Central American Spider Monkey

On March 19, 2026 we were in Tikal NP in northeastern Guatemala. We had several encounters with spider monkeys, including one instance where they got quite close to us.  

Two Mexican spider monkeys come close to check us out. 

This particular spider monkey is known as the Central American spider monkey or Geoffory's spider monkey and is listed as endangered by the IUCN. It is found in the south and much of the eastern portion of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and possibly portions of Colombia near the Panama border. There are a number of subspecies, and we saw either ssp. vellerosus, the Mexican spider monkey, or ssp. yucatanensis, the Yucatan spider monkey. On iNaturalist, I submitted two photos and the same identifier on both, kc1rt4pn0sd3, who is the 5th highest identifier of the Central American spider monkeys, with 548 identifications, identified it as the Mexican spider monkey, ssp. vellerosus. AI indicates ssp. yucatenensis, the Yucatan spider monkey, inhabits Tikal NP. Wikipedia notes that a 2015 phylogenetic study indicated that yucatanensis is a junior synonym of vellerosus, which  I take to mean that they are basically the same thing. 

The female clitoris is large and protrude like a penis. It is actually larger than a male's flaccid penis. So females are sometimes mistaken for males by observers. It does appear to have a scrotum, so may be a male. Males and females are about the same size, but females can be slightly larger and weigh slightly more.  

It is one of the largest New World monkeys, weighing as much as 20 pounds. Its arms are 25% longer than its legs and its prehensile tail can support its entire weight and is used as an extra limb. The tail has a palm like pad at the end and can be used for locomotion, to pick fruits and scoop water from holes in trees. The face has a pale mask and bare skin around the eyes and muzzle. The hands and feet are dark black and the body color varies by subspecies and population, and can be buff, reddish, rust, brown or black. 

This is a different spider monkey than the monkeys shown in the other photos above. 

Jaguars and pumas appear to be the only significant adult spider monkey predators, other than humans. However, predation of these monkeys has never been observed. 

My wife, Judy, is a big fan of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Her "Self-Portrait with Monkey 1938" portrays a spider monkey. She kept several of them as pets.