Yucatan black howler, Yucatán black howler
The Yucatán black howler, or Guatemalan black howler, (Alouatta pigra ) is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America. It is found in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, in and near the Yucatán Peninsula. It lives in evergreen, semideciduous and lowland rain forests. It is also known as the baboon in Belize, although it is not closely related to the baboons in Africa.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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Coal BlackThe Guatemalan black howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America. It is the largest of the howler monkey species and one of the largest of the New World monkeys. Both males and females have long, black hair and a prehensile tail, while infants have brown fur. Males of the species have an enlarged hyoid bone near the vocal cords. This hyoid bone amplifies the male howler's calls, allowing it to locate other males without expending much energy. Howling is heard primarily at dawn and dusk.
Guatemalan black howlers are found in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, in and near the Yucatan Peninsula. They live in evergreen, semideciduous rain forests, mangroves, and swamps.
Guatemalan black howlers are diurnal and arboreal animals. They live in groups of generally one or two adult males, a few females, and juveniles. Groups generally have between 2 and 10 members, but groups as large as 16 members can also occur. They are territorial creatures and their home range is between 3 and 25 hectares. As with other howler monkey species, the majority of Guatemalan black howlers' day is spent resting. Eating makes up about a quarter of the day, moving about 10% of the day, and the remainder of the day is spent socializing and doing other activities. In order to communicate with each other Guatemalan black howlers use different vocalizations. Adult males in a group often howl when approached by other males who may try to compete for the alpha rank in the troop. Howling is a loud and low call that can last for over an hour. The howls of females sound different from those of males and they also can be heard in group howling.
Guatemalan black howlers are herbivores (folivores, frugivores). Their diet includes mostly leaves and fruit but also a small part of flowers.
Guatemalan black howlers are polygynous. This means that males mate with more than one female during the breeding season. These howler monkeys can breed year-round. Females give birth to a single infant after the gestation period which usually lasts around 180 days. The mother takes care of her baby alone 12 months after birth. She also protects her infant from predators and adult males. Other females in the troop do not help raise the infant. Females in this species reach reproductive maturity at 4 years of age, and males become reproductively mature at 6-8 years of age. Males leave their natal group upon reaching maturity, but females generally remain with their natal group.
Main threats to Guatemalan black howlers include habitat loss through deforestation, hunting for food, and capture as pets. Another threat they suffer from is a disease - yellow fever epidemics.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of Guatemalan black howler total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Guatemalan black howlers disperse seeds of various plants they consume through their feces, thus highly benefiting the local ecosystem.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...