Guatemalan Black Howler Monkey
The Guatemalan Black Howler (Alouatta pigra), also known as the Yucatan Howler, is an endangered species of howler monkey native to the lush rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula, which spans parts of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. As one of the largest members of the New World monkey family, the Guatemalan Black Howler can weigh up to 25 pounds for males and 14 pounds for females. Characterized by their striking black fur and long, prehensile tails, these monkeys are uniquely adapted to their arboreal lifestyle. Notably, their specialized teeth enable them to thrive on a diet primarily consisting of leaves, fruits, and the favored breadnut tree during certain seasons. Their social structure is intriguing, as they typically form groups of up to ten individuals, which facilitates foraging, grooming, and communication through their loud vocalizations—thanks to a larger hyoid bone that enhances their ability to produce sound.
Despite their impressive vocal capabilities and social interactions, Guatemalan Black Howlers are not particularly active creatures. They spend a significant portion of their day lounging and socializing rather than foraging. Eating occupies about a quarter of their daily activities, while the rest is devoted to social grooming and interactions. Female howlers reach reproductive maturity by around four years of age, while males take longer, maturing around eight years. With an average lifespan of twenty years, the Guatemalan Black Howler plays a crucial role in its ecosystem, yet it faces significant threats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warns that without immediate conservation efforts, this species could see a staggering population decline of over 60% in the next three decades, primarily due to habitat loss, poaching, and the illegal pet trade.
The plight of the Guatemalan Black Howler underscores the urgent need for conservation initiatives aimed at protecting their natural habitats and addressing the factors contributing to their endangerment. As they share their territory with the closely related Mantled Howler, the survival of these species is interconnected, making it imperative to foster a balance within their ecosystems. In light of their ecological significance and the growing threats they face, raising awareness about the Guatemalan Black Howler is essential for ensuring that future generations can appreciate and protect these remarkable primates.
The endangered
Guatemalan Black Howler
(
Alouatta pigra
) (sometimes called the Yucatan Howler or Yucatan Black Howler) is one of many species of howler monkey, which is what is known as a ‘New World’ monkey. Its range is throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, and includes the areas of Mexico, Belize, and of course Guatemala. The Guatemalan Black Howler prefers to live in very lush areas, mostly sticking to all types of rain forests such as the semi-deciduous, lowland and evergreen. Of its cousins and relatives, the Guatemalan Black Howler is the largest, and is also one of the largest ‘New World’ monkeys (which include marmosets, owl monkeys, sakis, spider, and woolly monkeys). It weighs in at 25 lbs on average in males (11-12 kg) and 14 lbs for the females (6-7 kg). Their fur is usually black and their tails are very long, and prehensile (meaning it can grab and be used to hang from branches with). They also have specialized teeth for their diet of mostly leaves, along with the males possessing a larger hyoid bone located near the vocal chords, which enables their loud calls.
The Guatemalan Black is a diurnal howler, which means it is active during the day and it sleeps at night, as well as being arboreal, meaning it dwells in the trees most of its life. They are a social species that lives in groups up to ten members strong, which helps in alerting, foraging, and general upkeep through grooming. Some groups can be as large as sixteen, while larger groups are plausible, however at these sizes it is unlikely to function as well as a smaller group. Their diets consist of mostly leaves, and fruits, however they will snack on a flower here and there and their favorite tree of all is the breadnut, which provides most food during some seasons.
Not a particularly active species, the Guatemalan Black Howler would rather lounge about during the day; eating takes up a quarter of the day while moving locations for eating consists of only about a tenth of their daily activity. The rest of the day is devoted to socializing and grooming, with some other random antics. Females are old enough to have offspring by four years of age, while males may take up to eight years to reach maturity, and their total life-spans are an average of twenty years.
The Guatemalan Black Howler’s binomial name (its species and genus) is Alouatta pigra, the Alouatta’s as a genus make up most of the Howler Monkeys, which are the largest of the New World Monkeys with but a few possible exceptions. Alouatta is home to all of the howler monkeys (ten species and ten subspecies), and belongs to the subfamily Alouattinae. Alouattinae belongs to the family Atelidae which is one of the four families of New World Monkeys; this includes the howler monkeys, along with spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, wooly spider monkeys, and Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkeys. Atelidae belongs to the Parvorder Platyrrhini, which contains all New World Monkeys, and includes
Marmosets
and Muriquis. Platyrrhini belongs to the infraorder Simiiformes, or ‘higher primates’, and this includes all New World and Old World monkeys from South America and Africa, and includes gibbons, great apes, and the family Hominidae of which we are members. Simiiformes belongs to the Suborder Haplorrhini, otherwise called dry-nosed primates; this includes all of the higher primates as well as
Tarsiers
. Haplorrhini belongs to the Order Primates, which is all related apes, monkeys, lorids, galagos, lemurs and human ancestors. Primates are in the class of Mammalia of the phylum Chordata in the Kingdom of Animalia.
Fact
The Guatemalan Black Howler is sympatric with another species, the
Mantled Howler
. Sympatric means that they share the same niche and territory, and encounter each other in the wild, they are also closely related.
Warning
The Guatemalan Black Howler is an Endangered Species, and is close to being classified as Critically Endangered if nothing is done to curb the loss of the species. In the next 30 years the IUCN expects to see a population loss of over 60%, making this species on the more endangered alive today. Major threats are habitat loss, poaching, and capture for use as ‘pets’.
