Central American Spider Monkey

The range of this species extends over much of Central America, encompassing Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize and the south and much of the eastern portion of Mexico. Observations by local people indicate the southernmost subspecies, the hooded spider monkey, A. g. grisescens, may also occur in the portion of Colombia near the Panama border. In western Colombia and northeast Panama, it is replaced by the black-headed spider monkey, A. fusciceps, which is considered by some primatologists to be a subspecies of Geoffroy's spider monkey. Geoffroy's spider monkey lives in various types of forest, including rainforest, semideciduous and mangrove forests. Higher densities of Geoffroy's spider monkeys are generally found in areas containing evergreen forest.

Geoffroy's spider monkey is arboreal and diurnal, and mostly inhabits the upper portion of the forest. However, it comes to the ground more frequently than other spider monkey species. It lives in fission–fusion societies, large groups with a typical 20 to 42 members, which split into smaller subgroups to forage during the day. Subgroups typically number two to six members, and sometimes the subgroups remain separate from the main group even through the night. Geoffroy's spider monkey forages over large tracts of forest in search of food. Home ranges for groups can exceed 900 hectares (2,200 acres). Monkeys can range about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) each day. Males tend to cover a larger day range than females, and dominant individuals tend to have larger day ranges. Geoffroy's spider monkey sometimes rubs a mixture of saliva and ground lime tree Citrus aurantifolia leaves on its fur. This is believed to act as an insect repellent. In some locations, Geoffroy's spider monkey interacts with the white-headed capuchin. These interactions can include mutual grooming. In addition to walking or running on four limbs and climbing, Geoffroy's spider monkey uses several forms of suspensory locomotion. Brachiation, or swinging from the arms with assistance from the prehensile tail, is the most common form of suspensory locomotion. …

The Mexican painter Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait with Monkey 1938 portrays this species; the artist kept several of them as pets.