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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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 ...


Opposites attract: Monkeys choose mating partners with different genes

Biology / Evolution

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The world's largest species of monkey 'chooses' mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study.


New chameleon species discovered in East Africa

New chameleon species discovered in East Africa (w/ Podcast)

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A new species of chameleon has been discovered in Tanzania by a team of scientists.


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. ...


Plan to breed lab monkeys splits Puerto Rican town (AP)

Plan to breed lab monkeys splits Puerto Rican town

Biology / Plants & Animals

created 9 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Puerto Rico has such a bad history with research monkeys running amok that some residents are stunned that its government has tentatively approved a plan to import and breed thousands of primates ...


Precuneus region of human and monkey brain is divided into 4 distinct regions

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A study published this week in PNAS provides a comprehensive comparative functional anatomy study in human and monkey brains which reveals highly similar brain networks preserved across evolution.