Azara’s Night Monkey

Azara's night monkey is found in northern Argentina, Bolivia, central Brazil, Paraguay and far southeastern Peru. Its range includes the southern Amazon, ranging into more open habitats such as the Gran Chaco. Aotus a. azarae is found in gallery forest and semi-deciduous forest, A. a. infulatus is found in humid lowland forest and gallery forest, and A. a. infulatus is found in various forest types. The last has been recorded as high as 1,250 m (4,100 ft) in the Andean foothills.

Azara's night monkey is assigned to the genus Aotus which is the only nocturnal genus of monkeys. However, uniquely among night monkeys, populations of Azara's night monkey from the Gran Chaco are active both day and night. Azara's night monkey can be found sleeping in groups of between 2 and 5 in trees. The average group size is about 3 monkeys, consisting of an adult pair and their offspring. It leaps from tree to tree but also moves quadrupedally throughout the forest. It spends its life in trees and becomes more active when the moon is brighter, tending to keep to its well-known paths.

Diet. Azara's night monkey is primarily a frugivore, but also will eat leaves, flowers, insects and other small invertebrates, and some small vertebrates. Leaves and flowers are a secondary food choice to fruits and is more typically consumed during the dry season as access to fruits become more scarce. Fruits consumed by this species are of the fig, guava, and nettle families as well as some cultivated species for monkeys living closer to urban areas. Examples of prey consumed by Azara's night monkeys are grasshoppers, moths, millipedes, and sometimes bird eggs or small animals. The hunting of insects occurs at dawn and dusk and is typically done by grabbing the insects midair rather than searching in crevices. …