Old World monkey
Old World monkeys[1] Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Olive baboon (Papio anubis) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Parvorder: | Catarrhini |
Superfamily: | Cercopithecoidea Gray, 1821[2] |
Family: | Cercopithecidae Gray, 1821[2] |
Type genus | |
Cercopithecus Linnaeus, 1758
| |
Subfamilies | |
Cercopithecinae – 13 genera Hominoidea
| |
The distribution and density of Old World Monkey species |
Old World monkeys are
Phylogenetically, they are more closely related to apes than to New World monkeys, with the Old World monkeys and apes diverging from a common ancestor between 25 million and 30 million years ago.[3] This clade, containing the Old World monkeys and the apes, diverged from a common ancestor with the New World monkeys around 45 to 55 million years ago.[4] The individual species of Old World monkey are more closely related to each other than to apes or any other grouping, with a common ancestor around 14 million years ago.[5]
The smallest Old World monkey is the
Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting numerous environments: tropical
Some Old World monkeys are
Taxonomic classification and phylogeny
Two subfamilies are recognized, the Cercopithecinae, which are mainly African, but include the diverse genus of macaques, which are Asian and North African, and the Colobinae, which includes most of the Asian genera, but also the African colobus monkeys.
The
- Superfamily Cercopithecoidea
- Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys
- Subfamily Cercopithecinae
- Tribe Cercopithecini
- Genus Allenopithecus – Allen's swamp monkey
- Genus Miopithecus– talapoins
- Genus Erythrocebus – patas monkeys
- Genus Chlorocebus
- Genus Cercopithecus– guenons
- Genus Allochrocebus – terrestrial guenons
- Tribe Papionini
- Genus Macaca – macaques
- Genus Lophocebus– crested mangabeys
- Genus Rungwecebus– kipunji
- Genus Papio– baboons
- Genus Theropithecus – gelada
- Genus Cercocebus– white-eyelid mangabeys
- Genus Mandrillus – mandrill and drill
- Tribe Cercopithecini
- Subfamily Colobinae
- African group
- Genus Colobus– black-and-white colobuses
- Genus Piliocolobus– red colobuses
- Genus Procolobus– olive colobus
- Genus
- Langur (leaf monkey) group
- Genus Semnopithecus– gray langurs or Hanuman langurs
- Genus Trachypithecus – lutungs
- Genus Presbytis – surilis
- Genus
- Odd-nosed group
- Genus Pygathrix– doucs
- Genus Rhinopithecus– snub-nosed monkeys
- Genus Nasalis – proboscis monkey
- Genus Simias– pig-tailed langur
- Genus
- African group
- Subfamily Cercopithecinae
- Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys
The distinction between apes and
"Old World monkey" may also legitimately be taken to be meant to include all the catarrhines, including apes and extinct species such as
Characteristics
Old World monkeys are medium to large in size, and range from
Most Old World monkeys have tails (the family name means "tailed ape"), unlike the tailless apes. The tails of Old World monkeys are not prehensile, unlike those of the New World monkeys (platyrrhines).
The distinction of catarrhines from platyrrhines depends on the structure of the rhinarium, and the distinction of Old World monkeys from apes depends on dentition (the number of teeth is the same in both, but they are shaped differently). In platyrrhines, the nostrils face sideways, while in catarrhines, they face downward. Other distinctions include both a tubular ectotympanic (ear bone), and eight, not twelve, premolars in catarrhines, giving them a dental formula of: 2.1.2.32.1.2.3
Several Old World monkeys have anatomical oddities. For example, the
The penis of the male mandrill is crimson and the scrotum is lilac; the face is also brightly colored. The coloration is more pronounced in dominant males.[10]
Habitat and distribution
The Old World
Behaviour and ecology
Diet
Most Old World monkeys are at least partially omnivorous, but all prefer plant matter, which forms the bulk of their diet. Leaf monkeys are the most vegetarian, subsisting primarily on leaves, and eating only a small number of insects, while the other species are highly opportunistic, primarily eating fruit, but also consuming almost any food items available, such as flowers, leaves, bulbs and rhizomes, insects, snails, and even small vertebrates.[6] The Barbary macaque's diet consists mostly of leaves and roots, though it will also eat insects and uses cedar trees as a water source.[12]
Reproduction
Gestation in the Old World monkeys lasts between five and seven months. Births are usually single, although, as with humans, twins occur occasionally. The young are born relatively well-developed, and are able to cling onto their mother's fur with their hands from birth. Compared with most other mammals, they take a long time to reach sexual maturity, with four to six years being typical of most species.
Social systems
In most species, daughters remain with their mothers for life, so that the basic social group among Old World monkeys is a matrilineal troop. Males leave the group on reaching adolescence, and find a new troop to join. In many species, only a single adult male lives with each group, driving off all rivals, but others are more tolerant, establishing hierarchical relationships between dominant and subordinate males. Group sizes are highly variable, even within species, depending on the availability of food and other resources.[6]
See also
- List of Old World monkey species
- List of primates by population
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ a b Gray, J.E. (1821). "On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals". London Medical Repository. 15 (1): 296–310.
- ^ Palmer, Chris; magazine, Nature. "Fossils Indicate Common Ancestor for Old World Monkeys and Apes". Scientific American. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
25 million to 30
- PMID 23826358.
- ISBN 9780618619160.
- ^ ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
- ^ "GEOL 204 The Fossil Record: The Scatterlings of Africa: The Origins of Humanity". www.geol.umd.edu. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ^ AronRa (2010-01-16), Turns out we DID come from monkeys!, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2018-11-12
- ^ "Early Primate Evolution: The First Primates". anthro.palomar.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
- S2CID 25762754.
- ISBN 0-231-11640-3.
- S2CID 86080812.
External links
- Data related to Cercopithecoidea at Wikispecies
- Data related to Cercopithecidae at Wikispecies