Field Frame Friday: How did they get the name spider monkey?

Black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) eat mostly fruit, but also occasionally eat tree bark, nuts, eggs, insects, and even spiders! However, these monkeys get their name from their long, lanky, spidery limbs and tail, not from their occasional arachnid snacks. Is that considered cannibalism?!

[Photo by Grace Davis and caption by Maggie Creamer]

Reference

van Roosmalen, M.G.M. (1985). Habitat Preferences, Diet, Feeding Strategy and Social Organization of the Black Spider Monkey (Ateles paniscus paniscus Linnaeus 1758) in Surinam. Acta Amazonica. 15(3), 1-238.

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