Old World monkey is the common English name for a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

s known

taxonomically In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...

as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

and 138

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons (genus '' Papio''), red colobus (genus '' Piliocolobus'') and

macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principall ...

s (genus '' Macaca''). Common names for other Old World monkeys include the talapoin, guenon, colobus, douc (douc langur, genus '' Pygathrix''), vervet, gelada, mangabey (a group of genera), langur, mandrill, surili ('' Presbytis''), patas, and

proboscis monkey The proboscis monkey (''Nasalis larvatus'') or long-nosed monkey is an arboreal Old World monkey with an unusually large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail. It is endemic to the southeast Asian island of Borneo and is found mostl ...

. Phylogenetically, they are more closely related to apes than to New World monkeys. They diverged from a common ancestor of New World monkeys around 45 to 55 million years ago. The smallest Old World monkey is the talapoin, with a head and body 34–37 cm in length, and weighing between 0.7 and 1.3 kg. The largest is the male mandrill, around 70 cm in length, and weighing up to 50 kg. Old World monkeys have a variety of facial features; some have

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is ...

s, some are flat nosed, and many exhibit coloration. Most have tails, but they are not

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different orig ...

. Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting numerous environments: tropical rain forests,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground ...

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

s, and mountainous terrain. They inhabited much of Europe in the past; today, the only survivors in Europe are the

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the ...

s of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

. Whether they are native to Gibraltar or were brought by humans is unknown. Some Old World monkeys are arboreal, such as the colobus monkeys; others are terrestrial, such as the

baboons Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma b ...

. Most are at least partially omnivorous, but all prefer plant matter, which forms the bulk of their diets. Most are highly opportunistic, primarily eating fruit, but also consuming almost any food items available, such as flowers, leaves, bulbs and rhizomes, insects, snails, small mammals, and garbage and handouts from humans.

Taxonomic classification and phylogeny

Two subfamilies are recognized, the

Cercopithecinae The Cercopithecinae are a subfamily of the Old World monkeys, which comprises roughly 71 species, including the baboons, the macaques, and the vervet monkeys. Most cercopithecine monkeys are limited to sub-Saharan Africa, although the macaqu ...

, which are mainly African, but include the diverse

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

s, which are Asian and North African, and the Colobinae, which includes most of the Asian genera, but also the African colobus monkeys. The Linnaean classification beginning with the

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

is: * Superfamily Cercopithecoidea ** Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys *** Subfamily

**** Tribe

Cercopithecini Cercopithecini is a tribe of Old World monkey that includes several monkey species, including the vervet monkeys, talapoins, Allen's swamp monkeys and the guenons, all in Africa. Classification * Family Cercopithecidae ** Subfamily Cercopith ...

***** Genus ''

Allenopithecus The Allen's swamp monkey (''Allenopithecus nigroviridis'') is a species of Old World monkey and the only member of the genus ''Allenopithecus''. Phylogenetically, it is a sister clade to the guenons, but differs in dentition and habits. Alle ...

'' – Allen's swamp monkey ***** Genus ''

Miopithecus __NOTOC__ Talapoins () are the two species of Old World monkeys classified in genus ''Miopithecus''. They live in central Africa, with their range extending from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Angola. With a typical length o ...

'' – talapoins ***** Genus '' Erythrocebus'' – patas monkeys ***** Genus '' Chlorocebus'' ***** Genus '' Cercopithecus'' – guenons ***** Genus '' Allochrocebus'' – terrestrial guenons **** Tribe Papionini ***** Genus '' Macaca'' – macaques ***** Genus '' Lophocebus'' – crested mangabeys ***** Genus '' Rungwecebus'' – kipunji ***** Genus '' Papio'' – baboons ***** Genus '' Theropithecus'' – gelada ***** Genus '' Cercocebus'' – white-eyelid mangabeys ***** Genus '' Mandrillus'' – mandrill and drill *** Subfamily Colobinae **** African group ***** Genus '' Colobus'' – black-and-white colobuses ***** Genus '' Piliocolobus'' – red colobuses ***** Genus ''

Procolobus The olive colobus monkey (''Procolobus verus''), also known as the green colobus or Van Beneden's colobus, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. Its English name refers to its dull olive upperparts. It is the smallest example o ...

'' – olive colobus **** Langur (leaf monkey) group ***** Genus '' Semnopithecus'' – gray langurs or Hanuman langurs ***** Genus '' Trachypithecus'' – lutungs ***** Genus '' Presbytis'' – surilis **** Odd-nosed group ***** Genus '' Pygathrix'' – doucs ***** Genus ''

Rhinopithecus __NOTOC__ Snub-nosed monkeys are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus ''Rhinopithecus''. The genus is rare and not fully researched. Some taxonomists group snub-nosed monkeys together with the genus ''Pygathrix''. Sn ...

