Editing Spider monkey (section)

==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>