Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Peruvian night monkey (Aotus miconax), recorded as Endangered
Peruvian night monkey (Aotus miconax). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Peruvian night monkey

Aotus miconax

The Peruvian night monkey, also known as the Andean night monkey, is a nocturnal New World monkey endemic to northern Peru.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Aotus miconax
CITES
Appendix II
Taxonomy
Mammalia · Primates · Aotidae · Aotus

Appearance

Its colour is grey to light brown with characteristic black and white markings on the face.

Adults weigh around 1 kg (2.2 lb) and measure up to 50 cm (20 in) in length.

Range and habitat

The Peruvian night monkey, also known as the Andean night monkey, is a nocturnal New World monkey endemic to northern Peru. The chest, belly and upper arms are orange tinged, even so, to a lesser extent then Aotus nigriceps. The species is thought to inhabit areas of cloud forest at 900–2,800 m (3,000–9,200 ft) above sea level in the departments of Amazonas, Huanuco and San Martin, and in border regions of neighboring departments.

A network of community run reserves is intended to help conserving the species as well as the sympatric, Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

This species is listed as endangered by the IUCN and under Peruvian law. The main threat facing the Peruvian night monkey is the continued growth of human populations and associated habitat destruction. Hunting is a lesser threat to this species, but it is still hunted for the pet trade and by trophy hunters.

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix II. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Peruvian night monkey is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Peruvian night monkey, Wikidata item Q490226. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Also in this catalog

Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii
Photograph of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Axolotl

Ambystoma mexicanum

Quick answers

What is Peruvian night monkey?
The Peruvian night monkey, also known as the Andean night monkey, is a nocturnal New World monkey endemic to northern Peru.
What is the conservation status of Peruvian night monkey?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Aotus miconax. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Peruvian night monkey live?
The species is thought to inhabit areas of cloud forest at 900–2,800 m (3,000–9,200 ft) above sea level in the departments of Amazonas, Huanuco and San Martin, and in border regions of neighboring departments.
Why is Peruvian night monkey in crisis?
The main threat facing the Peruvian night monkey is the continued growth of human populations and associated habitat destruction.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Aotus miconax?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Peruvian night monkey a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.