Howler Monkeys

Twelve species of leaf-eating monkeys make up the genus Alouatta, better known as howlers. Their home runs from southern Mexico down to northern Argentina, which makes them the most geographically widespread group of New World primates. They live in everything from intact rainforest to small, heavily human-altered forest patches.

Many researchers have studied individual howler species, but this is the first full-length volume to examine howler behavior and biology through the lens of ecological and social adaptability. It is the first of two companion books on the genus. Its contributors offer new empirical and theoretical work, and they argue for evolutionary and adaptive explanations of why howlers have done so well ecologically. Howler behavior and ecology are compared across species throughout.

The chapters cover evolutionary history, paleontology, taxonomy, genetics, morphology, physiology, and anatomy. The volume also addresses ethnoprimatology, conservation, and the role howlers play as carriers of infectious diseases.