The different monkey species

The Amazon Rainforest is jam packed with an incredible abundance of Amazon Monkeywildlife from piranhas to parrots and anaconda to jaguars. But one of the most plentiful – and for many visitors, the most exciting – creature that lives in the jungle is the monkey.

Found in all different shapes and sizes, the various monkey species that live in the rainforest cover a huge area and are almost as varied as the jungle that they inhabit.

Tamarins

Tamarin monkeys are some of the most distinctive Amazon Rainforest animals, with the white handlebar moustache of the emperor tamarin especially hard to miss.

However their habitat is dwindling fast and some, like the golden lion tamarin, are now critically endangered.

Howlers

As the nine species of howler monkey that live in the Amazon are the largest primates found in the region, they might be the easiest to spot.

Howler monkeys also have the distinction of being the loudest of the Amazon Rainforest animals, with a call that can be heard a whopping three miles away.

Amazon Spider monkeys

Spider monkeys get their name from the their extra long arms and l1egs, and prehensile tails which allow them to move with ease through the jungle.

Unlike some other Amazon Rainforest animals, spider monkeys are a social bunch and live in groups of up to several dozen. Splitting into smaller groups to gather food during the day and reuniting at night.

Rainforest Capuchin monkeys

Like spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys live in big family groups, roaming large distances across the forest in order to find food.

Their cream-coloured faces topped with black fur caps give these little monkeys a distinctive appearance and their ability to jump up to three meters allows them to move swiftly through the forest.

Amazon Squirrel monkeys

Weighing less than three pounds, Amazon squirrel monkeys are truly tiny.

Unlike other New World monkeys, these miniature primates don’t use their tail for climbing, but instead as a sort of balancing pole to help them move through the jungle. Like other Amazon monkeys, squirrel monkeys are very social and live in groups of up to 500.

If you’re travelling to the Amazon any time soon, the chances are that monkeys will be right at the top of your ‘must see’ list. By learning a little more about them and the other Amazon Rainforest animals you can increase your chances of a sighting and begin to understand the world they live in. Take a cruise aboard the appropriately named Anakonda, and you’ll be sure to see some of the Amazon’s amazing animals.