These curious little Monkeys are found in nearly all parts of South
America, and they live in troops, making their homes in trees. They feed
on the insects which are usually found in great quantities in many of
the South American trees, and occasionally they will descend to the
ground, in search of small Fish and Molluscs which they find in the mud
on the banks of the rivers. It is said that they even venture on the
beds of the rivers when the water is low, and capture the oysters, and
they are very quick in learning how to open the shells and take out the
oyster.
These Monkeys are distinguished by their fine silky hair, their strong
tails, which they use in climbing and in swinging themselves from limb
to limb, and the fact that they have no thumbs; but only the four
fingers on each hand. This peculiarity has given them the Greek name by
which the family is usually classified which means imperfect, but the
name Spider Monkey has been given to them because of their long, slender
limbs and their slow, queer manner of walking, which sometimes gives
them the appearance of huge spiders.