   #copyright

Monkey

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

   Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys.
   Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys.
   Cynomolgus Monkey at Batu Caves, Malaysia
   Cynomolgus Monkey at Batu Caves, Malaysia

   A monkey is any member of two of the three groupings of simian
   primates. These three groupings are the New World monkeys, the Old
   World monkeys, and the apes. The New World monkeys are classified
   within the parvorder Platyrrhini, whereas the Old World monkeys
   (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) form part of the parvorder Catarrhini,
   which also includes the apes. Thus, scientifically speaking, monkeys do
   not form a "natural group", in that the Old World monkeys are actually
   more closely related to the apes than they are to the New World
   species. There are 264 known extant species of monkey. Because of their
   similarity to monkeys, apes such as chimpanzees and gibbons are often
   called monkeys in informal usage, though biologists don't consider them
   to be monkeys. Conversely, due to its size (up to 1 metre) the Mandrill
   is often thought to be an ape, but it is actually an Old World monkey.
   Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name.
   Because they are not a single coherent group, monkeys do not have any
   particular traits that they all share and are not shared with the
   remaining group of simians, the apes.

Characteristics

   Monkeys, Mori Sosen (1749-1821)
   Monkeys, Mori Sosen (1749-1821)

   Monkeys range in size from the Pygmy Marmoset, at 14-16 cm (5-6 inch)
   long (plus tail) and 120-140 g (4-5 oz) in weight, to the male
   Mandrill, almost 1 metre (3 ft) long and weighing 35 kg (75 lb). Some
   are arboreal (living in trees), some live on the savannah; diets differ
   among the various species but may contain any of the following: fruit,
   leaves, seeds, nuts, flowers, insects, spiders, eggs and small animals.

   Some characteristics are shared among the groups; most New World
   monkeys have prehensile tails while Old World monkeys do not; some have
   trichromatic colour vision like that of humans, others are dichromats
   or monochromats. Although both the New and Old World monkeys, like the
   apes, have forward facing eyes, the faces of Old World and New World
   monkeys look very different though again, each group shares some
   features such as the types of noses, cheeks and rumps. In order to
   understand the monkeys, it is necessary to study the characteristics of
   the different groups individually.

Name

   According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "monkey" may
   originate in a German version of the Big Virgina fable, published circa
   1580. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son
   of Martin the Ape. The word Moneke may have been derived from the
   Italian monna, which means "a female ape". The name Moneke likely
   persisted over time due to the popularity of Reynard the Fox.

   A group of monkeys may be referred to as a mission or a tribe.

Classification

   Macaques in Kam Shan Country Park of Hong Kong
   Macaques in Kam Shan Country Park of Hong Kong

   The following lists shows where the various monkey families (bolded)
   are placed in the Primate classification. Note that the smallest
   grouping that contains them all is the Simiiformes, the simians, which
   also contains the apes. Calling apes "monkeys" is incorrect. Calling
   either a simian is correct.
     * ORDER PRIMATES
          + Suborder Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians
          + Suborder Haplorrhini: tarsiers, monkeys and apes
               o Infraorder Tarsiiformes
                    # Family Tarsiidae: tarsiers
               o Infraorder Simiiformes: simians
                    # Parvorder Platyrrhini: New World monkeys
                         @ Family Cebidae: marmosets, tamarins, capuchins
                           and squirrel monkeys (56 species)
                         @ Family Aotidae: night monkeys, owl monkeys,
                           douroucoulis (8 species)
                         @ Family Pitheciidae: titis, sakis and uakaris
                           (41 species)
                         @ Family Atelidae: howler, spider and woolly
                           monkeys (24 species)
                    # Parvorder Catarrhini
                         @ Superfamily Cercopithecoidea
                              - Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys
                                (135 species)
                         @ Superfamily Hominoidea: apes
                              - Family Hylobatidae: gibbons ("lesser
                                apes") (13 species)
                              - Family Hominidae: great apes including
                                humans (7 species)

Monkeys in captivity

As service animals for the disabled

   Some organizations, such as Helping Hands in Boston, Massachusetts,
   have been training capuchin monkeys to assist quadriplegics and other
   people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments. After
   being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo
   extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Around the
   house, the monkeys help out by doing tasks including microwaving food,
   washing the quadriplegic's face, and opening drink bottles.

Monkeys in science

In laboratories

   Macaques, especially the Rhesus Macaque, and African green monkeys are
   widely used in animal testing facilities. This is primarily because of
   their relative ease of handling, their fast reproductive cycle
   (compared to apes) and their psychological and physical similarity to
   humans. In the United States, around 50,000 non-human primates, most of
   them monkeys, have been used in experiments every year since 1973;
   PDF (136  KiB) 10,000 monkeys were used in the European Union in 2004.
   Highly sociable animals, monkeys are kept in many different
   environments.

   The use of monkeys in laboratories is controversial. Many people claim
   that it is cruel and produces little information of value, and there
   have been many protests, vandalism to testing facilities, and threats
   to workers. Defenders of tests on monkeys claim that it has led to many
   important medical breakthroughs, and that the prevention of harm to
   humans should be a higher priority than the that imposed on monkeys.
   The topic has become a popular cause for animal rights groups.

In space

   A number of countries have used monkeys as part of their space
   exploration programmes, including the United States and France. The
   first monkey in space was Gordo who flew in the US Jupiter AM-13 rocket
   in 1958.

As food

   There are a lot of myths about Chinese habits which are mostly
   contrived, such as the stories about eating monkeys brains.

   Scientists from the University of Nottingham speculate that humans
   caught HIV after hunting and eating the infected chimps.

   Monkeys are forbidden to be eaten according to Islamic dietary laws.

Monkeys in culture

Literature

   Simian statue at a Buddhist shrine in Tokyo, Japan.
   Simian statue at a Buddhist shrine in Tokyo, Japan.

   Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in
   Chinese mythology, is the main protagonist in the classic comic Chinese
   novel Journey to the West.

   Monkeys are prevalent in numerous books, television programs, and
   movies. The television series Monkey, the literary characters Monsieur
   Eek and Curious George are all examples.

   However, pop culture often incorrectly labels apes, particularly
   chimpanzees, gibbons, and gorillas, as monkeys. Terry Pratchett makes
   use of the distinction in his Discworld novels, in which the Librarian
   of the Unseen University is an orangutan who gets very violent if
   referred to as a monkey.

Religion

   Hanuman, a prominent divine entity in Hinduism, is a monkey-like
   humanoid. Quran, the holy book of Muslims mentions that people who
   broke the sabbath were turned into monkeys as a punishment.^[Qur'an
   2:65]

Zodiac

   The Monkey is the ninth in the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in
   the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The next time that
   the monkey will appear as the zodiac sign will be in the year 2016.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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