Brown-headed Spider Monkeys
Ateles fusciceps (fusciceps)
Our first full morning of birding was marked by a torrent of new and unfamiliar birds, and far too many voracious mosquitoes whose abilities to bite clean through normally impenetrable 'performance clothing' were unprecedented !
One thing we did not expect to encounter was a troop of Spider Monkeys - we were really scratching our heads - what was even possible here ?
It turned out that these were a fragment of the already critically endangered population of Brown-headed Spider Monkeys, which are often considered a subspecies of Black-headed Spider Monkey. Given the rapid reassessment of primate taxonomy that keeps subdividing into new species, I wouldn't be surprised if these are given full species status at some point.
Brown-headed Spider Monkeys
Ateles fusciceps (fusciceps)
Our first full morning of birding was marked by a torrent of new and unfamiliar birds, and far too many voracious mosquitoes whose abilities to bite clean through normally impenetrable 'performance clothing' were unprecedented !
One thing we did not expect to encounter was a troop of Spider Monkeys - we were really scratching our heads - what was even possible here ?
It turned out that these were a fragment of the already critically endangered population of Brown-headed Spider Monkeys, which are often considered a subspecies of Black-headed Spider Monkey. Given the rapid reassessment of primate taxonomy that keeps subdividing into new species, I wouldn't be surprised if these are given full species status at some point.