Dictionary > Monkey

Monkey

Definition
noun, plural: monkeys
Any of the long-tailed, dry-nosed primates but excluding the prosimians
Supplement
Monkeys are primates with the exclusion of the prosimians. Prosimians have relatively primitive features as exemplified by lemurs, lorisoids, tarsiers, adapiforms, and non-simian omomyids. They are characterized by having a long tail and for being haplorrhine (i.e. dry-nosed). There are references that use the terms monkeys and apes interchangeably. However, stricter usage of the terms would delineate apes and monkeys as separate and distinct groups of primates.
Monkeys may be classified into two major groups: (1) New World monkeys and (2) Old World monkeys. A feature common between these two groups is having a long tail. Nevertheless, the New World monkeys have a prehensile tail whereas the Old World monkeys have a tail that is not prehensile. The New World monkeys (platyrrhines) include marmosets, tamarins, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys, titis, sakis, uakaris, woolly monkeys, etc. The pygmy marmoset is considered as the world’s smallest monkey. The Old World monkeys (family Cercopithecidae) include macaques, baboons, mandrills, talapoins, colobus monkeys, guenons, langurs, mangabeys, patas, and talapoins.
Scientific classification:

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Primates
  • Suborder: Haplorhini
  • Infraorder: Simiiformes (Haeckel, 1866)

See also:

Related term(s):

  • Mason-pfiser monkey virus
  • Monkey-bread
  • Monkey hand
  • Yaba monkey virus

You will also like...

Early Earth
The Origins of Life

This tutorial digs into the past to investigate the origins of life. The section is split into geological periods in the..

New Zealand - Biodiversity fauna
New Zealand’s Biodiversity

Find out more about New Zealand's unique biodiversity by exploring a range of different ecosystems and the key role of s..

kinesin motor proteins transporting molecules across microtubules
Movement of Molecules Across Cell Membranes

Molecules move within the cell or from one cell to another through different strategies. Transport may be in the form of..

Human Nervous System
The Human Nervous System

The nervous system is essentially a biological information highway. This tutorial gives an overview of the nervous syste..

sponge
Primitive Animals

Life, as we know it today, is presumed to have started in the sea and many of them were likely eukaryotic animal-like or..

Schematic diagram of DNA replication
DNA Structure & DNA Replication

DNA is a double helix structure comprised of nucleotides. A nucleotide, in turn, is made up of phosphate molecule, deoxy..