Mammals · Primates · Atelidae

Mantled Howler Monkey

Alouatta palliata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Its greatly enlarged hyoid bone works as a resonating chamber that amplifies its characteristic howls, audible over 5 kilometres away — among the loudest sounds any land mammal makes.

Weight

4 kg – 10 kg

Size

38 cm – 58 cm

Lifespan

16 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Herd

Lives in large groups as a strategy against predators.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

It feeds mainly on leaves, an adaptation uncommon among American primates, supplemented with fruit and flowers.
It lives in the humid and secondary tropical forest of Central America and north-western South America.
Its prehensile tail lets it hold on to branches while it feeds or rests.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Humid and secondary tropical forest of Central America and north-western South America
Birth weight: ~409 grams
Size at birth: Completely dependent, clinging to its mother's fur from birth
Sexual maturity: Female: 36 months (3 years) | Male: 42 months (3.5 years)
Gestation / incubation: ~186 days (6 months)
Litter / clutch size: 1 young, with an interval between births of ~22.5 months
Lifespan in captivity: Documented record of up to 24 years in captivity

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); PubMed (reproduction population growth study); Animal Diversity Web; BioExplorer; Animalia.bio; Instituto Asis; MSU Brain Museum; IUCN Red List