Black monkeys are primates that have fur or skin that appears mostly or entirely black or dark brown in color. They inhabit various regions around the world especially in tropical and subtropical forests in South America Africa, and Asia.
While often stereotyped as aggressive, black monkeys actually exhibit a wide range of social behaviors and live in diverse types of groups Their black fur provides camouflage from predators and helps regulate body temperature in hot, humid environments
Here are 33 of the most notable types of black monkeys found in the wild:
1. Mantled Howler Monkey
The Mantled Howler Monkey is found in forests from Mexico to Peru Adults are almost completely black except for the genitals of mature males which become white
These large monkeys are famous for their loud howls that can be heard up to 3 miles away. They live in small groups led by a dominant male and spend most of their time resting and eating leaves high up in trees.
2. Yucatán Black Howler Monkey
Endemic to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, this species lives in groups as small as just 2-3 individuals. Females tend to outnumber males by nearly 3 to 1. Their extremely loud howls serve to communicate over long distances between fragmented forest habitats.
3. Black Capuchin
Native to parts of Brazil and Argentina, the Black Capuchin has black fur on its chest, legs, hands and parts of its back. This omnivorous monkey is quite aggressive, even killing infants of other groups to increase resources.
4. Dusky Leaf Monkey
Inhabiting Malaysia and parts of Indonesia, the Dusky Leaf Monkey has black, brown or dark grey fur. Infants are born with bright orange fur that darkens with age. These arboreal primates are highly territorial, living in small groups dominated by a single male.
5. Black-and-Gold Howler Monkey
Males of this large Brazilian species have long, black fur while females have golden brown or reddish fur. Their loud howls can be heard up to 3 miles away. They feed mostly on leaves and fruits high up in the rainforest canopy.
6. Black-Mantled Tamarin
One of the smaller monkey species, the Black-Mantled Tamarin of Peru and Brazil has almost entirely black fur. They live in groups and forage on a varied diet of fruits, flowers, insects and small vertebrates.
7. Purple-Faced Langur
This black primate inhabits forests in Sri Lanka, feeding on leaves, flowers and fruits. Despite their name, adults do not have purple faces, rather bare black or dark brown skin. They live in troops of 1-2 males and up to 10 females.
8. Black-Faced Black Spider Monkey
As their name suggests, this large monkey has black fur and facial skin. Their long arms and prehensile tails help them adeptly swing through the rainforest canopy in parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Troops are comprised of 15-25 individuals.
9. Grey-Cheeked Mangabey
This threatened species from the Congo Basin has black fur and grey cheeks and shoulders. Groups contain up to 75 members. Males regularly fight to gain dominance and access to breeding females.
10. Celebes Crested Macaque
With entirely black fur and a distinctive crest of hair on its head, this macaque is endemic to Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. It spends most of its time on the ground rather than in trees. Destruction of its forest habitat has led to conflict with nearby human settlements.
11. Buffy-Tufted Marmoset
Weighing under 1 pound, this tiny monkey has black fur with white ear tufts and facial markings. Unlike most other monkeys, it eats mainly insects and sap. They live in pairs or small family groups in the threatened Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.
12. Banded Surili
Occurring on Sumatra and nearby islands, the Banded Surili is black with white facial markings and stripes on its sides. It has a very long tail, often longer than its body. These monkeys inhabit primary and secondary rainforests up to 10,000 feet in elevation.
13. Javan Langur
Found only on Indonesia’s island of Java, the Javan Langur has shiny black fur. Infants are born with orange fur that gradually darkens as they mature over one year. Troops contain up to 15 individuals led by a single dominant male.
14. Miller’s Saki
Miller’s Saki monkey inhabits rainforests across a wide range in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It has long, shaggy black fur and a pale face with white patches around the mouth and eyes. They feed on fruits, seeds, leaves and insects.
15. Black-Shanked Douc
This colorful monkey from Vietnam and Laos has black legs and white forearms and thighs. High demand for the exotic pet trade has decimated its population by more than 50% in the past 36 years. Only about 600-700 individuals remain in the wild.
