NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Howler
Alouatta caraya (Humboldt, 1812)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The black howler (Alouatta caraya) or black-and-gold howler, is among the largest New World monkeys and a member of the Alouatta genus. The black howler is distributed in areas of South America such as Paraguay, southern Brazil, eastern Bolivia, northern Argentina, and Uruguay. This species is sexually dimorphic, with adult males having entirely black fur and adult females and babies of both sexes having an overall golden colouring; which emphasizes black-and-gold in the name. The IUCN Red List has classed the black howler as Near Threatened as a result of a recent population reduction due to a variety of human-caused factors.
Wikipedia contributors, Black howler; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:35.108641+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Alouatta caraya (Humboldt, 1812)
- Name authority
- (Humboldt, 1812)
- Common name
- Black Howler
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Atelidae
- Genus
- Alouatta
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
- suborderHaplorrhini Pocock, 1918
- infraorderSimiiformes Haeckel, 1866
- familyAtelidae Gray, 1825
- subfamilyAlouattinae Trouessart, 1897
- genusAlouatta Lacépède, 1799
- speciesAlouatta caraya (Humboldt, 1812)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Alouatta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Spix's HowlerAlouatta discolor (Spix, 1823) | AtelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-handed HowlerAlouatta belzebul (Linnaeus, 1766) | AtelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Central American Black HowlerAlouatta pigra Lawrence, 1933 | AtelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bolivian Red HowlerAlouatta sara Elliot, 1910 | AtelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Colombian Red HowlerAlouatta seniculus (Linnaeus, 1766) | AtelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Simia straminea Humboldt, 1812 Humboldt, 1812 | synonym |
| Stentor niger É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812 É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812 | ambiguous synonym |
| Mycetes barbatus Spix, 1823 Spix, 1823 | synonym |
| Simia caraya Humboldt, 1812 Humboldt, 1812 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=572936 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:C5Q8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.