Monkey

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Cebidae Aotidae Pitheciidae Atelidae Cercopithecidae

A monkey is any cercopithecoid (Old World monkey) or platyrrhine (New World monkey) primate. All primates that are not prosimians (lemurs and tarsiers) or apes are monkeys. The 264 known extant monkey species represent two of the three groupings of simian primates (the third group being the 21 species of apes). Monkeys are usually smaller and/or longer-tailed than apes.

The New World monkeys are classified within the parvorder Platyrrhini, whereas the Old World monkeys (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) form part of the parvorder Catarrhini, which also includes the apes. Thus, scientifically speaking, monkeys are paraphyletic (not a single coherent group), and Old World monkeys are actually more closely related to the apes than they are to the New World monkeys.

Due to its size (up to 1 m/3 ft) the Mandrill is often thought to be an ape, but it is actually an Old World monkey. Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name.

For more information about Monkey, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with monkeys

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Evidence points to conscious 'metacognition' in some nonhuman animals

Evidence Points to Conscious 'Metacognition' in Some Nonhuman Animals

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 14, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (36) | comments 16

(PhysOrg.com) -- J. David Smith, Ph.D., a comparative psychologist at the University at Buffalo who has conducted extensive studies in animal cognition, says there is growing evidence that animals share functional ...


Early skeleton sheds light on primate evolution (AP)

47-million-year-old fossil could shed light on primate family tree

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created May 19, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (13) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- A 47-million-year-old primate fossil, a purported "missing link" between primates and humans, was unveiled this week in New York. The fossil, formally called Darwinius masillae but nicknamed ...


Once a shy monkey, always a shy monkey? New study shows persistence of anxiety

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jul 02, 2008 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (15) | comments 1

We all know people who are tense and nervous and can't relax. They may have been wired differently since childhood.


The flying frog's large webbed feet allows it to glide when falling

Flying frog among 353 new Himalayan species: WWF

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 10, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (12) | comments 1

Over 350 new species including the world's smallest deer, a "flying frog" and a 100 million-year old gecko have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove now threatened by climate ...


Researchers find monkeys enjoy giving to others

Biology /

created Aug 25, 2008 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (10) | comments 0

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have shown capuchin monkeys, just like humans, find giving to be a satisfying experience. This finding comes on the coattails of a recent imaging ...


fingerprint

Get a grip! Blistering new evidence on why we have fingerprints

Biology / Evolution

created May 29, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (11) | comments 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Fingerprints do not help primates grip, as previously thought, scientists have discovered. They actually reduce the friction needed to hold onto flat surfaces. Now Dr Roland Ennos and his ...


The common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes may have originated in Asia

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 15, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (11) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- The discovery of a new primate fossil in Myanmar (formerly Burma) lends weight to the hypothesis that the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes (anthropoid primates) originated in Asia, and not in Africa. ...


Small evolutionary shifts make big impacts, study finds

Small evolutionary shifts make big impacts, study finds

Biology / Evolution

created May 20, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the developing fetus, cell growth follows a very specific schedule. In the eye's retina, for example, cones -- which help distinguish color during the day -- develop before the more light-sensitive ...


Hormone that affects finger length key to social behavior

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (9) | comments 2

The hormones, called androgens, are important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and strength. It is also thought that prenatal androgens affect finger length during development in the womb. ...


Africa's rarest monkey had an intriguing sexual past, DNA study confirms

Africa's rarest monkey had an intriguing sexual past, DNA study confirms

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0

The most extensive DNA study to-date of Africa's rarest monkey reveals that the species had an intriguing sexual past. Of the last two remaining populations of the recently discovered kipunji, one population ...


Novel vaccine approach offers hope in fight against HIV

Novel vaccine approach offers hope in fight against HIV

Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS

created May 17, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (7) | comments 3

A research team may have broken the stubborn impasse that has frustrated the invention of an effective HIV vaccine, by using an approach that bypasses the usual path followed by vaccine developers. By using ...


'Invisible hand' guides evolution of cooperative turn-taking, research shows

Biology / Evolution

created Jul 09, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (6) | comments 5

It's not just good manners to wait your turn -- it's actually down to evolution, according to new research by University of Leicester psychologists.


Monkeys get a groove on, but only to monkey music

Monkeys get a groove on, but only to monkey music (w/ Audio)

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 01, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (7) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Music is one of the surest ways to influence human emotions; most people unconsciously recognize and respond to music that is happy, sad, fearful or mellow. But psychologists who have tried ...


Scientists discover neurons that 'mirror' the attention of others

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created May 18, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 2

Whether a monkey is looking to the left or merely watching another monkey looking that way, the same neurons in his brain are firing, according to researchers at the Duke University Medical Center.


Ebola found in Philippine pigs for first time

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Jul 09, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

(AP) -- A form of ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and threaten humans, scientists report.