[2] Although primatologists such as Colin Groves (1989) follow Kellogg and Goldman (1944) in treating A. fusciceps as a separate species, other authors, including Froelich (1991), Collins and Dubach (2001) and Nieves (2005) treat it as a subspecies of Geoffroy's spider monkey.

[1][3] The two subspecies are:[1] A. f. fusciceps lives in tropical and subtropical humid forests between 100 and 1,700 metres (330 and 5,580 ft) above sea level.

[4] The Black spider monkey is primarily frugivorous, with the consumption of fruit consisting of about 80% of their diet.

the remainder of its diet is omnivorous and consists of leaves, nuts, seeds, bark, insects, and flowers.

[4] The black-headed spider monkey is considered to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to an estimated population loss of more than 50% over 45 years (2018–2063), from hunting and human encroachment on its range of habitation.