"There is much pleasure to be gained from seemingly useless knowledge!"
Bertrand Russell 1872-1970
Often, when I set out to research some information on a specific subject I'll come across a little totally unrelated tidbit that I find interesting. I would just jot it down for later, and now after a while of collecting, a fun list of random monkey trivia sort of created itself. Everyone seems to be curious about monkeys and I thought you might find this little list of monkey trivia as interesting as I did. Now that I have it going, I promise to add to it faithfully every chance I get, and if you have something you would like to add, please share!
This is BernieMacq a young Bonnet Macaque. Bonnets store food in cheek pouches much like a hamster. Foraging on the ground is dangerous business and this is natures way of allowing them to gather as much food as possible, leaving their limbs free to quickly escape to the safety of tree tops away from natural predators. Bonnets are easily recognizable by the whorl on top of their heads giving them their unique "do".
The origins of the word
monkey are unclear, however it is believed to have come from Moneke, the name of the son of Martin the
Ape in a medieval animal story. It appears also to be related to manikin, from
the Dutch word manneken or "little man".
Monkeys
make up two of the three groups of simian primates, Old World monkeys
and New World monkeys. The other group is the apes.
A monkey is any primate that is not a human, prosimian, or ape.Prosimians include lemurs, sifakas, lorises, pottos, and bushbabies
Regardless of species, a family group of moneys is called a "troop.
As of 2009, there are 81 species of New World monkeys in the Amazon basin, with new ones continually being discovered.
Monkeys can grasp with both their fingers and their toes.
Most
primates share six basic features: forward-facing eyes (for depth of
vision), eye sockets, grasping hands, fingerprints, nails (flat nail beds, as opposed
to claws) and large brains.
Brazil has more kinds of primates than any other country, with 16 genera and 77 species.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is second, with 18 genera and 37 species.
Squirrel Monkeys are the most common monkey in all of South America and to date are the least endangered due to their large numbers and adaptability.
The Golden Lion Tamarin is the largest of the Callitrichids weighing an average of 650 grams (just under 1.5 pounds)
Squirrel Monkeys are endemic to the South American country of Brazil.
Monkeys don't get sunburned.
There are 96 species of Old World Monkeys
Old
World monkeys are divided into two subfamilies, generalists and
specialists. Generalists eat almost anything (omnivores) and
specialists primarily eat leaves.
All of Madagascar's native primate species are endemic. (they are found ONLY there)
Old World monkeys have 32 teeth...New World monkeys have 36
The Barbary Macaque is the only free-living species of monkey in Europe, which was once home to many monkeys.
All monkeys have tails...apes do not
Most monkeys are omnivorous (eat both animals and plants) some are strictly vegetarians and some even eat dirt!
There
are species of Old World monkeys that have large cheek pouches that
enable them to feed rapidly and store their food (think, hamster) so
they can eat it and swallow it later.
Many
New World monkeys, including the spider monkey, do not have thumbs.
Capuchins and Squirrel monkeys are the only New World monkeys with
pseudo-opposable thumbs.
The
Saimiri Virus occurs spontaneously in Squirrel monkeys. Although not a
health issue for humans, this strain of herpes simplex is fatal to all
monkeys of the Callitrichid (marmosets and tamarins) family. Yet another reason why it is never a good idea to mix different breeds of monkeys
The tip of a spider monkey's tail can support the full weight of his body... really!
To
date, ten New World monkey species have been classified as nocturnal.
(night dwellers) ALL known Old World monkeys are diurnal.
Spider Monkeys have appeared in more films than any other breed of monkey
Many New World monkeys have prehensile tails, a feature not shared by ANY of their Old World cousins.
Howler
monkey are the loudest monkey. Their howls can be hear for more than
two miles in the dense rain forest and almost three miles in an open area
Twenty different vocalizations have been noted in Squirrel Monkeys.
The
Pygmy Marmoset is the world's smallest monkey, measuring 117-159mm
(four and a half to six inches) and weighing 85 to 140 grams (three to
five ounces). They newly discovered Mouse Lemur of Madagascar is
smaller, (only three inches long) but as it is not a true monkey, the
Pygmy Marmoset still holds the title.
The largest monkey is the male Mandrill measuring almost 1 meter (3.3 feet) and weighing about 35 Kilograms (77 pounds).
Grinning
or pulling the lip is not a "smile". In monkeys it is a sign of
aggression, along with yawning (it's actually a way of casually showing
how nice and big their teeth are).
Apes and Spider Monkeys swing arm-to-arm through the trees, but most monkeys don't. Instead, they run across the branches.
Capuchins
are quite skilled at using tools. They smash nuts with rocks and insert
branches into crevices to capture food. They have also been known to
use large branches to club a snake.
Capuchin monkeys have been documented using different vocal sounds (words) to identify different types of predators.
Most
Old World monkeys have small, curved nostrils set close together. Most
New World monkeys have round nostrils set far apart on flat noses.
The
South American Titi monkey are rare among primates in that they are
totally monogamous. They mate for life and become distressed if
separated for any reason, often dying if their partner is lost. They
show affection by grooming, intertwining their tails and even holding hands.
They have been observed nuzzling, cuddling and smooching their mates.
Currently
Twenty-one primate species are listed as critically endangered on the
2008 Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species. 46 are actually
vulnerable to extinction, primarily due to habitat loss.The three major predators of monkeys are hawks, humans and eagles.
Monkeys are immune to the virus that causes the human "common cold"
REFERENCES:
a Bromley, Lynn Monkeys, Apes and Other Primates Santa
Barbara, CA: Bellerophon Books, 1981
Nowak, Ronald M 1989 Primates of the World Baltimore, MD:
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Preston-Mafham, Rod and Ken 1992 Primates of the World New
York, NY: Facts on File, Inc
Redmond, Ian 2008 The Primate Family Tree Buffalo, NY:
Firefly Books (US) Inc
San Diego Zoo "Mammals: Monkey" Accessed: December
13, 2008
Sleeper, Barbara 1997 Primates San Francisco, CA: Chroni
If you have general questions or need details about any of our products, or if you just need to "monkey" talk, please contact me at (509) 924-7289 or email me at Linda@MonkeyKisses.com. If I'm unable to answer your questions, I'll do my best to direct you to someone who can.
