At least six monkey

Monkey

A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

 species are native to Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. A seventh species, the Coiba Island Howler

Coiba Island Howler

The Coiba Island howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Panama. Although the Coiba Island howler is generally recognized as a separate species, mitochondrial DNA testing is inconclusive as to whether it is actually a subspecies of the mantled howler...

 (Alouatta coibensis) is often recognized, but some authors treat it as a subspecies of the Mantled Howler

Mantled Howler

The mantled howler , or golden-mantled howling monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America...

, (A. palliata). An eighth species, the Black-headed Spider Monkey

Black-headed Spider Monkey

The Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is found in Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama. Although primatologists such as Colin Groves follow Kellogg and Goldman in treating A...

 is also often recognized, but some authorities regard it as a subspecies of Geoffroy's Spider Monkey

Geoffroy's Spider Monkey

Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, also known as black-handed spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the...

. All Panamanian monkey species are classified taxonmically as New World monkey

New World monkey

New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Platyrrhini parvorder and the Ceboidea superfamily, which are essentially synonymous since...

s, and they belong to four families. The Coiba Island Howler

Coiba Island Howler

The Coiba Island howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Panama. Although the Coiba Island howler is generally recognized as a separate species, mitochondrial DNA testing is inconclusive as to whether it is actually a subspecies of the mantled howler...

, Mantled Howler

Mantled Howler

The mantled howler , or golden-mantled howling monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America...

, Black-headed Spider Monkey

Black-headed Spider Monkey

The Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is found in Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama. Although primatologists such as Colin Groves follow Kellogg and Goldman in treating A...

 and Geoffroy's Spider Monkey

Geoffroy's Spider Monkey

Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, also known as black-handed spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the...

 all belong to the family Atelidae

Atelidae

Atelidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly and woolly spider monkeys...

. The White-headed Capuchin

White-headed Capuchin

The white-headed capuchin , also known as the white-faced capuchin or white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae...

 and Central American Squirrel Monkey

Central American Squirrel Monkey

The Central American squirrel monkey is a squirrel monkey species from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. It is restricted to the northwestern tip of Panama near the border with Costa Rica, and the central and southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, primarily in Manuel Antonio and Corcovado...

 belong to the family Cebidae

Cebidae

The Cebidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys. These species are found throughout tropical and subtropical South and Central America.-Characteristics:...

. the family that includes the capuchin monkey

Capuchin monkey

The capuchins are New World monkeys of the genus Cebus. The range of capuchin monkeys includes Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina...

s and squirrel monkey

Squirrel monkey

The squirrel monkeys are the New World monkeys of the genus Saimiri. They are the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae.Squirrel monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America in the canopy layer. Most species have parapatric or allopatric ranges in the Amazon, while S...

s. The Panamanian Night Monkey

Panamanian Night Monkey

The Panamanian night monkey or Chocoan night monkey is a species of night monkey formerly considered a subspecies of the gray-bellied night monkey of the family Aotidae. Its range consists of Panama and the Chocó region of Colombia. There are also unconfirmed reports of its occurrence in Costa...

 belongs to the family Aotidae, and Geoffroy's Tamarin

Geoffroy's Tamarin

Geoffroy's tamarin , also known as the Panamanian, red-crested or rufous-naped tamarin, is a tamarin, a type of small monkey, found in Panama and Colombia. It is predominantly black and white, with a reddish nape. Diurnal, Geoffroy's tamarin spends most of its time in trees, but does come down to...

 belongs to the family Callitrichidae.

The Mantled Howler, the Panamanian Night Monkey, Geoffroy's Spider Monkey and the White-Headed Capuchin all have extensive ranges within Panama. Geoffroy's Tamarin also has a fairly wide range within Panama, from west of the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

 to the Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n border. The range of the Black-headed Spider Monkey within Panama is limited to the eastern portion of the country near the Colombian border. The Central American Squirrel Monkey only occurs within Panama in the extreme western portion of the country, near Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

. Its now has a smaller range within Panama than in the past, and is no longer found in its type locality, the city of David

David, Panama

David is a city located in the west of Panama. It is the capital of the province of Chiriquí and has an estimated population of 144,858 inhabitants as confirmed in 2010. It is a relatively affluent city with most families and houses having basic living requirements, such as concrete houses, clean...

. As its name suggests, the Coiba Island Howler is restricted to Coiba Island. The Azuero Howler Monkey

Azuero Howler Monkey

The Azuero howler a type of monkey that is a subspecies of the Coiba Island howler A. coibensis. This subspecies is endemic to the Azuero Peninsula in Panama. The Azuero howler is distinguished primarily by its golden flanks and loins, and browner appearance on the rest of its body.Although...

