DIET OF THE RED HOWLER MONKEY (ALOUATTA-SENICULUS) IN FRENCH-GUIANA

We report the feeding behavior and food preferences of a troop of red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus) over two annual cycles in primary tropical rain forest in French Guiana. The monkeys used 195 plant spec ies from 47 families as food. Major food categories were young leaves (54%), mature fruits (21.5%), and flowers (126%). Other food categorie s included old leaves, immature fruits, termitarium soil, bark, and mo ss. The monkeys were less selective than other howler groups, since 19 plant species contributed greater-than-or-equal-to 1% to their diet a nd accounted for only 35.7% of their total diet. The Sapotaceae was th e most frequently eaten plant family and represented > 10% of the tota l diet.