Old World monkeys live throughout Africa, on the Red Sea coast of Arabia, and in Asia from Afghanistan to Japan and southeast to the islands of the Philippines, Celebes, Bacan, and Timor. The moustached monkey ( Cercopithecus cephus) is a species of guenon. No Old World monkeys have this ability, and macaques are nearly tailless. Some New World monkey species have prehensile tails capable of supporting the entire body weight or of grasping, for example, a proffered peanut. Indeed, in the hands of many species, the main divergence is between the index and middle fingers in a few species, the thumb is reduced or even absent. None of the New World monkeys has such manual dexterity. Many Old World monkeys have thumbs that can be opposed to the other fingers and so can handle small objects precisely. Old World monkeys have hard, bare “sitting pads” ( ischial callosities) on the buttocks New World monkeys lack these. New World monkeys have broad noses with a wide septum separating outwardly directed nostrils, whereas Old World monkeys have narrow noses with a thin septum and downward-facing nostrils, as do apes and humans. As their taxonomic names suggest, New World (platyrrhine) and Old World (catarrhine) monkeys are distinguished by the form of the nose. The New World monkeys are the platyrrhines (“flat-nosed”), a group comprising five families. Old World monkeys all belong to one family, Cercopithecidae, which is related to apes and humans, and together they are classified as catarrhines (meaning “downward-nosed” in Latin). Monkeys are arranged into two main groups: Old World and New World. These experiments have had implications in redefining cultural behaviour.įrom left, head of a saki ( Pithecia) and a macaque ( Macaca). Once a few individuals had solved the problems of getting at the new foods, their innovations gradually spread throughout entire troops. In field experiments, these monkeys were introduced to new foods such as sweet potatoes and candies wrapped in paper. A significant exception is the Japanese macaque ( Macaca fuscata). However, in strong contrast to the great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans), most monkeys do not appear to be very good at learning from each others’ experience-individuals more or less have to learn new behaviours for themselves.

Others, such as baboons, readily learn to use sticks to obtain food.

Some, especially the capuchins (genus Cebus), spontaneously use objects as tools (e.g., stones to crack nuts). Most are good at solving complex problems and learning from experience, but they do not quite reach the cognitive levels of great apes. Brain development, combined with the freeing of the hands and well-developed vision, allows them a great latitude of activity. Monkeys have large brains and are known for their inquisitiveness and intelligence. They almost never walk on two legs (bipedally) and can stand erect for only short periods, if at all.Ĭommon squirrel monkeys have olive or grayish crowns and are found only in South America. On the ground, monkeys walk with the entire sole of the foot touching the ground but with the palm of the hand raised.

Commonly, the digits have flattened nails, but the marmosets have claws on all digits except the big toe, which bears a nail. Their hands and feet are both used for grasping and typically have five digits, the thumb and big toe being divergent from the others. Except for a few Old World forms, monkeys are predominantly arboreal, leaping from limb to limb in their travels among the trees. Monkeys are capable of sitting upright, and, consequently, their hands are freed for many manipulative tasks. All but the durukuli of tropical Central and South America are active during the day, moving frequently in bands as they search for vegetation, birds’ eggs, smaller animals, and insects to eat. The vast majority of species live in tropical forests, where they move on all four limbs. Most monkeys have a short, relatively flat face without great prominence of the muzzle, although baboons and mandrills are notable exceptions. The presence of a tail (even if only a tiny nub), along with their narrow-chested bodies and other features of the skeleton, distinguishes monkeys from apes. Monkey, in general, any of nearly 200 species of tailed primate, with the exception of lemurs, tarsiers, and lorises. Wild monkey spotted running rampant through neighborhoods as police warn to stay away

Chimpanzee monkey nose