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Monkeys
Magnificent Creatures of the Forest
Where you can find these Interesting Creatures
Monkeys can be found in rain forests across the tropics. The place where they are most
comfortable is the forest canopy. Their long arms and even longer legs propel them through the
branches and their tails (sometimes considered a "fifth limb") help with mobility and grasping.
Monkeys come in all shapes, colors and sizes, and are divided into two groups. Old World
monkeys include large species such as baboons, while New World monkeys are smaller. The two
groups also organize themselves into different types of social groups.
Communication
New World monkeys have a more varied social structure between species. Marmosets usually
live in groups consisting of a monogamous pair and offspring. Squirrel monkeys live in very
large groups — sometimes over 100 individuals — comprised mostly of females and only a few
males. Old World monkeys either live in all-female groups with one dominant male or in multimale troops. Whatever the social setup, monkeys form close bonds with their troop mates and
grooming is the glue that holds a group together.
There are 264 species of monkey. Old World monkeys (135 species) are more closely related to
apes than they are to New World monkeys (129 species).
Monkeys have many different adaptations, depending on their habitat. Most are arboreal. Others,
like macaques Macaca sp. and baboons Papio sp., are more terrestrial. All monkeys can use
their hands and feet for holding on to branches, but some arboreal monkeys can use their tails,
too. Tails that can grab and hold are called prehensile. These special tails are ridged on the
underside and very flexible, so much so that they can grab a tree branch or pick up something as
small as a peanut! Prehensile tails come in handy for holding on while the monkey collects food:
flowers, fruits, nuts, leaves, seeds, insects, birds’ eggs, spiders, and small mammals.
Monkeys at the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are offered a variety of fruits
and vegetables, special herbivore biscuits, and a variety of leafy branches to munch on.
Monkeys are found in two main regions of the world, so they are grouped by scientists into either
Old World monkeys or New World monkeys. Old World monkeys are found in Africa and Asia.
Some examples are guenons Cercopithecus sp., mangabeys Cercocebus sp., macaques, baboons,
and colobus Colobus sp. monkeys. New World monkeys are found in Mexico, Central America,
and South America. Some examples are woolly monkeys Lagothrix sp., spider monkeys Ateles
sp., howler monkeys Alouatta sp., capuchin monkeys Cebus sp., and squirrel monkeys Saimiri
sciureus. Marmosets and tamarins also live in the New World, but are in a different scientific
grouping from the other New World monkeys.
Created by Jacob Bryce and Collin
Carpenter