 (Alouatta coibensis trabeata or Alouatta palliata trabeata), which is considered a subspecies of either the Coiba Island Howler or the Mantled Howler, is restricted to the Azuero Peninsula

Azuero Peninsula

Azuero Peninsula is a large peninsula in southern Panama. It is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean in the south; the Pacific and Gulf of Montijo to the west, and by the Gulf of Panama in the east...

.

The Black-headed Spider Monkey is the largest Panamanian monkey with an average size of 8.89 kilograms (19.6 lb) for males and 8.8 kilograms (19.4 lb) for males. Geoffroy's Spider Monkey is the next largest, followed by the howler monkey species. Geoffroy's Tamarin is the smallest Panamanian monkey, with an average size of about 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb).

One Panamianian monkey, the Black-headed Spider Monkey, is considered to be critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Geoffroy's Spider Monkey is considered to be endangered. The Central American Squirrel Monkey was once considered endangered, but its conservation status was upgraded to vulnerable in 2008. The Coiba Island Howler is also considered to be vulnerable. Three species, the Mantled Howler, the White-headed Capuchin and Geoffroy's Tamarin are rated as "least concern" from a conservation standpoint.

Key

Latin Name	Latin binomial name, or scientific name, of the species
Common Name	Common name of the species, per Wilson, et al. Mammal Species of the World (2005)
Family	Family within New World monkey New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Platyrrhini parvorder and the Ceboidea superfamily, which are essentially synonymous since... s to which the species belongs
Average Size - Male	Average size of adult male members of the species, in kilograms and pounds
Average Size - Female	Average size of adult female members of the species, in kilograms and pounds
Conservation Status	Conservation status of the species, per IUCN as of 2008

Panamanian monkey species

Latin Name	Common Name	Family	Average Size - Male	Average Size - Female	Conservation Status	References
Alouatta coibensis	Coiba Island Howler Coiba Island Howler The Coiba Island howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, endemic to Panama. Although the Coiba Island howler is generally recognized as a separate species, mitochondrial DNA testing is inconclusive as to whether it is actually a subspecies of the mantled howler...	Atelidae Atelidae Atelidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly and woolly spider monkeys...
Alouatta palliata	Mantled Howler Mantled Howler The mantled howler , or golden-mantled howling monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America...	Atelidae Atelidae Atelidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly and woolly spider monkeys...
Aotus zonalis	Panamanian Night Monkey Panamanian Night Monkey The Panamanian night monkey or Chocoan night monkey is a species of night monkey formerly considered a subspecies of the gray-bellied night monkey of the family Aotidae. Its range consists of Panama and the Chocó region of Colombia. There are also unconfirmed reports of its occurrence in Costa...	Aotidae
Ateles fusciceps	Black-headed Spider Monkey Black-headed Spider Monkey The Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is found in Colombia, Nicaragua and Panama. Although primatologists such as Colin Groves follow Kellogg and Goldman in treating A...	Atelidae Atelidae Atelidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly and woolly spider monkeys...
Ateles geoffroyi	Geoffroy's Spider Monkey Geoffroy's Spider Monkey Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, also known as black-handed spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central America, parts of Mexico and possibly a small portion of Colombia. There are at least five subspecies. Some primatologists classify the...	Atelidae Atelidae Atelidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It was formerly included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are generally larger monkeys; the family includes the howler, spider, woolly and woolly spider monkeys...
Cebus capucinus	White-headed Capuchin White-headed Capuchin The white-headed capuchin , also known as the white-faced capuchin or white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae...	Cebidae Cebidae The Cebidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys. These species are found throughout tropical and subtropical South and Central America.-Characteristics:...
Saguinus geoffroyi	Geoffroy's Tamarin Geoffroy's Tamarin Geoffroy's tamarin , also known as the Panamanian, red-crested or rufous-naped tamarin, is a tamarin, a type of small monkey, found in Panama and Colombia. It is predominantly black and white, with a reddish nape. Diurnal, Geoffroy's tamarin spends most of its time in trees, but does come down to...	Callitrichidae
Saimiri oerstedii	Central American Squirrel Monkey Central American Squirrel Monkey The Central American squirrel monkey is a squirrel monkey species from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. It is restricted to the northwestern tip of Panama near the border with Costa Rica, and the central and southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, primarily in Manuel Antonio and Corcovado...	Cebidae Cebidae The Cebidae is one of the five families of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys. These species are found throughout tropical and subtropical South and Central America.-Characteristics:...

Footnotes

Sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Alouatta palliata. Sizes given are for Alouatta palliata.Sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Aotus lemurinus, in which case its trinomial name is Aotus lemurinis zonalis.Sometimes regarded as a subspecies of Ateles geoffroyi.