Monkeys are animals closest to humans in terms of their body structure. From the point of view of zoology, all representatives of the order of primates are called monkeys. Primates are superior to other animals only by their ingenuity. As for scent, hearing and sight, in primates they are not developed in the best way.
Instructions
Step 1
Modern zoology divides all monkeys into two groups. The first group is the primates of the Old World, and the second is the primates of the New World. The first group includes monkeys living in Africa and Asia, and the second includes primates from Central and South America. Each of these groups has its own distinctive features. For example, New World primates have tails that allow them to hold onto trees as they move. The nose of such monkeys is wide. Representatives of the Old World, on the contrary, often do not have a tail, and if there is one, it does not provide any assistance to its master. The nose of Asian and African primates is very narrow. Both groups of animals include over 160 different species of monkeys.
Step 2
The brightest primates of the New World are monkeys, capuchins, tamarins, woolly monkeys, nocturnal and owl monkeys, howler monkeys, marmosets, marmosets, etc. The primates of South and Central America are not as numerous and diverse as the monkeys of the Old World, as there are only about 56 species of them. In Africa and Asia, perhaps the largest number of all kinds of primates lives: scientists have more than 135 species of these creatures. All primates are grouped into broad categories: colobus, baboon, macaque, mandrill, etc. There is another category of Old World monkeys that includes only five superfamilies of these primates. They are called great apes, or hominoids.
Step 3
Great apes include chimpanzees, gorilla, orangutan, gibbon, and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees). Zoologists attribute these primates to the superfamily of the narrow-nosed monkeys. The structure of their body is similar to the structure of the human body, which allows us to speak of these primates as anthropoid. These primates do not have a tail or ischial calluses. They also have no cheek pouches. A characteristic feature of all great apes lies in their mode of locomotion: instead of moving with all their limbs, these animals move under branches, mainly with the help of their upper limbs. This led to certain anatomical changes in the body of the primate: their arms became flexible and long, and the rib cage was flattened. All representatives of the superfamily of great apes can stand on their hind limbs, freeing their hands. They are characterized by developed facial expressions, as well as the ability to analyze and think.
