Alouatta macconnelli, Elliot, 1910

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Atelidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 484-549 : 526-527

3 .

Guianan Red Howler

Alouatta macconnelli

French: Hurleur de McConnell / German: Guayana-Brillaffe / Spanish: Mono aullador rojo de Guayana Other common names: Golden Howler Monkey, Guianan Red Howler Monkey, Guyanan Red Howler

Taxonomy. Alouatta macconnelli Elliot, 1910 ,

coast of Demerara ( Guyana) .

There is much regional variation, with albinism and melanism also reported. Monotypic.

Distribution. The Guianas, N Brazil (E of the Rio Negro and N of the Rio Amazonas, also on Gurupa I in the Amazon estuary), and S Venezuela (Rio Cassiquiare to the Rio Orinoco).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 51-63 cm (males) and 48-57 cm (females), tail 57-80 cm (males) and 52-69 cm (females); weight 5-4-9 kg (males) and 4-1-7 kg (females). The Guianan Red Howler is uniformly dark rufous-brown, with a yellowish-brown back (this tone occasionally restricted to a golden “saddle”). Arms to elbows and legs to thighs are orange red. There is a dark dorsalstripe, and the tail becomes paler distally.

Habitat. High rainforest, riverbank high forest, marsh forest, swamp forest, Pterocarpus — Tabebuia swamp, savanna forest, mountain savanna forest, and ridge forest. The Guianan Red Howler is also sometimes seen in liana forest, swamp scrub ( Annona Chrysobalanus formation), and mangrove forest, although it appears to be quite rare in the latter two. Guianan Red Howlers occasionally enter plantations. They spend most of their time in the middle and upper forest canopy, although they will use all levels and may even go to the ground to cover short distances between trees. They occur from sea level to elevations of 1200 m.

Food and Feeding. The diet of the Guianan Red Howler was been studied in detail by C. Julliot at Nouragues Field Station, French Guiana. It feeds many on different kinds of fruits, flowers, and young leaves. It also eats mature leaves, immature fruits, moss, bark, and soil of termitaria. Studies by C. Julliot and D. Sabatier recorded the use of 195 plant species from 47 families. The majority of the diet was young leaves (54%); mature fruits (21-5%), typically with juicy pulp, yellow, red and orange drupes and berries; and flowers (12:6%). Fruit dominates the diet in February-May (wet season) and October ( Goupia glabra, Goupiaceae ). Flowers are eaten in July and December, including those of Micropholis cayennensis ( Sapotaceae ), Eperua falcata ( Fabaceae ), Odontadenia (Apocynaceae) , and Maripa scandens ( Convolvulaceae ). Sapotaceae and Moraceae are important families in the diet of Guianan Red Howlers. They disperse seeds of more than 95% of the fruits that they eat.

Breeding. Gestation is 186-194 days. Interbirth interval averages 16-6 months, although they may be shortened to ¢.10-5 months by the death of an infant. Sexual maturity is reached at 43-54 months for females, who give birth to theirfirst infant at c.60 months. Births are usually single and are not seasonal.

Activity patterns. The activity budget of a group of Guianan Red Howlersin terra firma in a 1000-ha forestjust north of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil, was as follows: resting, 70-9%, feeding 15-7%, traveling 11%, and social and other behaviors 2:4%.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Guianan Red Howlerslive in small groups that usually include one adult male, one or more adult females, and one or more juveniles and infants. Group size is 2-8 individuals. Home ranges in French Guiana can be as large as 45 ha, with daily movements of up to 1645 m. During the formation of Lake Guri after the construction of the hydroelectric dam on the Rio Caroni, Venezuela, researchers witnessed the demise of all but one (a juvenile) of a group of six Guianan Red Howlers. They were killed over seven months by a Jaguar (Panthera onca). Harpy eagles (Harpia harpyja), and no doubt other large raptors, prey on Guianan Red Howlers.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Guianan Red Howler is widespread and locally common, but it is intensively hunted in some areas and deforestation due to cattle ranching occurs in the southern part of its distribution. It occurs in a number of very large protected areas, particularly in Suriname and Brazil.

Bibliography. Agoramoorthy & Hsu (1995), De Thoisy & Richard-Hansen (1997), Elliot (1910), Figueiredo et al. (1998), K. Glander (unpublished data), Gémez (2004), Gregorin (2006), Gregorin et al. (2008), Groves (2001), Julliot (1996a, 1996b, 1997), Julliot & Sabatier (1993), Mittermeier (1977), Mittermeier & van Roosmalen (1981), Nascimento et al. (2005), Neville (1972a), Neville et al. (1988), Peetz et al. (1992), Phillips & Abercrombie (2003), Rettig (1978), Rylands & Brandon-Jones (1998), Santamaria & Rylands (2003), Sanderson (1949), Steadman & Stokes (2002).

Figures

On following pages 2 Urs ne Red Howler (Alouatta arcroldoal 3 Guıanan Red Howler (Alouarra macconnellı) 4 Bolıvıan Red Howler (Alouatta sara) 5 Amazon Black Howler Alouatta nigerrima) 6 Red-handed Howler (Alouarta belzebul) 7 Spıx s Howler (Alouatta discolorl 8 Maranhão Red-handed Howler (Alouatta ululata)

Distribution. The Guianas, N Brazil (E of the Rio Negro and N of the Rio Amazonas, also on Gurupa I in the Amazon estuary), and S Venezuela (Rio Cassiquiare to the Rio Orinoco).