16. Putty-Nosed Monkey
Putty-nosed Monkeys in Nigeria and Cameroon have black fur with white ear tufts and chest patches. Their name comes from the white, putty-like nose unique to the species. Groups contain up to 80 individuals that utilize various loud calls to communicate.
17. West Javan Langur
This critically endangered primate is endemic to western Java, Indonesia. Adults are mostly black with some gray hairs interspersed. Larger troops comprise up to 15 individuals while smaller groups are usually just a single male and 2-3 females.
18. Golden-Handed Tamarin
The tiny Golden-handed Tamarin of northeastern Brazil is mostly black with brown fur on its back and bright orange on its hands and feet. It lives in groups of 2-8 individuals that forage for insects, fruits and sap.
19. Brown-Headed Spider Monkey
Ranging from eastern Panama to western Colombia, this lanky monkey has long black fur and a brown head. Its extremely long tail helps it balance while climbing using all four limbs through the upper rainforest canopy.
20. Phayre’s Leaf Monkey
Phayre’s Leaf Monkey occurs from northeast India to southern China. It has black fur interspersed with silver and white hairs. Bare skin on the face ranges from black to pinkish. Groups called “harems” consist of one male with several females and offspring.
21. Guiana Spider Monkey
This South American monkey has long black fur and a pink or red face. Despite lacking an opposable thumb, its strong, hook-like fingers help it grasp branches as it brachiates through the rainforest canopy. Troops can contain over 100 members.
22. Red-Nosed Bearded Saki
The Red-Nosed Bearded Saki of northern Brazil has thick black fur and an unmissable red nose and mouth. It lives in large mixed-sex groups up to 70 strong. Though frugivorous, this monkey also eats flowers, leaves, bark, insects and soils.
23. Black Lion Tamarin
Weighing under 1 pound, the endangered Black Lion Tamarin resides only in small pockets of forest in São Paulo, Brazil. Groups vigorously defend territories of at least 75 acres. Predation and habitat loss threaten this species.
24. Moor Macaque
Occurring on Sulawesi and nearby islands of Indonesia, the Moor Macaque has dark brown to black fur and a hairless black face. Docile and adaptable, they inhabit a variety of habitats from lowland forests to mangroves and villages.
25. Spix’s Red-Handed Howler Monkey
Mostly black with red hands and feet, Spix’s Howler Monkey resides in a small region of Brazil near the Amazon River. It produces very loud territorial calls that allow groups to space themselves evenly throughout the forest.
26. Red-Handed Howler Monkey
Widespread in multiple countries of South America, the Red-Handed Howler Monkey has black fur with red-brown on the legs and tail tip. It eats mostly leaves, especially those containing toxins that allow it to outcompete other leaf-eating monkeys.
27. Robinson’s Banded Langur
This critically endangered monkey found only on Java has black fur with white patches around the muzzle and throat. Its habitat and group structure are similar to the Javan Langur. There are likely less than 250 individuals remaining.
28. Lucifer Titi
Lucifer Titi monkeys in Peru and Brazil are mostly black with reddish caps and ears. Adults weigh only 1-2 pounds but are the largest species of titi monkey. They usually form monogamous pairs that defend a shared territory.
29. Monk Saki
The endangered Monk Saki of the southwestern Amazon has long, shaggy black fur and a bushy tail. It rarely comes to the ground, preferring to leap between branches high up in the rainforest canopy while foraging for fruit.
30. Black Titi
This Colombian species has completely black fur apart from small white patches on its neck and chest. Unlike most primates, groups contain just a single pair or family – an adult male, female and offspring. The male often carries infants.
31. Black-Bearded Saki
With thick black fur and a bushy, black beard, this monkey is found only in a small region of Brazil’s Lower Amazon Basin. They mostly eat seeds and fruit while walking on all four limbs through branches high up in tall rainforest trees.
32. Amazon Black Howler Monkey
As one of the largest monkey species in the Americas, the Amazon Black Howler Monkey has long, shiny black fur and a thick beard. It is widespread through the Amazon rainforest where groups are auditory located by their loud howls.
