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The Atelidae are one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler monkey, spider monkey, woolly monkey, and Muriqui (the latter being the largest of the New World monkeys). They are found throughout the forested regions of Central America and South America, from Mexico to northern Argentina.
These are arboreal and Diurnality animals, with most species restricted to dense rain forest, although some howler monkey species are found in drier forests, or wooded savannah. They mainly eat fruit and leaves, although the smaller species, in particular, may also eat some small insects. They have the dentition:
Females give birth to a single infant (or, rarely, twins) after a gestation period of 180 to 225 days. In most species, individuals give birth every one to three years, and there is little, if any, seasonal peak in the number of births.
Atelid monkeys are typically polygamous, and live in social groups with anything up to twenty five adults, depending on species. Where groups are relatively small, as is common amongst the howler monkeys, a single male monopolises a 'harem' of females, but larger groups will contain several males, with a clear hierarchy of dominance.
Family Atelidae
Silvestro etal 2017 showed the relationship among the extinct and extant atelid genera:
Classification
Currently, 26 species of extant atelid monkey are recognized, grouped into four genus, and two subfamily. In addition, a number of extinct species from the fossil record have been identified as being within or closely related to this family.
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