Night Monkeys: Aotidae

Night monkeys are found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Venezuela.

Night monkeys inhabit evergreen tropical rainforests and deciduous scrub forests. They also occupy forests along rivers. They prefer dense middle-level canopies and understories with tangled vines that provide cover for sleeping sites. They also like hollows in old trees.

Night monkeys eat mainly fruits, but also consume leaves, flowers, insects, tree frogs, spiders, bats, birds, and eggs. They forage, search for food, at all levels of the forest, from the canopy down to the forest floor.

Night monkeys are hunted for their meat and fur by native people. They are sold as pets and used for medical research.

The IUCN lists the Andean night monkey as Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild, because of small populations and habitat destruction from deforestation. The gray-bellied night monkey is also classified as Vulnerable due to hunting by humans and collection for the pet trade and medical research.