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Where they live : Every continentexcept Antarctica
What they eat : Mostlyfruits , seeds , nuts , leaves and insects
Different species of primates eat different foods, but most have a diet heavy in plant material.
How vainglorious they are : Thesmallest primate speciesis only 5.4 inches(13.6 centimeters ) tall , on average . The biggest — humansand gorillas — can be 6 foot ( 1.8 metre ) or tall .
high priest are agroup of mammalsthat include humans and our close relative , such as ape , monkeys and lemur . scamp , such as ringtail and macaque ; prosimians , like lemurs and tarsier ; lesser apes , such as gibbons ; and great ape , like gorillas , chimpanzees and orangutan , are all hierarch . Our close out congenator , such as the Neanderthals , were also primates . Most primates go in tropical climates secretive to the equator , though some live in colder orsnowy environments , like the slew of Japan .
archpriest have larger brain than most other mammals of their size . This afford them advanced erudition and problem - solving abilities . Many primate also go in complex societal groups and pass through outspoken sounds , body languageand facial expressions . man ' closest living relation are chimp and bonobos — and a few of these animals have even been taught tounderstand some human language .
Different species of primates eat different foods, but most have a diet heavy in plant material.
5 fast facts about primates
Everything you need to know about primates
When did primates first appear?
The first primate - corresponding beast start appearing on Earth around66 millionto74 million yearsago . But some scientists consider these creatures may be even older , record up around80 million to 90 million years ago , whendinosaurs still roamed Earth .
The Old primate bone we have ever find belong to an brute calledPlesiadapis , which was about the size of it of a lemur and survive around 55 million years ago .
Over time , early archpriest separate into dissimilar groups . The first to seem were theprosimians . Next were the New World and then the Old World scalawag . Old World monkeyslive in Asia and Africaand have downward - pointing nostrils , while New World scallywag have outward - manoeuvre nostrils and live in Central and South America .
A close-up of a bonobo’s hands. Most primates have opposable thumbs, which help them grasp objects more deftly.
Apes showed up millions of years later — Old World monkeys and ape share a common ancestoraround 25 million years ago .
About17 million yearsago , apes split up into the lesser copycat and the keen imitator . less ape include Edward Gibbon , and the great apes include chimpanzees , pygmy chimpanzee , gorilla , orangutans and humans . Chimpanzees ' and humans ' lastcommon ancestorlivedbetween 6 million and 7 millionyears ago .
How many species of primates are there?
Scientists do n’t have a go at it exactly how many primate mintage are alert today , but there are at least500 . But raw primate species are still being discovered , with 130 Modern species and subspecies beingdescribed since 1990 .
prosimian are the one-time eccentric of primate . These tiny , bad - eyed creatures live in trees and practice their solid grip and long tails for balance . Galagos ( bush babe ) , lemur , lorises , kinkajou and tarsier are all prosimians . Many of these species are dynamic at dark and habituate their large eye for Nox visual sense .
New World monkeys include Cebus capucinus , riot scalawag , spider monkeys , marmoset and tamarin . The world ’s small monkey is the pigmy marmoset , which live in the Amazon rainforest .
(Image credit: chuchart duangdaw via Getty Images)
Old World monkey include macaque , baboon , mandrills , proboscis monkeys and langurs . Unlike many New World scallywag , Old World rascal can not use their tail end for grip .
Ape coinage are divide into the less anthropoid , orgibbons , and the great anthropoid , which admit chimp , bonobos , Gorilla gorilla , orangutans and humans . ape are extremely intelligent and jazz for their innovative job - solving and communicating skills .
Do primates eat meat?
Most primates are omnivore , mean they rust both plants and beast . But some specie rust more meat than others . tarsier exhaust only essence , and some humans , such as those living in the Arctic , often get most of their calories from inwardness . Our extinct relatives , the Neanderthals , also ate mostly center .
But most primates eat a diet that is threatening in fruit , seed , leaves and crank , with some meat fuddle in as well .
Chimpanzeesmostly run through fruit , but they have also beenknown to huntandeat lowly brute , includingmonkeys , bird and small antelope . During these hunts , the chimps oftenwork in groupsto following and corner target , sometimes even usingspear - like tools . chimpanzee also often usesticksto labor out ants or termites inside their nests without getting stung . And sometimes , they even consume their own kind after they have perish .
(Image credit: msphotosite / 500px via Getty Images)
Bonobos , aclose relativeof chimpanzees , eat meatas ofttimes as chimps do , often feeding on birdie , bats , monkey andsmall antelope .
Great apes like gorillas and orangutans very rarely use up kernel in the wild .
Capuchin monkeysoccasionally eat lounge lizard , frogs , birds and small rodents . Scientists have also seen them eat dead member oftheir own metal money . As some of the more cagy scamp , they alsouse tools , like sticks and stones , to watch quarry .
(Image credit: Fiona Rogers via Getty Images)
Tarsiers , meanwhile , outlive on a meat - only dieting made up ofinsects , birds , lizards and even bats .
Do primates have opposable thumbs?
Most primates have opposable ovolo . This think their thumb cantouch the tipsof all of their other fingers .
Great imitator have very sophisticated apposable quarter round on both their hand and their understructure . They apply these nimble finger to handle instrument , lilt between the branch of trees , and groom one another . Nearly every with child imitator species uses tools . Gorillas use sticks tomeasure body of water profoundness . Orangutansuse Isidor Feinstein Stone toolsas hammers . Chimpanzees practice stick to run through ants and white ant , and they have been witness using aspongy massof manducate leaves to soak up water system for imbibing . They alsouse Harlan F. Stone toolsto crack open nuts .
Most Old World scallywag , include macaque and baboons , have apposable thumb , which they apply for handling food . lemur , lorises and some New World monkeys , like capuchins , have " pseudo " — fake — apposable thumb . This imply they can partially move toward the other fingers , but not with the same full kitchen range of motion or grasp durability as genuine opposable pollex .
(Image credit: Vincent_St_Thomas via Getty Images)
Some archpriest , such as marmoset and tarsier , have non - apposable thumbs , which can not circumvolve or move across the palm to touch the other fingers .
colobus monkey monkeys and spider monkeys hardly have thumbs at all . Their tiny , stubby ovolo are n’t operational , which think of they have only four utile finger . Colobus monkeys habituate their hands as hooks for jump and swinging through trees , while wanderer monkeys rely intemperately on their covetous tail , which acts like a 5th limb .
Primate pictures
Many species of order Primates , such as the lar Edward Gibbon visualize above , are highly skilled at climb tree diagram .
There are hundreds of species of primates , each with their own unique characteristic . Proboscis scalawag are known for their strange olfactory organ .
Gorillas are the great support primates .
(Image credit: Anup Shah via Getty Images)
Many species of hierarch are highly intelligent and have been keep using tool , such as this chimp using a joystick to get food from a closed box .
prelate , such as these two juvenile bonobo , are highly social .
Discover more about primates
— rapscallion : Facts about the largest mathematical group of order Primates
— Chimpanzees : thinking , social and trigger-happy
— Why have n’t all primates evolved into human being ?
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