Mexican Spider Monkey Ateles geoffroyi vellerosus

The Mexican Spider Monkey is a subspecies of Geoffroy's Spider Monkey, also called the Black-handed Spider Monkey, native to forests of Mexico and Central America.

With exceptionally long limbs in relation to its body and a long, thick, prehensile tail, it is easy to see how it got the name Spider Monkey. It is large for an American monkey.

They live in large, usually female-led, social groups. Diet is vegetarian, mainly fruit. Left and centre photos in row immediately above were taken in Mexico's Yucatan by Alexandra Makhnina; the Yucatan Spider Monkey was considered a separate subspecies but is now considered the same as the Mexican.

Above are youngsters. The species is endangered mainly by extensive deforestation (loss of habitat) and by hunting.