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We describe patterns of scent marking observed in two wild populations of lowland woolly monkeys that were the subjects of long-term studies in the westernmost portion of the Amazon basin. The woolly monkeys engaged primarily in two types of scent marking: chest rubbing and anogenital rubbing. In both study populations, males and females performed both types of scent marking, but males chest-rubbed more commonly than females, while females engaged in more anogenital rubbing. We evaluated two nonexclusive hypotheses for the function of scent marking by woolly monkeys: 1) that scent marking is used in sociosexual contexts, and 2) that scent marking is used to convey information about occupancy of or willingness to defend an area from conspecifics in other social groups. We found no association between the occurrence of scent-marking behavior and location within the home range, but did find that scent marking occurred more commonly than expected on days when copulations, mating solicitations, and intergroup encounters were observed. Additionally, mating activity and chest rubbing were highly correlated across the yearly cycle, even when the potentially confounding variable of ripe fruit availability was controlled for. In woolly monkeys, overt male-male competition is rare and female choice is an important part of the mating system. Our results are most consistent with the idea that scent marking plays a role in advertising male quality or competitive ability, and perhaps in coordinating mating activity.

This long-term study of woolly monkey (Lagothrix) locomotor and postural behaviour employs methods identical to those used during a previous study of the locomotion and posture of two species of Ateles, allowing a detailed comparison between the two genera, which are strong competitors in extensive parts of the Amazon basin and northern Andes. As in Ateles, Lagothrix locomotion can be divided into five patterns, based on limb usage: quadrupedal walking and running, suspensory locomotion, climbing, bipedalism (very rare in wild woolly monkeys) and leaping. Lagothrix differs from Ateles primarily in its greater reliance on quadrupedal locomotion during both travel and feeding and on its de-emphasis of the use of suspensory locomotion as compared to Ateles, while the use of climbing and leaping is roughly equal in the two genera. Lagothrix exhibits more generalised (primitive) locomotive behaviour in accordance with its morphology, in comparison to the more specialised Ateles. The generic differences reflect differences in habitat use and particularly foraging ecology.

I studied proximal spacing within a group of woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha) during 7 months at Parque Nacional Tinigua, Colombia. I collected a total of 1188 instantaneous samples on focal individuals, recording the number and age/sex class of individuals that were in contact with

A group of woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagothricha), studied for 1,800 hr from June 1984 until September 1987 in the eastern Colombian Amazon, used a home range of about 760 ha, 90% of which overlapped the ranges of three other groups. Home range use varied throughout the year, correlating in part with variations in fruit production. The home range exhibited a nonexclusive "core area" in the floristically most diverse part of the home range, although the majority of the home range was entered at a much lower frequency. Within the study area woolly monkeys occurred at a density of 5.5 individuals/km2. The average day range was 2,880 m, and the average straight line distance between sleeping sites was 896 m. Day ranges differed significantly across months, but the only significant correlation tested was a positive relation with time spent "moving" in the activity budget. Comparisons with three other Amazonian sites where woolly monkeys have been studied reveal considerable variation. Soil fertility, plant community differences, and other factors seem to influence ranging patterns. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

I studied a group of woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha)for 1800 hr from early 1985 until September 1987 near the lower Apaporis river of the Vaupes Department in the eastern Colombian Amazon. The group had an activity budget of 29.9% rest, 38.8% move, 25.8% forage, and 5.5% other activities during 720 hr of observations evenly spaced throughout this year. The only significant change in these activities during the study period was social activity, which increased as a function of increased food supply. Average diurnal activities of resting and moving are negatively correlated, and each activity show significant changes during the day, while foraging show no significant change. The activity budgets of the adult males and females are not significantly different, but the activities of the juveniles and infants showed much more social activity than the adults. High moving scores may be correlated with the comparative infertility of the soils of the Caparu forest, which require increased effort to maintain the energy levels necessary for maintenance and reproduction in Lagothrix.

Vertical climbing is central to theories surrounding the locomotor specialisations of large primates. In this paper, we present spatiotemporal gait parameters obtained from video recordings of captive spider monkeys (Ateles fusciceps robustus) and woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha) in semi-natural enclosures, with the aim of discovering the influence of body weight and differences in general locomotor behaviour on vertical climbing kinematics on various substrates. Results show that there are only few differences between gait parameters of climbing on thin trees, vertical and oblique ropes, while climbing on large-diameter trees differs considerably, reflecting the higher costs of locomotion on the latter. At the same speed, Ateles takes longer strides and the support phase takes a smaller percentage of cycle duration than in Lagothrix. Footfall patterns are more diverse in Ateles and include a higher proportion of ipsilateral limb coupling. Compared to other primates, the gait characteristics of vertical climbing of atelines most closely resemble those of African apes.

Fibrillar deposits, distinct from amyloid deposits, were demonstrated by electron microscopy in the glomeruli and lung of an Amazonian Woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha) which had died with extensive pulmonary haemorrhage. The renal lesions were typical of fibrillary glomerulonephritis in man, and IgG deposition was also demonstrated in the kidney. The association of renal and pulmonary lesions has been reported previously in man, but this is the first report of fibrillary glomerulonephritis, and a pulmonary-renal syndrome, in non-human animals.

Lagothrix lagotricha (Humboldt, 1812). Rec. Observ. Zool., 1:322. TYPE LOCALITY: Colombia, Üapes, Rio Guaviare. DISTRIBUTION: Middle and Upper Amazon. STATUS: CITES - Appendix II; IUCN - Vulnerable. SYNONYMS: cana E. Geoffroy; cappato, caroarensis, castelnaui, geoffroyi; humboldtii E. Geoffroy; infumata, lugens, olivaceus, poeppigii, puruensis, thomasi, tschudii, ubericola., Published as part of Colin P. Groves, 1993, Order Primates, pp. 243-277 in Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London :Smithsonian Institution Press on page 258, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7353122

New techniques for obtaining high resolution banding are used in comparative cytogenetics. They make possible a direct comparison of the chromosomes of two distantly related primates, man and Lagothrix lagotricha (Platyrrhine). For many chromosomes, the homoeologies of banding are surprisingly clear. These new results strongly strengthen the interpretations proposed with the use of more conventional banding techniques.