CAPTURE TECHNIQUES AND MORPHOMETRICS FOR THE WOOLLY SPIDER MONKEY, OR MURIQUI (BRACHYTELES-ARACHNOIDES, GEOFFROY,E. 1806)

A total of 12 free-ranging muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides) were captured with Telazol(R) at Fazenda Esmeralda, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and at Fazenda Barreiro Rico, Sao Paulo, Brazil. All animals were measured, marked, weighed, and released. Previously reported data suggested that Brachyteles is a sexually dimorphic species with female-male body weights of 12-15 kg, respectively. We found no statistically significant difference in body weight between females (mean = 8.4 kg, range = 6.9-9.3 kg, n = 4), and males (mean = 9.6 kg, range = 9.3-10.2 kg, n = 4). Our results are at variance with previously published body weights in the literature. Larger sample size may reveal a significant sexual difference, particularly in body weight.