Gray-Bellied Night Monkey

Aotus lemurinus

Large eyes and quiet night activity define the gray-bellied night monkey, Aotus lemurinus, a small primate of Andean and nearby foothill forests in northwestern South America. It is also called the lemurine owl monkey, a name that suits its rounded head, dense fur, and deliberate movement through the canopy. The face has pale markings around the eyes and darker stripes on the crown, while the underside is grayish to buff. As with other Aotus, taxonomy has shifted as researchers separate regional forms by pelage, chromosomes, and genetics.

These monkeys are not pets and are kept only in specialist zoos, research facilities, or rescue settings where permitted. Care centers build dim, complex arboreal enclosures and manage pairs or family groups carefully, since fathers often carry infants and stable bonds matter. Diets combine primate pellets with fruit, vegetables, insects, and browse under veterinary supervision. Field conservation depends on protecting cloud forest, reducing capture, and surveying fragmented populations, because habitat loss and the confusing taxonomy of night monkeys can obscure which local groups are most at risk.