features/192index.shtml |archive-date=July 12, 2007}}</ref> If the group is big, it spreads out.

==Reproduction==
The female chooses a male from her group for mating. Both males and females use "anogenital sniffing" to check their mates for readiness for copulation.  The [[gestation]] period ranges from 226 to 232 days. Each female bears only one offspring on average, every three to four years.<ref name=macalester/>

Until six to ten months of age, infants rely completely on their mothers.<ref name=JoM>{{cite journal |last=Carpenter |first=C.R. |journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=171–180 |title=Behavior of red spider monkeys in Panama |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-mammalogy_1935-08_16_3/page/n1 |date=1935 |doi=10.2307/1374442 |jstor=1374442}}</ref> Males are not involved in raising the offspring.

A mother carries her infant around her belly for the first month after birth. After this, she carries it on her lower back. The infant wraps its tail around its mother's and tightly grabs her midsection.<ref name=iwe/> Mothers are very protective of their young and are generally attentive mothers. They have been seen grabbing their young and putting them on their backs for protection and to help them navigate from tree to tree. They help the more independent young to cross by pulling branches closer together. Mothers also groom their young.

Male spider monkeys are one of the few primates that do not have a penis bone ([[baculum]]).<ref name="Campbell2008">{{cite book |author=Campbell, Christina J. |title=Spider Monkeys: The Biology, Behavior and Ecology of the Genus ''Ateles'' |date=September 25, 2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-58310-4}}</ref><ref name="Harvey2012">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/researchers-in-museums/2012/11/26/how-did-man-lose-his-penis-bone/ |title=How did man lose his penis bone? |first=Suzanne |last=Harvey |publisher=University College London |work=Researchers In Museums |date=November 26, 2012 |access-date=May 10, 2016 |archive-date=October 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025002454/http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/researchers-in-museums/2012/11/26/how-did-man-lose-his-penis-bone/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Cultural depictions==
[[File:Cylinder Vase with spider monkeys, 650-750 AD, Maya culture, central Peten lowlands, Belize or Guatemala, earthenware with brown-black slip - Gardiner Museum, Toronto - DSC01166.JPG|thumb|alt=Pic|[[Maya ceramics|Maya vase]] depicting a spider monkey, 650–750 AD]]

Spider monkeys are found in many aspects of the [[Mesoamerica]]n cultures. In the Aztec 260-day calendar, Spider Monkey (Nahua ''Ozomatli'') serves as the name for the 11th day. In the corresponding Maya calendar, [[Howler Monkey]] (Batz) is substituted for Spider Monkey.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bingham, Ann |title=South and Meso-American Mythology A to Z |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing|Facts on File Inc.]] |year=2004 |page=77 |isbn=978-0-8160-4889-2}}</ref> In present-day Maya religious feasts, spider monkey impersonators serve as a kind of demonic clowns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mesoamerica-foundation.org/cultureandhistory/themayamonkey.html |title=The Maya monkey |publisher=Meso-America Foundation |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112055912/http://www.mesoamerica-foundation.org/cultureandhistory/themayamonkey.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In Classical Maya art, they are ubiquitous, often shown carrying cacao pods.

''[[Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys]]'' features a spider monkey named Spydor who is the smallest of the crew.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Ateles}}
{{Wikispecies|Ateles|spider monkey}}

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{{Haplorhini|S.}}
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[[Category:Spider monkeys| ]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Amazon]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire]]