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Range and density of non-human primates. Primates is a diverse order of placental mammals which includes monkeys, lemurs, galagos, lorisids, tarsiers, and apes (including humans). Members of this order are called primates. The order currently comprises 502 extant species, which are grouped into 81 genera. The majority of primates live in South ...
- What Are Primates?
- Page Index
- Characteristics of Primates
- Types of Primates
- Evolution of Primates
- What Do Primates Eat?
- Primate Locomotion
- Tool Use by Primates
- Primate Social Behaviour
- Humans and Primates
Primates are mammals in the order Primates. Modern primates include bushbabies, lorises, lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes (including humans). Primates evolved from forest-dwelling ancestors and have adaptions for an arboreal (tree-dwelling) existence, including flexible shoulders and dextrous hands. Members of the order Primates range in size fr...
Primates have large brains relative to their body size and are known for their high intelligence. They evolved from tree-dwelling ancestors and show many adaptations for an arboreal existence. They have dextrous hands, and opposable thumbs and big toes, which help to grasp branches. They also have special nerve endings in their hands and feet that ...
Primates are divided into two major groups: the suborder strepsirrhini, which includes lemurs, bushbabies and lorises; and the suborder haplorhini, which includes tarsiers, monkeys, apes and humans. Bushbabies are found only in Africa and lemurs are native to Madagascar. Lorises occur in India and southeast Asia. These three groups of primates are ...
Fossils of primates have been found on all continents, excluding Australia and Antarctica. The oldest known examples were small, marmoset-like creatures with long tails. Their fossils have been found in North America, Asia and Europe, and date from around 55 million years ago. Even at this very early stage, these species showed several of the featu...
Most species of primates live in trees in tropical regions of the world. However, a few live in unusual habitats, such as high mountains and arid savannas. Their food consists of leaves, fruits, flowers and seeds, which they locate by visiting the canopies of the trees. Those species that have become terrestrial, such as baboons, are often omnivoro...
Primates exhibit a variety of locomotion styles, usually dependent on the habitats in which they live. Lemurs and bushbabies often leap from tree to tree, while lorises move more slowly and stalk their prey. Monkeys may leap or swing, and – along with gibbons – are really the athletes of the forest. Terrestrial monkeys, such as baboons, walk on all...
Several primates have been recorded using tools to help secure food. These tools are of a simple nature, such as the stone used by a crab-eating macaque to smash the shell of a mollusc, or the stem poked into an ant’s nest by a chimpanzee, in order to collect a row of tasty ants. Some primates have even been seen to make their own tools. In captivi...
Some primate species, such as orangutans, live a solitary existence; they forage alone and only meet up with others for the purpose of mating. Gibbons typically form pair bonds, and live together with a partner, rather than in a group. Most primates, however, live in groups, and show complex types of social organisation. Sometimes the groups consis...
There are many ways in which people interact with other primates. Often, primates are a tourist attraction and bring revenue to a country. In India, rhesus macaques are considered holy in Hindu mythology and people feed them and allow them to roam the streets in urban areas. In many African countries, people hunt and eat primates, and may sell capt...
A primate is any mammal of the group that includes lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans. The order Primates, with its 300 or more species, is the third most diverse order of mammals, after rodents and bats. This is a list of selected primates ordered alphabetically by taxonomic group. ( See also mammal; mammalogy; Jane Goodall .)
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
547 species. The list of species of Primates order. A primate (from Latin primat-, from primus 'prime, first rank') is a eutherian mammal constituting the taxonomic order Primates. Primates are sister to Dermoptera (flying lemurs or colugos), together forming the Primatomorpha. It consists of the otherwise extinct plesiadapiformes and its ...
Sep 1, 2014 · See photos of different primate species from around the world, including apes, monkeys, and prosimians. Learn about their habitats, threats, and conservation status on World Primate Day.
Mar 17, 2011 · It’s a story of island conquests, shrinking bodies, tangled branches and ancient relics. Image by Medeis. Today, the primates’ closest living relatives are the flying lemurs, or colugos, of ...
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Primates is a diverse order of placental mammals which includes monkeys, lemurs, galagos, lorisids, tarsiers, and apes. Members of this order are called primates. The order currently comprises 502 extant species, which are grouped into 81 genera. The majority of primates live in South and Central America, Africa, and southern and Southeast Asia, in a variety of habitats, particularly forests ...
