Unlike many species of monkey, they have only a vestigial thumb, an adaptation which enables them to travel using brachiation.

[2] Typically, males exhibit ranging over longer distances than females, with movement of individuals enhancing the fluidity of subgroup size.

It can move easily through the trees and it has a prehensile tail like other species in the genus Ateles, which it uses to assist with brachiation.

[8] They live primarily in lowland forests, occupying the canopy and the sub-canopy, but they have been observed using various habitat types, including dry and hilly areas such as the piedmont and cerrado forests, and have been observed to move depending on food availability.

[7] The Peruvian spider monkey feeds on leaves, berries, small animals such as birds and frogs, flowers, termites, honey, grubs, and fruits.

[7] In the Amazon, groups of Peruvian spider monkeys show strong seasonal variations in habitat based on the availability of fleshy fruits.

[12] The spider monkey has a reproductive period that can span throughout the year, though most offspring are born at the start of the Autumn season.

This decline is partially due to the fact that these monkeys are targeted by hunters for sale and consumption in the Amazonian bushmeat trade.

[2] In Peru, illicit extraction of timber and wildlife products remain issues even in protected areas.