1. The Black Spider Monkey By: Chynna Lau

2. Information:  Scientific Name: Anteles paniscus  Height: 16-24 inches  Weight: 15-19 pounds  Habitat: tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest

3. Environment and Resources:  Found in Eastern Southern America (north of the Amazon River)  Find food in the treetops and feast on nuts, fruit, leaves, bird eggs, and spiders  They live in the treetops

4. Endangered:  There is many threats of hunting and the destruction of tropical rainforests which posed the greatest challenge to the black spider monkey’s survival.  They are quite vulnerable to the effects of forest fragmentation.  Forest fragmentation is a form of habitat fragmentation, occurring when forests are cut down in a manner that leaves relatively small, isolated patches of forest known as forest fragments.

5. Protection:  WWF works to protect the forests they need to survive. They support the creation and management of protected areas and promote responsible forest management, including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, outside of protected areas.

6. Extra Facts:  Black Spider Monkeys are essential to the tropical rainforest’s ecosystem.  They play a key role in seed dispersal which allows the forest to thrive.

7. Sources:  http://worldwildlife.org/species/black- spider-monkey http://worldwildlife.org/species/black- spider-monkey  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq9Ff L0snMw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq9Ff L0snMw  http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/a nimals/mammals/spider-monkey/ http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/a nimals/mammals/spider-monkey/