Monkeys
A young male White-fronted Capuchin (Cebus albifrons). The White-fronted Capuchin ( Cebus albifrons) is a New World Primate, endemic to six different countries in South America:
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Suborder: Haplorrhini Infraorder: Simiiformes in part
Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys. Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye The haplorrhines, the "dry-nosed" primates (the Greek name means "simple-nosed" are members of the Haplorrhini clade: the Prosimian The simians ( Infraorder Simiiformes) are the "higher Primates quot familiar to most people the Monkeys and the Apes including Old World monkeys in red, New World in orange. The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of Primates falling in the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the Clade The New World monkeys are the four families of Primates that are found in Central and South America: Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae
Families
Cebidae Aotidae Pitheciidae Atelidae Cercopithecidae

A monkey is any member of either the New World monkeys or Old World monkeys, two of the three groupings of simian primates, the third group being the apes. In Biological classification, family ( Latin The Cebidae form one of the four families of New World monkeys now recognised The Night monkeys, also known as the Owl monkeys or Douroucoulis, are the members of the Genus Aotus of New World monkeys The Pitheciidae are one of the four families of New World monkeys now recognised The Atelidae are one of the four families of New World monkeys now recognised The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of Primates falling in the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the Clade The New World monkeys are the four families of Primates that are found in Central and South America: Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of Primates falling in the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the Clade The simians ( Infraorder Simiiformes) are the "higher Primates quot familiar to most people the Monkeys and the Apes including A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye There are 264 known extant species of monkey.

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. The New World monkeys are the four families of Primates that are found in Central and South America: Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of Primates falling in the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the Clade Catarrhini is a Parvorder of the Primates, one of the three major divisions of the Suborder Haplorrhini. 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. In Phylogenetics, a group of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if the group contains its most recent common ancestor but does not contain all

Because of their similarity to monkeys, apes such as chimpanzees and gibbons are often called "monkeys" in informal usage, though they are not monkeys. Chimpanzee (often shortened to chimp) is the common name for the two extant Species of Apes in the Genus Pan. Gibbons are the small Apes in the family Hylobatidae. The family is divided into four genera based on their Diploid Chromosome Conversely, 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. The Mandrill ( Mandrillus sphinx) is a Primate of the Cercopithecidae (Old-world Monkeys family closely related to the Baboons Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name.

Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Etymology 3 Classification 4 Monkeys in relation to humans 4.1 As service animals for the disabled 4.2 In experiments 4.2.1 In space 4.3 As food 4.4 Literature 4.5 Religion and worship 4.6 Zodiac 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Characteristics

Monkeys range in size from the Pygmy Marmoset, at 140 to 160 millimetres (5-6 in) long (plus tail) and 120 to 140 grams (4-5 oz) in weight, to the male Mandrill, almost 1 metre (3. The Pygmy Marmoset ( Callithrix (Cebuella pygmaea) is a Monkey native to the Rainforest canopies of western Brazil, southeastern The Mandrill ( Mandrillus sphinx) is a Primate of the Cercopithecidae (Old-world Monkeys family closely related to the Baboons 3 ft) long and weighing 35 kilograms (77 lb). Some are arboreal (living in trees) while others live on the savannah; diets differ among the various species but may contain any of the following: fruit, leaves, seeds, nuts, flowers, eggs and small animals (including insects and spiders). Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees" A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem.

Some characteristics are shared among the groups; most New World monkeys have prehensile tails while Old World monkeys have non-prehensile tails or no visible tail at all. A prehensile tail is the Tail of an Animal that has adapted to be able to grasp and/or hold objects Some have trichromatic colour vision like that of humans, others are dichromats or monochromats. Trichromacy is the condition of possessing three independent channels for conveying Color information derived from the three different cone types Color vision is the capacity of an organism or machine to distinguish objects based on the Wavelengths (or frequencies) of the Light they reflect or emit Dichromacy in humans is a moderately severe color vision defect in which one of the three basic color mechanisms is absent or not functioning Monochromacy, also known as "total color blindness" is the lack of ability to distinguish colors caused by cone defect or absence Although both the New and Old World monkeys, like the apes, have forward facing eyes, the faces of Old World and New World monkeys look very different, though again, each group shares some features such as the types of noses, cheeks and rumps.

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "monkey" may originate in a German version of the Big Virginia fable, published circa 1580. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED) published by the Oxford University Press (OUP is a comprehensive Dictionary of the English The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape. The word Moneke may have been derived from the Italian monna, which means "a female ape". Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. The name Moneke likely persisted over time due to the popularity of Reynard the Fox.