'' – snub-nosed monkeys ***** Genus '' Nasalis'' – proboscis monkey ***** Genus '' Simias'' – pig-tailed langur The distinction between apes and monkeys is complicated by the traditional

paraphyly In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...

of monkeys: Apes emerged as a sister group of Old World monkeys in the catarrhines, which are a sister group of New World monkeys. Therefore, cladistically, apes, catarrhines and related contemporary extinct groups, such as Parapithecidae, are monkeys as well, for any consistent definition of "monkey". "Old World monkey" may also legitimately be taken to be meant to include all the catarrhines, including apes and extinct species such as '' Aegyptopithecus'', in which case the apes, Cercopithecoidea and ''Aegyptopithecus'' as well as (under an even more expanded definition) even the Platyrrhini emerged within the Old World monkeys. Historically, monkeys from the "Old World" (Afro-Arabia), somehow drifted to the "New World" some 40 million years ago, forming the "New World monkeys" (platyrrhines). Apes would emerge later within the Afro-Arabia group.

Characteristics

Old World monkeys are medium to large in size, and range from arboreal forms, such as the colobus monkeys, to fully terrestrial forms, such as the baboons. The smallest is the talapoin, with a head and body 34–37 cm in length, and weighing between 0.7 and 1.3 kilograms, while the largest is the male mandrill (the females of the species being significantly smaller), at around 70 cm in length, and weighing up to 50 kilograms. Most Old World monkeys have tails (the family name means "tailed ape"), unlike the tailless apes. The tails of Old World monkeys are not

, unlike those of the New World monkeys (platyrrhines). The distinction of catarrhines from platyrrhines depends on the structure of the rhinarium, and the distinction of Old World monkeys from apes depends on

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...

(the number of teeth is the same in both, but they are shaped differently). In platyrrhines, the nostrils face sideways, while in catarrhines, they face downward. Other distinctions include both a tubular ectotympanic (ear bone), and eight, not twelve, premolars in catarrhines, giving them a dental formula of: Several Old World monkeys have anatomical oddities. For example, the colobus monkeys have stubs for thumbs to assist with their arboreal movement, the

has an extraordinary nose, while the snub-nosed monkeys have almost no nose at all. The

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

of the male mandrill is red and the

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum co ...

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonl ...

; the face is also brightly colored. The coloration is more pronounced in dominant males.Setchell, Joanna M., and Alan F. Dixson.
Developmental variables and dominance rank in adolescent male mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx)
" American Journal of Primatology 56.1 (2002): 9-25.

Habitat and distribution

The Old World

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s are native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

today, inhabiting numerous environments: tropical rain forests,

s, and mountainous terrain. They inhabited much of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

period; today the only survivors in Europe are the

s of

Behaviour and ecology

Diet

Most Old World monkeys are at least partially omnivorous, but all prefer plant matter, which forms the bulk of their diet. Leaf monkeys are the most vegetarian, subsisting primarily on leaves, and eating only a small number of insects, while the other species are highly opportunistic, primarily eating fruit, but also consuming almost any food items available, such as flowers, leaves, bulbs and rhizomes, insects, snails, and even small vertebrates. The

's diet consists mostly of leaves and roots, though it will also eat insects and uses cedar trees as a water source.Ciani, Andrea Camperio, Loredana Martinoli, Claudio Capiluppi, Mohamed Arahou, and Mohamed Mouna. "Effects of Water Availability and Habitat Quality on Bark-Stripping Behavior in Barbary Macaques." Conservation Biology 15.1 (n.d.): 259-65. JSTOR. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Reproduction

Gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pr ...

in the Old World monkeys lasts between five and seven months. Births are usually single, although, as with humans, twins occur occasionally. The young are born relatively well-developed, and are able to cling onto their mother's fur with their hands from birth. Compared with most other mammals, they take a long time to reach sexual maturity, with four to six years being typical of most species.

Social systems

In most species, daughters remain with their mothers for life, so that the basic social group among Old World monkeys is a

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...

troop. Males leave the group on reaching adolescence, and find a new troop to join. In many species, only a single adult male lives with each group, driving off all rivals, but others are more tolerant, establishing hierarchical relationships between dominant and subordinate males. Group sizes are highly variable, even within species, depending on the availability of food and other resources.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Old World monkeys Extant Oligocene first appearances