Silvery woolly monkey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silvery woolly monkey |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
| Family: | Atelidae |
| Genus: | Lagothrix |
| Species: |
L. lagothricha
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| Subspecies: |
L. l. poeppigii
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| Trinomial name | |
| Lagothrix lagothricha poeppigii Schinz, 1844
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| Silvery woolly monkey range | |
| Synonyms | |
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Lagothrix poeppigii |
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The silvery woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagothricha poeppigii) is a type of common woolly monkey found in South America. It is also called Poeppig's woolly monkey or the red woolly monkey. This monkey is named after a German zoologist named Eduard Friedrich Poeppig. You can find these monkeys in countries like Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.
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What is a Silvery Woolly Monkey?
Scientists first thought the silvery woolly monkey was its own species. But later studies, especially one in 2014, showed it is actually a subspecies of the common woolly monkey. Important groups like the American Society of Mammalogists and the IUCN Red List now agree with this.
Where Silvery Woolly Monkeys Live
Silvery woolly monkeys live in the Amazonia. They prefer to live in old, dense rainforests where the trees form a thick roof, called a canopy.
How Silvery Woolly Monkeys Move Around
Usually, male silvery woolly monkeys stay in their birth groups, while females tend to move to new groups. This is called female-biased dispersal. However, recent studies of their genes show that both males and females might move to new groups.
Both young males and females can move to new groups before or after they become adults. But females usually leave their birth groups to find a mate. Males might move to new groups to avoid mating with family members or to find better chances to have babies.
Silvery Woolly Monkey Social Life
Silvery woolly monkeys live in groups that include both males and females. These groups usually have about 20 to 25 monkeys.
Silvery Woolly Monkey Behavior
Compared to other monkeys in their family, silvery woolly monkeys spend less time resting. They also spend a small amount of their day socializing with each other, usually about 8% to 9% of their active time.
Male silvery woolly monkeys are very peaceful with each other. Even when different groups meet and there's a disagreement, the males are usually tolerant. Young males often spend time with adult males. Young females, however, mostly stay with their mothers until they leave their birth group.
Social Play Among Monkeys
Silvery woolly monkeys like to play. They chase and wrestle in small groups of 2 to 5 monkeys. Young monkeys play the most, and there isn't much difference in how much males and females play.
Grooming Habits
Grooming, which is when monkeys clean each other's fur, is not very common among silvery woolly monkeys. When they do groom, it's usually for short periods. There are differences in how much grooming males and females receive.
Silvery Woolly Monkey Reproduction
Female silvery woolly monkeys rarely have babies before they leave their birth group. Females usually become ready to have babies earlier than males. After a female moves to a new group, she waits about a year before she starts having babies. This delay might be because she isn't fully grown yet or because of social rules within the new group.
Female monkeys don't like it when other females in their group are mating. But male monkeys are okay with other males mating. When a female wants to mate, she might show an open-mouthed grin and shake her head towards a male. Both males and females sometimes make this expression during mating.
Silvery woolly monkeys usually have babies between May and September. This time of year has less fruit available. They tend to get pregnant when there is more fruit available.
Silvery Woolly Monkey Development
Silvery woolly monkeys are considered babies until they are about 6 months old. They learn to move around on their own by the time they are 2 years old. They usually become fully independent from their mothers and group after 3 years.
What Silvery Woolly Monkeys Eat
Silvery woolly monkeys spend most of their day finding food. They eat plants and also hunt for small animals. Their diet is mostly fruit, about 64% to 89% of what they eat is ripe or nearly ripe fruit. They often spit out the seeds of fruits and only eat the soft part. They spend about 17% of their time looking for food, usually in large groups.
See also
In Spanish: Mono lanudo plateado para niños
