All Kinds of Monkeys – Taxonomy and Links
There is a lot of variety between the species of monkeys, coming in many shapes, sizes and colors, from the tiny marmosets to the enormous gorilla. Many have short fur all over the body, such as the chimpanzee or pygmy marmoset, but some have long orange body hair, like the orangutan or the golden lion tamarin. Some have some nice colors in other places too. The male mandrill of Central Africa has bright red and blue on his face and red, blue, and violet coloration on his butt. The Japanese macaque is medium brown with a red face. The golden langur of China has orange fur with a bright blue face.
Habits, diet and range also vary a great deal across species. Here is the taxonomy (from the Greek for order or arrangement) of different kinds of monkey species starting with the relevant primate groups:
Primates
Within the types of primates there are 2 suborders:
- Strepsirrhini: Lorises, Pottos, Lemurs, and Galagos ~ 118 species (mostly Lemurs)
- Haplorrhini: Tarsiers and Simians
Simians
It is within the Simian group that all the types of monkeys are found.
There are three major groups:
- New World (The Americas)
- Marmosets, Tamarins, Capuchins and Squirrel Monkeys ~ 56 species
- Night Monkeys, Owl Monkeys, Douroucoulis ~ 8 species
- Titis, Sakis and Uakaris ~ 41 species
- Howler, Spider and Woolly Monkeys ~ 24 species
- Old World (Asia and Africa) ~ 135 species
Some of the larger subgroups are:- Baboons
- Colobus
- Langurs
- Macaques
- Mandrills
- Mangabeys
- Apes – Not really monkeys at all but Simians
For more pictures and details of various species:
Types of Monkeys
Facts about specific monkey species and some near monkeys or primates in general:
Pygmy Marmoset
Squirrel Monkeys
Orangutan
Aye-aye
Gorillas
Loris
Tarsiers
Blog posts related to monkeys:
Monkey Behavior
Monkeys for Sale
Chinese Zodiac Animals (the monkey is of course included)
Pygmy Tarsier Rediscovered in Indonesia