Primates, Apes, Monkeys?

Yesterday when I was writing about monkeys, I got so confused about what was a monkey, strictly speaking. Then what is an ape? And what is a primate? So just as I did for Big Cats I went on a search to sort my thinking out.

A primate is any mammal of the group that includes lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes and humans, so there are primates other than apes, monkeys and humans.

One major difference between apes and monkeys is that apes have no tails, and almost all monkeys have tails, so the quickest and easiest way to tell a monkey and an ape apart is by looking for a tail. Apes are also typically larger than monkeys, as is demonstrated in the size of gorillas and orangutans. 

The gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo and orangutan are called great apes in recognition of their comparatively large size and humanlike features; the gibbons are called lesser apes. The great apes are much more intelligent than monkeys and gibbons. Apes also tend to live longer than monkeys. Martin Jenkins book above will help solve these questions.

Monkey species include baboons, macaques, marmosets, tamarins, and capuchins. Ape species include humans, gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, and bonobos. In evolutionary and genetic terms, ape species are much closer to humans than monkeys are.

Most of the apes have a celebratory day of their own and are easier to celebrate with picture books. Anthony Browne has made that very easy because so many of his picture books feature gorillas or chimpanzees, but not so sure about books about bonobos and gibbons. I know very little about bonobos, but when you read about them here as I did you realise we should know so much more about them as they share a remarkable 98.7% of our DNA, making them our closest living relatives. Bonobos are biologically conditioned to look for peaceful solutions, unlike their more rambunctious cousins, the chimpanzees so they are often referred to as peace ambassadors and they share their day with Valentines Day.

World Gorilla Day 24th September.

World Chimpanzee Day is 14th July.

World Bonobo Day is 14th February.

World Orangutan Day is 19th July.

World Gibbon Day is 24th October.

14th December International Monkey Day

Monkeys, also known as simians, live all over the world. More than 260 species of monkeys populate Africa, Central America, South America, and Asia. They range in size from very small like the pygmy marmoset to the larger mandrill. Monkeys tend to walk on all four limbs. As a member of the primate family, they are considered a lesser ape. Most monkeys have a tail, though not all do. Monkeys are divided into two categories – Old World monkeys and New World monkeys. Old World monkeys live in Africa and Asia while New World monkeys live in South America.

Monkey species include baboons, macaques, marmosets, tamarins, and capuchins. Some of these monkeys have their own celebratory day.

It is International Baboon Day on 3rd December. It is International Macaque Day on 16th March. It is International Tamarin Day on 21st September, but I would find it very hard to celebrate these days in the library with books because we do not have that many books about specific monkeys.

I'd start this celebration of monkeys with a book such as Fourteen Monkeys  by Melissa Stewart and Steve Page so as to have the simians sorted.

Then some more non-fiction:

       

Next explore the myriad of fun 'monkey' stories.

See this Pinterest page for ideas.

Finish with Quentin Blake and Emma Chichester Clark's series about three little monkeys.