What defining function does the powerful prehensile tail of the woolly monkey enable during feeding?
Answer
Supporting the animal's entire body weight through suspension feeding.
The prehensile tail of the woolly monkey is a hallmark evolutionary feature, functioning explicitly as a fifth limb. Its robustness is sufficient to bear the complete weight of the animal, which is critical for suspension feeding. This behavior allows the monkey to hang freely while accessing dense clusters of fruit or leaves that might otherwise be unreachable or unstable to access using only the hands and feet. This adaptation directly supports their frugivorous niche in the upper forest strata.
Related Questions
What dispersal mechanism is hypothesized for the haplorhine ancestor reaching South America?What defining function does the powerful prehensile tail of the woolly monkey enable during feeding?Which specific family includes *Lagothrix* alongside spider monkeys and howler monkeys?What environmental factor likely drove the evolutionary advantage of the woolly monkey's thick, dense fur?What characteristic of *Lagothrix* locomotion contrasts with the more agile spider monkey (*Ateles*)?What life history feature imposes a significant evolutionary constraint on woolly monkey population recovery?What specific anatomical structure on the prehensile tail enhances its gripping sensitivity?What speciation mechanism is evidenced by the varied geographic ranges of *Lagothrix* species?Which recognized species of woolly monkey is specifically noted in the taxonomy summary as Critically Endangered?What future evolutionary selection pressure might arise if *Lagothrix* is forced into small, fragmented reserves?