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 incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope. In 1812, Geoffroy grouped the apes and the Cercopithecidae group of monkeys together and established the name Catarrhini, Old World monkeys.
The extant sister of the Catarrhini in the monkey group is the Platyrrhini. Some nine million years before the divergence between the Cercopithecidae and the apes, the Platyrrhini emerged within monkeys by migration to South America likely by ocean.
Apes are thus deep in the tree of extant and extinct monkeys, and any of the apes is distinctly closer related to the Cercopithecidae than the Platyrrhini are. Many monkey species are tree-dwelling, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons.
Most species are mainly active during the day. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent, especially the Old World monkeys. Within suborder Haplorhini, the simians are a sister group to the tarsiers-the two members diverged some 70 million years ago. New World monkeys and catarrhine monkeys emerged within
Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope. In 1812, Geoffroy grouped the apes and the Cercopithecidae group of monkeys together and established the name Catarrhini, Old World monkeys.
The extant sister of the Catarrhini in the monkey group is the Platyrrhini. Some nine million years before the divergence between the Cercopithecidae and the apes, the Platyrrhini emerged within monkeys by migration to South America likely by ocean.
Apes are thus deep in the tree of extant and extinct monkeys, and any of the apes is distinctly closer related to the Cercopithecidae than the Platyrrhini are. Many monkey species are tree-dwelling, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons.
Most species are mainly active during the day. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent, especially the Old World monkeys. Within suborder Haplorhini, the simians are a sister group to the tarsiers-the two members diverged some 70 million years ago. New World monkeys and catarrhine monkeys emerged within
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