page_title: List of mammals of Central America
section_title: Order: Primates
hierarchical_section_title: List of mammals of Central America / Subclass: Theria / Infraclass: Eutheria / Superorder Euarchontoglires / Order: Primates
caption_attribution_description: Ateles geoffroyi English: Geoffroy's Spider Monkey, also known as Black-handed Spider Monkey, at Belize Zoo, Belize.
context_page_description: This is a list of the native wild mammal species recorded in Central America. Central America is usually defined as the southernmost extension of North America; however, from a biological standpoint it is useful to view it as a separate region of the Americas. Central America is distinct from the remainder of North America in being a tropical region, part of the Neotropical realm, whose flora and fauna display a strong South American influence. The rest of North America is mostly subtropical or temperate, belongs to the Nearctic realm, and has far fewer species of South American origin.
  At present Central America bridges North and South America, facilitating migrations in both directions, but this phenomenon is relatively recent from a geological perspective. The formation of this land bridge through volcanic activity three million years ago precipitated the Great American Interchange, an important biogeographical event. In part because of this history, Central America is extremely biodiverse; it comprises most of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot.
context_section_description: The order Primates includes the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans. It is divided into four main groupings: strepsirrhines, tarsiers, monkeys of the New World (parvorder Platyrrhini), and monkeys and apes of the Old World. Central America's 6 genera of nonhuman primates compares with 20 in South America, 15 in Madagascar, 23 in Africa and 19 in Asia. Central American monkeys are recent immigrants from South America, where their ancestors arrived after rafting over from Africa 25 million years ago.
  Parvorder: Platyrrhini (New World monkeys)
  Family: Aotidae (night monkeys)
  Genus: Aotus
  Panamanian night monkey, Aotus zonalis DD – may be A. lemurinus VU subspecies
  Family: Callitrichidae (marmosets and tamarins)
  Genus: Saguinus
  Geoffroy's tamarin, Saguinus geoffroyi LC
  Family: Cebidae (capuchin and squirrel monkeys)
  Subfamily: Cebinae
  Genus: Cebus
  Colombian white-faced capuchin, Cebus capucinus LC
  Panamanian white-faced capuchin, Cebus imitator NE
  Subfamily: Saimiriinae
  Genus: Saimiri
  Central American squirrel monkey, Saimiri oerstedii VU
  Family: Atelidae (howler, spider and woolly monkeys)
  Subfamily: Alouattinae
  Genus: Alouatta
  Coiba Island howler, Alouatta coibensis VU – may be A. palliata subspecies
  Mantled howler, Alouatta palliata LC
  Guatemalan black howler, Alouatta pigra EN
  Subfamily: Atelinae
  Genus: Ateles
  Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps CR
  Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi EN
caption: Geoffroy's spider monkey
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