33. François’ Langur
Also known as the Francois’ Leaf Monkey, this endangered primate of southern China and Vietnam has black fur with distinct white sideburns. It sleeps in limestone caves at night and forages on leaves from karst forest vegetation during the day.
Alouatta pigraLast updated on September 18, 2023
Howler monkeys are among the largest primates in the Neotropics. They can grow to be 22 to 36 inches tall when standing. And, their tails are about the same size in length as their bodies! Male howlers are black, while females are brown. They have prehensile tails that they can use to grab onto branches. They make loud vocalizations to mark their territory, thus earning their name. Their howls, which resemble a strong wind blowing through a tunnel, have been heard over two miles away by researchers. While most individuals do not live for more than 15 years in the wild, it is possible for howlers to reach over 20 years in age.
Howler monkeys are found only in the rainforests of the Americas. They live in tall rainforest trees in groups of between 4 and 19 members. They travel from tree to tree in search of food—walking from limb to limb, rather than jumping. While not particularly perky primates, they are most active during the day (diurnal), sleeping high in rainforest trees at night.
Howlers are strict vegetarians, eating only flowers, fruits and leaves. In Belize, special community managed protected areas have been established to keep people from over-harvesting the fruit and flowers that the howlers need to survive.
Howlers have both natural and human-induced threats to their existence. The black howler monkey, known as the “baboon” in Belize, is endangered throughout much of its range due to hunting and habitat destruction. As forests are cleared, howlers, who need several acres of forest per troop to survive, are becoming increasingly rare. Throughout the region in which they are found, howlers are hunted both for food and for sport. Some experts believe that howlers could become extinct within the next 35 years.
Black Monkey Reunites With His Old Friend PT.16
FAQ
What are the black monkeys called?
Black howler monkeys are the loudest terrestrial animals in the Western Hemisphere! Found in South America, they are usually the largest, most abundant primate in their range. These monkeys are born with blond fur, but the male’s fur turns black as they mature.
What are the biggest black monkeys?
The black howler (Alouatta caraya) or black-and-gold howler, is among the largest New World monkeys and a member of the Alouatta genus. The black howler is distributed in areas of South America such as Paraguay, southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Uruguay.
What is a black African monkey?
What is the colobus monkey? The name “colobus” is derived from the Greek word for “mutilated,” because unlike other monkeys, colobus monkeys do not have thumbs. Their beautiful black fur strongly contrasts with the long white mantle, whiskers, bushy tail, and beard around the face.
Are howler monkeys aggressive?
Howler monkeys have been characterized as exhibiting some of the lowest levels of conspecific aggression reported for any social primate: “Virtually all observers of howler monkeys, Alouatta spp., have commented on the rarity of conspecific agonis- tic interactions and aggression” [Klein, 1974, 118].
What are the different types of black monkeys?
There are various types of black monkeys around the world. These include howler black monkeys and macaques, among others. Most of these black monkeys live in forests and have a black appearance.
Are black monkeys considered primates?
Black monkeys, a diverse group within the primate family, inhabit various regions across the globe, exhibiting a rich array of behaviors and adaptations. Among these, the black-faced black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus chamek) and the black colobus monkey (Colobus satanas) are particularly notable.
Where do black and white monkeys live?
Monkeys live in different parts of the world from Africa to South America and Asia. Some species are black and white or at least partly black and white. They can be spotted easily since most are arboreal. Black and white monkeys are generally aggressive, particularly among each other or other monkey species.
Which black monkey is notable for its black face?
Among these, the black-faced black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus chamek) is particularly notable. Black monkeys, a diverse group within the primate family, inhabit various regions across the globe, exhibiting a rich array of behaviors and adaptations.
What is the diet of black monkeys?
Monkeys, including black monkeys, eat a varied diet consisting of seeds, fruits, eggs, small insects, leaves, and flowers. The specific diet can vary depending on the species and their environment.
What is the size of a black monkey?
Monkeys of this species are smaller, growing up to a size of 11 inches. Its tail may measure up to 6 inches as well. The hands and feet of the species are in contrast to its mostly black appearance (sometimes dark brown). Additional brown sections are seen across its back while its head and chest have a glossy black appearance.