Field notebook
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Animal profile
Ateles geoffroyi
Geoffroy's spider monkey is a long-limbed, fruit-eating monkey of the Central American canopy, moving in fission-fusion parties that split and rejoin through the day. Its tail is longer than its body and functions as a fifth limb. It rarely descends to the ground.
The underside of a spider monkey's tail tip is hairless and covered in friction ridges arranged in whorls and loops, like the pads of a hand. The pattern is unique to the individual, so a tail leaves a print of its own.
The last stretch of a spider monkey's prehensile tail is hairless underneath and covered in dermal ridges, the same friction skin found on primate fingers. The tail grips well enough to hold the animal's whole weight and can pick up small objects.