A group of monkeys may be referred to as a mission or a tribe.

Classification

The following list shows where the various monkey families (bolded) are placed in the Primate classification. Note that the smallest grouping that contains them all is the Simiiformes, the simians, which also contains the apes. The simians ( Infraorder Simiiformes) are the "higher Primates quot familiar to most people the Monkeys and the Apes including Calling apes "monkeys" is incorrect. Calling either a simian is correct.

• ORDER PRIMATES
  • Suborder Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians
  • Suborder Haplorrhini: tarsiers, monkeys and apes
    • Infraorder Tarsiiformes
      • Family Tarsiidae: tarsiers
    • Infraorder Simiiformes: simians
      • Parvorder Platyrrhini: New World monkeys
        • Family Cebidae: marmosets, tamarins, capuchins and squirrel monkeys (56 species)
        • Family Aotidae: night monkeys, owl monkeys, douroucoulis (8 species)
        • Family Pitheciidae: titis, sakis and uakaris (41 species)
        • Family Atelidae: howler, spider and woolly monkeys (24 species)
      • Parvorder Catarrhini
        • Superfamily Cercopithecoidea
          • Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys (135 species)
        • Superfamily Hominoidea: apes
          • Family Hylobatidae: gibbons ("lesser apes") (13 species)
          • Family Hominidae: great apes including humans (7 species)

Monkeys in relation to humans

The many species of monkey have varied relationships with humans. A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye The Clade Strepsirrhini is one of the two Suborders of Primates One of the most distinguishing characteristic of these 118 species is their Wet The haplorrhines, the "dry-nosed" primates (the Greek name means "simple-nosed" are members of the Haplorrhini clade: the Prosimian Tarsiers are Prosimian Primates of the genus Tarsius, a Monotypic genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the Tarsiers are Prosimian Primates of the genus Tarsius, a Monotypic genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the The simians ( Infraorder Simiiformes) are the "higher Primates quot familiar to most people the Monkeys and the Apes including The New World monkeys are the four families of Primates that are found in Central and South America: Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae The Cebidae form one of the four families of New World monkeys now recognised The Night monkeys, also known as the Owl monkeys or Douroucoulis, are the members of the Genus Aotus of New World monkeys The Pitheciidae are one of the four families of New World monkeys now recognised The Atelidae are one of the four families of New World monkeys now recognised Catarrhini is a Parvorder of the Primates, one of the three major divisions of the Suborder Haplorrhini. The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of Primates falling in the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the Clade The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of Primates falling in the Superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the Clade Gibbons are the small Apes in the family Hylobatidae. The family is divided into four genera based on their Diploid Chromosome Some are kept as pets, others used as model organisms in laboratories or in space missions. A model organism is a Species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological Phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made They may be killed in monkey drives when they threatened agriculture, or serve as service animals for the disabled. A monkey drive is where large numbers of wild Monkeys are rounded up and killed in order to protect Agriculture such as crops planted Rice, Banana

In religion and culture, the monkey often represents quick-wittedness and mischief.

As service animals for the disabled

Some organizations such as Helping Hands have been training capuchin monkeys to assist quadriplegics and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments. After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Around the house, the monkeys help out by doing tasks including microwaving food, washing the quadriplegic's face, and opening drink bottles.

In experiments

Macaques, especially the Rhesus Macaque, and African green monkeys are widely used in animal testing facilities, either wild-caught or purpose-bred. The macaques (məˈkæk constitute a genus ( Macaca, /məˈkækə/ of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The Rhesus Macaque ( Macaca mulatta) often called the Rhesus Monkey, is one of the best known species of Old World monkeys Adult males measure Scientific research involving Non-human primates (NHPs includes Drug pre-clinical Toxicology studies studies of Infectious disease Animal testing or animal research is the use of non-human Animals in scientific experimentation. ^[2] They are used primarily because of their relative ease of handling, their fast reproductive cycle (compared to apes), and their psychological and physical similarity to humans. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus In the United States, around 50,000 non-human primates, most of them monkeys, have been used in experiments every year since 1973;^[3] 10,000 monkeys were used in the European Union in 2004. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A primate is a member of the biological order Primates ( Latin: "prime first rank" the group that contains Lemurs the Aye-aye The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in

