Humboldt's Night Monkey
Aotus trivirgatus (Humboldt, 1811)
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 three-striped night monkey (Aotus trivirgatus), also known as northern night monkey or northern owl monkey, is one of several species of owl monkeys currently recognised. It is found in Venezuela and north-central Brazil. Until 1983, all the owl monkeys were regarded as subspecies of Aotus trivirgatus, and all were referred to as douroucoulis. The use of the name douroucouli exclusively for the three-striped night monkey is not universally accepted; some authors use it for the entire genus, or for the grey-necked group of species within it (to which A. trivirgatus belongs). Like other owl monkeys, the three-striped night monkey lives in woodlands including rain forest. It is mainly black, with striking white markings on its face. Its body size is 27–48 cm, and its tail is about the same length again. Adults weigh up to 1 kg. It has very large eyes, and is most active on moonlit nights, feeding on fruit, nuts, leaves, insects and other small invertebrates, and birds' eggs.
Wikipedia contributors, Three-striped night monkey; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:11:08.490896+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aotus trivirgatus (Humboldt, 1811)
- Name authority
- (Humboldt, 1811)
- Common name
- Humboldt's Night Monkey
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Aotidae
- Genus
- Aotus
- 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
- familyAotidae Elliot, 1913
- genusAotus Illiger, 1811
- speciesAotus trivirgatus (Humboldt, 1811)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Aotus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Azara's Night MonkeyAotus azarae (Humboldt, 1812) | AotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brumback's Night MonkeyAotus brumbacki Hershkovitz, 1983 | AotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Noisy Night MonkeyAotus vociferans (Spix, 1823) | AotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-legged Night MonkeyAotus griseimembra Elliot, 1912 | AotidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Nyctipithecus duruculi Lesson, 1840 Lesson, 1840 | synonym |
| Nyctipithecus felinus Spix, 1823 Spix, 1823 | synonym |
| Cheirogaleus commersonii Wolf, 1822 Wolf, 1822 | 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=572951 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:F6G5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.