Monkeys: Facts - Interesting Monkey Facts And Theories - What is the rarest monkey?
Monkeys
The monkey is classified under the primate family of simians. There are approximately 60 different species of monkeys around the world. Monkeys have been living on Earth for over 40 million years. A lot of primates live in tropical rainforests and grasslands. When we compare the size of their bodies to the human body they look quite small. But compared to humans, they are actually much bigger especially if we consider their brains. In fact, a chimpanzee's brain is about 1/10th the size of a human beings' brain while a gorilla's brain is only about 1/20th the size of a humans'.
In addition, monkeys have very long arms and legs and their hands and feet are opposable, meaning that they can move independently from each other unlike our own hands. They are omnivorous (a herbivore eats both plants and meat) and eat fruits, nuts, berries, leaves, seeds, tubers, roots, mushrooms and insects. They use their intelligence and sharp senses to survive in nature. Sometimes monkeys even climb trees to escape from predators.
Monkeys: Facts
- Monkeys belong to the order Primates together with humans, apes, and lemurs. Primates are defined as mammals who have forelimbs modified for grasping and walking on two feet, including hands, arms, shoulders, legs, and sometimes tails. All monkeys are social animals and live in groups called troops. Most primates spend their entire lives in trees and are able to move easily among branches using their long limbs and opposable thumbs.
- There are over 120 species of monkey around the world, including baboons, capuchins, colobus, gorillas, langurs, macaques, mangabeys, marmosets, patas, tamarins, and tayra. Many species are endangered due to habitat loss, hunting, and disease outbreaks.
- A monkey's brain is much larger than its body size would indicate. Monkeys' brains make up 40-60% of their total weight. Their brains contain approximately 25 billion neurons, making them among the most highly developed of all mammals. Unlike many other mammals, they do not have fur—only their sweat glands serve the purpose of keeping warm. In fact, some species are known to use clothing!
- Monkey females give birth to twins only once in their lifetime. Twins are born between 3 and 9 months after conception. While the mother carries the babies in her belly, she does not nurse them. Instead, the infants ingest milk produced by her mammary glands.
- Monkeys are herbivores like cows, horses, goats, sheep, pigs, and deer. They eat mainly fruits, nuts, seeds, and leaves. However, they may occasionally eat meat, insects, eggs, and even small rodents.
- Monkeys are active throughout the day, just like humans. They sleep at night and are awake during the day.
- Monkeys are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal material. They are capable of eating any type of food that falls off tree trunks. They may hunt fruit, nectar, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, carrion, roots, tubers, mushrooms, and greens. Even if they don't find something edible, they may chew sticks and twigs to help break down tough foods.
- You might think that since monkeys are social creatures, they communicate with each other with facial expressions, sounds, gestures, and even with their bodies. But they actually communicate nonverbally; they use scent markings, urine spraying, and grooming to convey information.
- Monkeys' circadian rhythms keep them active during the day and inactive at night. Their eyes shine red during daylight hours because of high levels of blood flow. They sleep during the dark period and wake up in the morning.
- Monkeys are diurnal animals. That means they're active during the day. Diurnal animals tend to be active earlier in the morning and late afternoon/evening.
- Monkeys are great athletes. They run, jump, climb, swing, swim, and balance themselves well. Their agility and dexterity allow them to travel fast and efficiently.
- Monkeys are very curious animals. They explore everything around them and frequently interact with people.
- Like us, monkeys also get sick. When they are ill, they experience fever, sore throat, cough, sneezes, runny nose, swollen lymph nodes, diarrhoea, vomiting, and even unconsciousness.
- The average monkey eats about 4,000 calories a day.
- When monkeys reach old age they become inactive due to lack of interest. Inactivity causes them to lose muscle mass and bone density. As a result, they often fall over and break bones.
- Monkeys have been seen playing games such as hide-and-seek, tug-of war, tag, and many others. Playing these games keeps everyone happy and entertained.
- Monkeys are intelligent animals who understand human speech. They have heard human language since birth.
- Monkeys can survive on a diet of bananas, coconuts, figs, papayas, pineapples, mangoes, mangosteens, melons, oranges, potatoes, rice, sugarcane, taro, watermelon, yams, zucchini, and many other fruits and vegetables.
- Some Monkeys eat insects and spiders and enjoy eating lizards, snakes, snails, crabs, small birds, and frogs.
- Monkeys are extremely versatile animals. They can climb trees, swim, run and jump very high. They are good swimmers and climbers. They can easily navigate rocky terrain and rough forests. They can move quickly through dense foliage and navigate complex landscapes. Monkeys are skilled hunters and use their strong arms to capture prey. They can be agile enough to catch and bite a bird’s neck without breaking its own teeth.
- There are approximately 60 different types of monkeys found today. Over 25% of these species are endangered. About 30% of the world’s population of monkeys live in Asia. The rest of the world population lives mainly in Africa.
- A monkey's life span may reach 30 years.
What is the rarest monkey?
Bonobo
The bonobo (Pan paniscus) is a small ape species native to Africa. Its natural habitat ranges from east-central Congo and western Uganda to southern Sudan and northern Central African Republic, although its range was once much larger; it was hunted nearly to extinction until the mid 20th century.
Tarsier
The tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), also known as the flying lemur, is a nocturnal insectivorous primate endemic to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to monkeys, apes, and prosimians, and belongs to the subfamily Tarsiidae.
Pygmy marmoset
The pygmy marmoset (Callithrix kuhli) is a small New World monkey belonging to the family Callitrichidae. As their name suggests, they are the smallest primates in the Americas, reaching only 25–35 cm in height.
Leaf Monkey
The leaf monkey (Presbytis entellus) is a species of arboreal New World monkey belonging to family Cebidae. Their body length varies between 37 cm and 45 cm.
Hairy Armadillo
The hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) is a South American mammal belonging to the order Pilosa. The armadilloes have two types of hair, short hairs on the face and upper parts of the body, and longer ones on the lower parts of the body and tail.
Black Lemur
The black lemur (Eulemur macaco macaco) is a species of Old World monkey (suborder Primates, family Cheirogaleidae) native to Madagascar. Although traditionally included in the mouse lemurs genus Microcebus, molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the black lemur falls outside the clade comprising Microcebus and its closest relatives, placing them in a monophyletic group of their own.
Red Panda
The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is a bearlike carnivore that is mainly active at night in tropical forests and subtropical bamboo groves. They eat almost anything and are omnivores, but are primarily herbivorous.
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