Variegated or Brown Spider Monkey Ateles hybridus I. Geoffroy, 1829 Colombia, Venezuela (2006)

There are two recognized subspecies of the variegated or brown spider monkey. Ateles hybridus brunneus Gray, 1870 is restricted to Colombia, occurring between the lower Ríos Cauca and Magdalena in the Departments of Bolívar, Antioquia and Caldas. Ateles h. hybridus occurs east from the right bank of the Río Magdalena extending into western Venezuela. Both subspecies are Critically Endangered due to habitat loss, hunting and the pet trade. The large size, slow reproductive rate (single offspring at 3-4 year intervals) and generally low population densities of spider monkeys make them especially vulnerable to hunting. Historically, A. hybridus has suffered from habitat destruction, and only 0.67% of the current remaining A. hybridus distribution is protected. Most of its range has been converted to farms for agriculture and cattle. Ateles h. brunneus has a small geographic range in a region where forest loss, degradation and fragmentation is widespread. Currently the remaining populations are surrounded by human populations, compounding the already high level of threat. Only 9% of their potential range remains as continuous forest. Surveys have been conducted to determine the density of this subspecies in Maceo and Puerto Berrio (Antioquia). To date just one group of eight individuals has been found in an area of 1,000 ha. A refuge remains, however, in the Serranía San Lucas in southern Bolívar, identified as an important site for the establishment of a national park. A protected area is highly necessary for this subspecies, that also would include two other threatened endemic primates, the white-footed tamarin, Saguinus leucopus, and the woolly monkey, Lagothrix lugens. Ateles h. hybridus is extremely endangered due to habitat destruction in both Colombia and Venezuela. This subspecies can be found in three protected areas in Venezuela, but little is known about the population densities and local threats there. Ateles hybridus can be found in at least six zoos in Colombia, presenting problems of surplus animals and consanguinity. This species is suffering also from the pet trade; about 20 confiscated individuals are currently in residence in four rescue centers and need to be relocated. There is an urgent need for surveys to establish areas with populations of this species and to propose conservation measures. An ex situ breeding program is also necessary to maintain healthy and viable captive populations. Erwin Palacios & Alba Lucia Morales-Jiménez

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