The howler monkey is the rainforest primate famous for producing the loudest call of any land animal.
Howler monkeys belong to the genus Alouatta and live in the forests of Central and South America. Their powerful roars come from an enlarged hyoid bone in the throat, which acts as a resonating chamber. Calls can carry for several kilometres through dense forest.
Howlers usually call at dawn and dusk, helping groups advertise their location and defend feeding areas without direct fights. Their diet consists mainly of leaves, fruit, and flowers, and their slow-moving lifestyle helps them conserve energy while digesting foliage.
They are sometimes confused with gibbons, another famously vocal primate. Gibbons produce complex songs in Asian forests, but howler monkeys are the animals associated with the exceptionally deep, far-carrying roar in the Neotropics.