Howler monkey
A New World monkey in the genus Alouatta, known for loud calls that carry across forests. Howlers are among the largest monkeys in the Americas.
Hyoid bone: A U-shaped bone in the throat that supports the tongue and, in howler monkeys, forms an enlarged resonating chamber. Its enlargement gives howlers’ calls unusual resonance and volume.
Alouatta: A genus of New World monkeys comprising the howler monkeys of Central and South America. It is the genus to which every howler monkey belongs.
Bioacoustics: The study of sound production and reception in animals, including the ecological roles of sound. Researchers use recordings to monitor howler presence and calling behavior.
Black howler monkey: A howler monkey species, Alouatta pigra, found in parts of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. This species is a well-studied example of howler social behavior and habitat dependence.
Seed dispersal: The movement of seeds away from parent plants, often by animals that eat fruit and later deposit seeds. Howlers disperse seeds through their diet and movement across forests.
Larynx: An organ in the throat that houses the vocal folds and produces sound during exhalation. Howlers use the larynx to generate calls amplified by their vocal tract.
New World monkey: A monkey native to Central and South America, belonging to the primate parvorder Platyrrhini. Howlers are platyrrhine primates, distinct from African and Asian monkeys.
Wildlife corridor: A habitat connection that allows animals to move between otherwise separated areas. Canopy corridors can preserve movement routes for howlers in fragmented landscapes.
Red howler monkey: A group of reddish-furred howler monkey species in the genus Alouatta, native to South America. Red howlers illustrate the genus’s variation in appearance and geographic range.
Tropical rainforest: A warm, wet forest ecosystem with high biological diversity and little seasonal temperature variation. Howler populations depend on tropical forests and contribute to their ecological processes.