Asking Minds

More than 260 species of monkeys in the World, that’s a lot (huh).

Well I guess, everyone has seen monkeys, the mischievous yet cute creatures. But no one has seen every species of monkeys. Right?

While the smallest of the species grow around 4.5 to 6-inch-tall and weight approx. 4 ounces, the largest ones can grow up to 3 feet tall and weight around 77 pounds.

Let me tell you, we are not talking about apes like chimpanzee, orangutan, gorilla or gibbon. We are talking about monkeys. What differs monkeys from apes is that monkeys have tails while apes don’t, though there are few exceptions.

According to the author John Fleagle and Chris Gilbert, “Primates first evolved somewhere between 70 and 80 million years ago when dinosaurs still dominated Earth’s fauna.”

Some monkeys live on trees whereas some prefer to enjoy their life on the grounds, they easily adapt in every environment. The monkeys who live on the trees are called arboreal.

Monkeys and apes both are well-known for their curiosity and intelligence. They can perform many humanly tasks like they can peel a banana. Monkeys like capuchins can also use an object as a tool like stones to crack nuts.

According to an article by NASA, “Sam, a rhesus monkey, was one of the most well-known monkeys of the space program.”

As mentioned by Monkeys World, “Africa, Central Asia, Japan, and India are the natural locations where you will find Monkeys. Today they are also found in Central America, South America, and Mexico. They have a very diverse habitat.”

The species of monkeys are divided into two groups i.e. Old-World Monkeys and New World Monkeys –

• Many of the New World monkeys have prehensile tails while old world monkeys don’t. A monkey with a prehensile tail can use its tail to hang from trees or branches so as to free up the hands for collecting fruits etcetera.

• Old world monkeys have cheek pouches where they store food to eat later on while New World monkeys don’t.

Let’s go into detail and know the classification of species of monkeys in the world –

New World Monkeys have 150 species and lives in South America and Central America –

The Callitrichidae family consists of a total number of 42 species of Marmoset monkeys and Tamarin monkeys –

• The Black-crowned dwarf marmosets are found in the Amazon rainforest. It is the second smallest species of monkey weighing up to 185 gm.
• The Pygmy marmosets are the smallest among its kind, with a height of approx. 6 inches and a tail that can go up to 9 inches. It can leap nearly 16 feet between branches.
• The Goeldi’s marmoset is up to 8-9 inches tall and their tails go as long as 10-12 inches. Their diet includes fruit, insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, and snakes.
• The Callithrix genus consists a total of six species of monkeys (marmosets). They eat small lizards and frogs.
• The Mico genus comprises a total of 14 species of marmosets (monkeys). They live in the Jungles of Amazon.
• The Lion Tamarin monkeys have just four species. They are arboreal and live in the eastern rainforests of Brazil. These species are critically endangered.
• The Tamarin monkeys are squirrel-sized monkeys and can live up to 18 years. There is a total of 15 species of Tamarins. They can grow up to 11.8 inches and their tail can grow up to 17.3 inches.

The Cebidae family compromises a total number of 14 species of Capuchin monkeys and Squirrel monkeys –

• The Gracile capuchin monkeys have 4 species. The Kaapori capuchin lies under the endangered animal’s list. White capuchin monkeys use leaves to drink water.
• Many of the Robust capuchin monkeys can use stones as tools to crack nuts. There is a total of 5 species of these monkeys.
• Most of the species of Squirrel monkeys can be found in Amazon. Out of the five species, two are threatened.

The Aotidae family have 11 species of Night monkeys –

• Night monkeys are also known as owl monkeys and are the only primates of the Aotidae family. Their large brown eyes support them to have a clear vision at night. Most of the night monkeys eat only fruits.

The Pitheciidae family contains 54 species of Titis, Uakaris and Saki monkeys.

•  There are four species of Uakari monkeys. Their body is covered with hair but their heads are bald.
• The Bearded Saki monkeys comprise five species and they don’t have prehensile tails. They live for approximately 15 years.
• The Saki monkeys are closely related to Bearded Saki Monkeys. They live in the jungles of Ecuador with 15 other species.
• The Titi monkeys include a total of 29 species. They live in Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

The Atelidae family includes 29 species of Howler and Spider monkeys.

• The Howler monkeys can smell food from a distance of 2 km. According to Guinness Book of World Records, their howl can be heard clearly to 3 mi (4.8 km). A total of 15 species can be distinguished in this genus.
• The Spider monkeys comprise 7 species and all the seven species are under threat. They are also used in laboratories for the study of malaria.
• There are four species of Woolly monkeys. They are very social hence they tend to live in large groups. These species are threatened by humans who use them as food or for trade.
• The Yellow-tailed woolly monkey is a rare primate species. They have the ability to leap up to 15m (49 ft). They like to consume soil.
• Muriquis or the Woolly spider monkeys have two species and both are the largest among all the New World monkeys.

Old World Monkeys have 138 species and lives in Africa and Asia along with the Apes –

The Cercopithecidae family includes 138 species of monkeys. Here is the list of the most known monkeys.

• The Colobus monkeys mostly like to eat leaves, unripe fruits but sometimes, they enjoy charcoal and clay too. There is a total of 16 species of Colobus monkeys.
• The Macaques have 23 species. They can be found in India, Japan, North Africa or Southern Europe. Some of these species don’t have a tail and they are well- known for their bad temper.
• The Baboons are distinguished among five species. They are mostly located in open savannah or open woodland. Some are omnivores while others are herbivores.
• The Proboscis monkey is one of the largest monkey species. This endangered species of monkey like to sleep near rivers.
• The Gray Langur monkeys stretch from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. Gray langurs are primarily herbivores.
• Also, there are many more species like Vervet monkeys, Green monkeys, Guenon monkeys, Mangabey monkeys, Mandrill, Kipunji, Surili etcetera.

Now there is one more information which you might find interesting. There are species of monkeys which can see the world in colors while some can only observe the world in black and white and to form a strong bond with one another, monkeys often clean each other’s fur by removing insects from it. (Uh-okay)

So, these were some of the most magnificent species of monkeys in the World. Well, monkeys are indeed one of the cutest creatures on Earth.

Do tell us if we missed anything or if you liked the information.

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