The use of monkeys in laboratories is controversial. Some claim that their use is cruel and produces little information of value, and there have been many protests, vandalism to testing facilities, and threats to workers. Others claim that it has led to many important medical breakthroughs such as the rabies vaccine, understanding of human reproduction and basic knowledge about brain function, and that the prevention of harm to humans should be a higher priority than the possible harm done to monkeys. The topic has become a popular cause for animal rights and animal welfare groups. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. Animal welfare refers to the viewpoint that it is morally acceptable for humans to use nonhuman animals for food in animal research, as clothing and in entertainment

In space

A number of countries have used monkeys as part of their space exploration programmes, including the United States and France. The first monkey in space was Albert II who flew in the US-launched V2 rocket in June 14, 1949. Before humans were launched into space, several animals were launched into space, including numerous Monkeys in order to investigate the biological See also Vergeltungswaffe The V-2 rocket ( Vergeltungswaffe 2 was the first Ballistic missile and first man-made object to achieve Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

As food

There are a lot of myths about Chinese habits which are mostly contrived, such as the stories about eating monkeys brains. ^[4] In traditional Islamic dietary laws, monkeys are forbidden to be eaten. This is a sub-article to Hygiene in Islam, Healthy diet and Food and cooking hygiene. Haraam (حرام is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden"

Literature

Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in Chinese mythology, is the main protagonist in the classic comic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Sun Wukong ( known in the West as the Monkey King, is the main character in the classical Chinese epic novel Journey to the West. Chinese mythology is a collection of Cultural history, Folktales, and Religions that have been passed down in oral or written form Journey to the West ( is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

Monkeys are prevalent in numerous books, television programs, and movies. The television series Monkey, the literary characters Monsieur Eek and Curious George are all examples. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U Monkey, also known as Monkey Magic!, refers to the English language voice-over version - not the original English subtitled version - of the Japanese Monsieur Eek is a short Novel by respected playwright David Ives, intended for ages 9-12 Curious George is the Protagonist of a series of popular Children's books by the same name written by Hans Augusto Rey and Margret Rey.

However, pop culture often incorrectly labels apes, particularly chimpanzees, gibbons, and gorillas, as monkeys. Terry Pratchett makes use of the distinction in his Discworld novels, in which the Librarian of the Unseen University is an orangutan who gets very violent if referred to as a monkey. Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948 is an English fantasy, Science fiction, and children's author. Discworld is a comedic Fantasy Book series by the British author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat The Librarian of Unseen University is a character in Terry Pratchett 's Discworld series of fantasy novels Unseen University (UU is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's fictional Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork, staffed by a faculty The orangutans are two Species of great apes known for their intelligence long arms and reddish-brown hair

Religion and worship

Hanuman, a prominent divine entity in Hinduism, is a monkey-like humanoid. Hanuman (हनुमत् sa-Latn '''Hanumat''' nominative singular sa हनुमान् sa-Latn ''Hanumān'' known also as ' Anjaneya' (son of Anjana is one of the Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. He may bestow longevity. In buddhism, the monkey is an early incarnation of buddha but may also represent trickery and ugliness. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices It is also one of the Three Senseless Creatures, symbolizing greed, with the tiger representing anger and the deer lovesickness. The Mizaru or Three wise monkeys are revered in Japanese folklore. The three wise monkeys ( Japanese:, san'en or sanzaru, or, sanbiki no saru, literally "three monkeys" are a pictorial maxim ^[5]

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. The Moche civilization (alternately the Mochica culture Early Chimu Pre-Chimu Proto-Chimu etc ^[6] They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted monkeys in their art. ^[7]

Zodiac

The Monkey is the ninth in the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Monkey ( 猴) is one of the 12-year cycle of Animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, incorporating elements of a Lunar calendar with those of a Solar calendar. The next time that the monkey will appear as the zodiac sign will be in the year 2016

See also

• List of monkeys

References

External links

• "The Impossible Housing and Handling Conditions of Monkeys in Research Laboratories", by Viktor Reinhardt, International Primate Protection League, August 2001
• Inside the monkey houseat Covance, shot undercover by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
• The Problem with Pet Monkeys: Reasons Monkeys Do Not Make Good Pets, an article by veterinarian Lianne McLeod on About. Covance Inc ( formerly Corning Incorporated with headquarters in Princeton New Jersey, is a Contract research organization, (also known as a Clinical research The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection ( BUAV) is a British animal protection group based in London UK which campaigns for the complete abolition of all com
• Helping Hands: Monkey helpers for the disabled, a U. S. national non-profit organization based in Boston Massachusetts that places specially trained capuchin monkeys with people who are paralyzed or who live with other severe mobility impairments

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