Primates are one of the progressive orders of mammals, including monkeys, the systematics of which are briefly described in this article, and humans.
The last in time to appear on Earth, but the first in intelligence, ingenuity and craving for knowledge of the world - these are primates. Evolution endowed them not only with a developed brain, but also with colored stereoscopic vision, incredible dexterity and long moving fingers. These features make primates ideal inhabitants of tree crowns.
Taxonomy of primates
Classification of primates began as early as Karl Linney in 1758, dividing the taxonomy into monkeys, semi-monkeys, sloths, and bats. Then the man was separated from the other four-armed monkeys in a suborder of two-armed. However, further study of the characteristics of representatives of different species led to the need to review the existing structure.
Modern taxonomy divides primates into two large suborders:
wet-nosed, which includes lemurs commemorative in the cartoon "Madagascar", as well as the lesser-known loris, galago, indri and ai-ai;
- dry-nosed, which include actually monkeys and tarsiers.
By the number of species, apes prevail among primates: 241 out of 369. Those that inhabit Africa and Southeast Asia are classified as narrow-nosed, and the inhabitants of the New World are called broad-nosed, or platyrrins.
How to distinguish a wide-nosed monkey
The sign that determined the name of this group - a wide nasal septum - is not typical for all platyrin. But most of them have other features:
the big toe is opposed to the rest, but the same toe is not;
grasping tail with papillary patterns on the underside;
lack of sciatic corns and cheek pouches;
food mainly leaves and insects;
exclusively woody lifestyle.
The zoologists constantly review the taxonomy of the apes of the broad-nosed suborder, however, two families are traditionally distinguished: cebus and marmoset. They live in the warm latitudes of the New World in tropical forests from Argentina to Mexico.
Cebus family: from funny capuchins to spider monkeys
Capuchins (cebuses) are the most famous of the wide-nosed monkeys. Europeans βdiscernedβ monastic robes in their guise and appreciated the intelligence of these little tomboys, which is why Capuchins are often kept in apartments along with cats. They like to live in one place, pound nuts with stones and rub their wool with any odorous substances, from formic acid to urine and expensive perfumes.
Saimiri similar to capuchins are similar in size to squirrels, but they are able to crush the campground due to the extreme degree of curiosity and the large number of schools: up to 500 individuals.
It is difficult for a person to sleep well in the area where the howlers settled. Resonators of males are so powerful that the cry of a monkey is heard for 2-3 km. Moreover, not one individual roars, but the whole community, and does this at any time of the day. In the Orinoco jungle, even foolish babies scream at night.
The bald, short-tailed uacari are deceived by the sad expression of their muzzle. In fact, they are sociable and inquisitive. And the arachnid monkeys of the koata impress with the size of their limbs and tail, the strength of which allows them to hang, folding all their paws on their chests. Tailing koats pluck the fruits, beg for food in zoos and open the doors of unlocked cells.
Marmoset family: claw monkeys
A distinctive feature of the marmoset is the presence of nails only on the thumbs of the hind legs. All other fingers are equipped with claws, so this group is called clawed monkeys.
They are extremely small - placed in the palm of your hand. Silky hair, original tufts of hair on the head, flexible character often makes the marmoset and marmosettes similar to them home pets.
Smart and unusual are tamarines - animals the size of a cat, mischievous and restless. In the taxonomy of monkeys, tamarins are somewhat different from the others in the structure of society: in their small flocks, only one female has offspring, and always gives birth to twins. The remaining members of the group have the honor of caring for the cubs.
The main variety of wide-nosed monkeys is in Brazil. In this regard, zoologists have two problems: to understand how primates penetrated the American continent, and to protect monkeys and animals of other species from extinction associated with the development of tropical forests.