Northern Muriqui

Open encyclopedia reference

The northern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) is one of two species of muriqui. They are also known as woolly spider monkey because they exhibit the woollen pelt of woolly monkeys and the long prehensile tail of spider monkeys. Muriquis are the largest extant New World monkeys. They can reach 4.3 feet or 1.3 metres long and weight up to 7 to 10 kilograms (15 to 22 lb).

The northern muriqui is a critically endangered species, it is estimated that there are fewer than 1,000 mature individuals in the wild. The species is unusual among primates in that males and females are about the same size. Males are no bigger or stronger than females, a factor believed to influence their egalitarian tendencies in social relationships. This species is endemic to the Atlantic Forest region of Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Bahia. Their diets, travel patterns and reproductive cycles are seasonally determined. The size of each group can fluctuate as females move between groups of monkeys.

Wikipedia contributors, Northern muriqui; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:19:57.909105+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Brachyteles hypoxanthus (Kuhl, 1820)

Name authority

(Kuhl, 1820)

Common name

Northern Muriqui

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Primates

Family

Atelidae

Genus

Brachyteles

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
12. suborderHaplorrhini Pocock, 1918
13. infraorderSimiiformes Haeckel, 1866
14. familyAtelidae Gray, 1825
15. subfamilyAtelinae Gray, 1825
16. genusBrachyteles Spix, 1823
17. speciesBrachyteles hypoxanthus (Kuhl, 1820)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Brachyteles. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 13 records assigned to Atelidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944335 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.

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:N2VC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.