Night monkey

From Wikipedia

The Night monkeys, Owl monkeys, or Douroucoulis are the members of the genus Aotus of New World monkeys (monotypic in family Aotidae). They are widely distributed in the forests of Central and South America, from Panama south to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The genus name means "earless"; they have ears, of course, but the external ears are tiny and hard to see. They are called Night monkeys because they are active at night and are in fact the only truly nocturnal monkeys. See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. ... Families Cebidae Nyctipithecidae Pitheciidae Atelidae The New World monkeys or Platyrrhines are the four families of primates that are found in Central and South America, the Cebidae, Nyctipithecidae, Pitheciidae and Atelidae. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Panama (Spanish: Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. ... The Republic of Paraguay is a landlocked republic in South America. ... Argentina is a country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. ...

Until 1983, all Night monkeys were placed into only a few species. Some authors still believe that there are only two or three true species, the remaining types being subspecies of these. The most widely agreed distinction is between a grey-necked group, including Aotus lemurinus, A. trivirgatus and A. vociferans, and a red-necked group, including A. miconax, A. nancymai, A. infulatus and A. azarae; authors recognising only two species refer to these as A. trivirgatus and A. azarae respectively.

Night monkeys make a notably wide variety of vocal sounds, 50-100 distinct calls having been identified. Unusually among the New World monkeys, they are monochromats, that is, they have no colour vision, presumably because it is of no advantage given their nocturnal habits. A monochromat is an organism that is truly color blind. ...

All Night monkeys form pair bonds, and live in family groups of the mated pair with their immature offspring. Family groups defend territories by vocal calls and scent marking. Only one infant is born each year. The male is the primary caregiver, and the mother only carries the infant for the first week or so of its life. The term territory is also used in politics. ...

Classification

• Family Aotidae
  • Gray-neck group
    • Gray-bellied Night Monkey, Aotus lemurinus
      • Aotus lemurinus lemurinus
      • Aotus lemurinus griseimembra
      • Aotus lemurinus zonalis
    • Hershkovitz's Night Monkey, Aotus hershkovitzi
    • Three-striped Night Monkey, Aotus trivirgatus
    • Spix's Night Monkey, Aotus vociferans
  • Red-neck group
    • Peruvian Night Monkey, Aotus miconax
    • Nancy Ma's Night Monkey, Aotus nancymae
    • Azara's Night Monkey, Aotus azarae
      • Aotus azarae azarae
      • Aotus azarae boliviensis
      • Aotus azarae infulatus
    • Black-headed Night Monkey, Aotus nigriceps

Binomial name Aotus lemurinus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1843 The Gray-bellied Night Monkey (Aotus lemurinus), also called the Lemurine Owl Monkey or Night Monkey, is a small New World monkey of the family Nyctipithecidae. ... Binomial name Aotus trivirgatus Humboldt, 1811 The Three-striped Night Monkey (Aotus trivirgatus), also known as Northern Night Monkey or Northern Owl Monkey, is one of several species of owl monkeys currently recognised. ...

References

• Jacobs, G. H., Deegan, J. F., Neitz, J., Crognale, M. A., & Neitz, (1993). Photopigments and colour vision in the nocturnal monkey, Aotus. Vision Research, 33, 1773-1783.