allthingsprimate

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Two Siamang Gibbons Calling, Vocal Pouches Inflated, Endangered, from Se Asia

  by Eric Baccega

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Interactive Primate Tree

Illustration by Michael Boardman, Coyote Graphics,© Conservation International

Click through the image to learn “about these primates’ behaviors, habitats, and physical characteristics. Just roll your cursor over the different primates, and click on ones that you would like to know more about.”

  To see more information about primate conservation click the link or go to the Conservation International homepage.

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Friends.

Vervet Monkeys in Kruger.

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my left foot by Stinkersmell on Flickr.

Female mandrill by Ion Moe

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A northern muriqui and juvenile (Brachyteles hypoxanthus). The northern muriqui is an endangered woolly spider monkey species endemic to Brazil.

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Doeroecoeli Artis JN6A2075 by j.a.kok on Flickr.

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I wonder if baboons think we have funny-looking butts.

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The bald uakari (Cacajao calvus) is a small, arboreal New World monkey native to a small, broken range in Brazil and Peru in seasonally flooded forests of the Amazon River Basin. They eat nuts and hard, unripe fruit that other primates are unable to access thanks to their powerful jaws. 67% of their diet consists of these seeds and nuts, followed by fruit and flowers, with occasional animal prey (5%). They are also known to take insects that they encounter, but they don’t actively seek them as a food source.

Their distinctive red faces are due to both a lack of pigmentation and the presence of many capillaries beneath the surface of the skin. Sickly uakaris are therefore dramatically more pale, signaling potential mates to what could be poor genetics. The breeding period is between October and May, and females attract males with scent that signals her readiness to mate.

The IUCN lists the bald uakari as Vulnerable due to habitat loss and hunting. Due to their specific habitat needs and limited range, deforestation is particularly damaging.

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Affectionate Bonobos

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5 Reasons Why Primates Should Never Be Kept As Pets

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Source

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Lemurs, like most primates, are social animals, though the kind of groups that they form tend to vary by species.  One of the unusual things about lemurs, however, is that in many diurnal species the females tend to be the dominant sex, a highly unusual system among primates.  There are many theories as to why this may occur, although nothing has proven conclusive as of yet.

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Golden Snub-nosed Monkey

Photo by: In Cherl Kim

Click here for more nature!

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Science has uncovered major continuities between the social behavior of humans and other primates, including politics, culture, and morality. In this podcast, primatologist and ethologist Frans de Waal explores the similarities between humans and other primates in power politics, transmission of knowledge and habits, empathy, and sense of fairness.

Download this podcast.

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Can you see me? by Michael Rehbein

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A New World, Brazilian primate, the White-headed marmoset, tufted-ear marmoset or Geoffroy’s marmoset(Callithrix geoffroyi)

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Monkey or Ape?

desmopipoca

replied to your post

“Ah, chimps, the gentle giants of the monkey family..”

Chimps are apes, not monkeys, correct?

Yes, chimps are a part of the taxonomic family  Hominidae - more commonly known as the hominids or great apes - which includes orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans. If you back up one step on the taxonomic tree to the superfamily  Hominoidea, we can add gibbons (aka “lesser apes”) to the ape party.

(Understanding Humans, 11th Ed., p. 126, x)

However, it’s important to note that the terms “ape” and “monkey” are not scientific terms. Indeed the whole idea that “ape” = members of the Hominidae family wasn’t adopted by the scientific community until well into the 20th century! (And even now there are certain circles that get their little egos hurt if you refer to humans as apes) 

Historically “ape” was just the common English word for a tailless (non-human) anthropoid primate, with “monkey” covering their tailed counterparts. This lead to some awkward naming situations with primates like the Barbary ape, aka. Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), who lacks a tail but is definitely not a hominid. 

Some people like to use “monkey” as replacement for simian (members of the suborder Anthropoidea). In which case, you’re not wrong, but you may send any nearby Primatologists into a taxonomic rage. In the scientific community the word “monkey” is only really used when talking about members of the Cercopithecoidea (Old World Monkeys) or Platyrrhini (New World Monkeys) parvorders. After all, as scientists we should always strive to be as accurate and precise as possible in our language choices. So don’t use monkey/simian when ape will do.

TL;DR: Language is tricky and common vernacular doesn’t always agree with scientific terminology. Just watch scientists twitch when you say “it’s only a theory” and you’ll see what I mean. 

Other sources on Primate Taxonomy: Primate Taxonomy Sideshow - PrimateInfoNet The Primate Order - Columbia University Primate Hands Family Tree - HandResearch.com Prehistoric and Contemporary Primates - University of Minnesota Duluth