What's the difference between primates, apes, monkeys, etc...?
2006-09-14 02:12:10 · 5 answers · asked by bizangofish 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Primates can be lumped into 2 major groups: Prosimians and then the rest of em--monkeys, apes, gibbons, and humans (anthropoids). The prosimians (meaning "before apes") are the oldest and most primitive of the primates, the least similar to all the others. This includes bushbabies and lemurs (remember, the singing dancing ring-tailed lemur in Madagascar?...yeah). They are considered primitive and not like other primates because they have a moist nose, long snout, whiskers, lower intelligence and don't have great hand motor skills - they tend to go for food with their mouth first instead of picking it up with their hands. Back to the-rest-of-the-primates-that-are-not-prosimians (anthropoids): That group can be broken up into two main ones as well : [New world monkeys] and [old world monkeys, apes, humans and gibbons]. New World Monkeys are different from the other group in that they are located in Central and South America only. They have long tails and include some of the monkeys you more commonly hear about like the capuchin, spider, squirrel, and howler monkeys, but also includes marmosets and tamarins. What makes an Old World Monkey different from the New World? Old World Monkeys live in Africa and Asia. One section of them (baboons and mandrills) have very short tails and butt patches, while the other section of OWM have long tails (colobus and langur monkeys). Apes include orangutans, chimps, and gorillas. The ones that humans are most closely related to are chimpanzees. That's all I got. Whew!
2006-09-14 03:30:50 · answer #1 · answered by dbutterfly83 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Techically a primate (which includes us) is a mammal with an opposable thumb. Basically it means you can bend your thumb around to grasp tools. Apes are larger like gorillas & chimpanzees, while monkeys are smaller ones that you see in movies like "Monkey Trouble". (sorry i can't remember how to spell its name)
2006-09-14 02:46:21 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Primate is the biological order that includes apes, moneys and lemurs
2006-09-14 02:26:40 · answer #3 · answered by searchpup 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
3 different kind of animals.
2006-09-14 02:22:33 · answer #4 · answered by alfonso 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hmm all eats bananas ..climb trees..lives in the jungle? and in the local zoo?
2006-09-14 03:12:59 · answer #5 · answered by SimileyDaisy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