Types of Monkeys

Published on: Dec 31 2010 by Shenron

Types of Monkeys are classified into tow major groups which are the New World Primates and the Old World Primates. The species from South and Central America come under the New World Primates, while the species from Africa and Asia are grouped under the Old World Primates. Almost all the species included in the New World Primate have tails which is capable of holding things, while not all the species of the Old World Primate have tails, if they have then can’t do much with it. However, monkeys from the Old World Primate possess versatile thumbs. The primate group normally has mammals ranging from the tiny shrew to the Gorilla. The two primates groups come under a single group called Simian group which contains almost all the types of monkeys.

Old World Primates

This sub-group has over 135 species of monkeys. The major categories amongst these 135 species include Baboons, Colobus, Langurs, Mangabeys, Mandrills and Macaques.

There is another category of Apes. Apes are not considered monkeys but yet they are Simians. Apes are of two types: Gibbons or the ‘lesser apes’, having 13 species and Great Apes (Orangutan, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Bonobos – Pygmy Chimpanzees, and humans).

Spectacled Langur

They are also known as Dusky Leaf Monkeys, they normally live on leaves. These monkeys usually live in a specific territory and move in troops with a male leader and many females. They possess good hearing and vision senses and are not aggressive by nature.

Golden Snub Nose Monkey

These monkeys are inhabited primarily in the hilly areas within the four provinces of China. These monkeys like to live very high in the trees in isolated densely forest places. These types of monkeys have very good resistance against the colder conditions as they bear a long fur on their backs. Their eating habits change with the season, however, they are herbivores and lichen is one of their main food ingredients.

Patas Monkey

Patas monkeys are found in central Africa. They have a thin body with long arms and legs, which make them good for walking and running than to move on the trees. They are remarkably quick on the ground and can move up to the speed of 34 miles per hour (55 kilometer/hour). They like to sleep on tree and each monkey sleeps on separate tree.

Colobus Monkey

The Colobus is a type of monkey which born white and turns black with white coloring. The Colobus monkey prefers to live on the treetops and is found in Eastern Africa. These monkeys don’t have any thumbs and usually live on leaves, twigs, fruit and flowers. The colobus monkey dwells in different forests and wooded grasslands.

Red Colobus Monkey

Red colobus monkey are found in humid forests of Africa and usually fed on leaves. They normally eat more than 60 types of plants. This kind of monkeys shares the trees with other monkeys as long as their diet doesn’t overlap with other monkeys. Red colobus monkeys are more prone to hunting and habitat destruction and are considered as the most threatened group of primates. The Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkeys are found in coastal thickets and scrub in contrast to other Red Colocus Monkeys.

Young Colobus Guereza

The Young Colobus Guereza prefers to live in the uppermost branches of tropical forests, wooded grasslands and woodlands. These monkeys don’t possess any cheek pouches and thumbs. They have a long tail of about 20-35 inch in length. They grow to the size of 18-28 inch with a weight between 12-32 pounds. These monkeys live on leaves, twigs, shoots, seeds, buds and sometimes even flowers. The two-third part of their diet contains fruit.

Drill Monkey

Drill monkeys have nearly the same looks as that of Mandrill, but they don’t have a colorful face. Drill monkeys are found in Nigeria, South Western Cameroon, and Bioko Island which is a part of Equatorial Guinea. In most of the equatorial region, these are known as ‘bushmeat’ and are hunted. This fact has endangered their existence. The male drill monkey is three times the size of females. Drill monkeys lived on fruits.

DeBrazzas Monkey

Locally these monkeys are known as swamp monkeys and are found in wetlands in Central Africa. They possess very good hiding abilities which make them difficult to locate. These monkeys have developed a variety of gestures to communicate with each other. Some of the major gestures include, staring, staring with open mouth, head-bobbing, the fearful grimace, head-shaking and yawning.

Douc Langur Monkey

Douc Langur Monkeys are found in the Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They usually live in the mid to upper levels of the canopy in the lowlands and rainforests. Red-shanked douc langur like other langurs possesses a long slender body, having a size of 61-76 cm. They have a long tail that is about 56-76 cm in length. The males are somewhat larger than females in size. They fall under the colobine monkey family.

Mandrill Monkey

The Mandrill is known as the world’s largest species of monkey. The mandrill is found in the tropical rainforests and every so often in woodlands of southern Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The mandrill monkeys are closely linked to the Baboons. The mandrill monkey has olive colored fur, colorful face and rump of males which make them distinguished from baboons.

Roloway Monkey

The roloway monkey is commonly found in the forests of Ghana and in a small area of the Eastern Cote d’Ivoire. These monkeys have a long bear. It has a black coat and face, while parts of its arms and throat are white. On back it bears orange color. It grows up to the size of 40-55 cm and weighs around 4-7 kilograms. These monkeys usually live in the group of 15-30 and lived on fruits, flowers, insects and seeds.

New World Primates

Some of the important species of monkeys included in the New World Primate are given below:

Baby Pygmy Marmosets

These are the smallest monkeys known on earth. They just grow 5 inches in height and weigh around 5 ounces. They are inhabited in the rainforests of Amazon, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. They can jump up to 16 feet and live on the top of the trees. Their diet include the sap and gum of the trees, insects and grasshoppers.

Spider Monkey

Spider monkeys are commonly described as the ‘Trapeze Artists’ of the animal kingdom. They are found in Mexico, Northwestern Colombia, and Central America. They live in the groups of 30 and expend much of their time swinging from trees on top of the trees. They can grow up to 19-20 inches and their average weight can be somewhere around 12-20 pounds. They eat fruits, nuts, insects, eggs and seeds. Fruits make 90% of their diet.

Squirrel Monkey

The average body weight of the male squirrel monkey ranges from 700 to 1100 grams, while females these figure range from 500 to 750 grams. They have large cusps on their cheek teeth that help them in eating insects.

They are called squirrel monkeys because an adult squirrel monkey can only grow to the size of squirrel, i.e. 10-14 inches. However, male monkeys are slightly larger than the females. They have a thick, short fur which is soft and bright in color. They bear no hairs on lips or around the nostrils. They have white color around their eyes, throat, ears and neck, black to grayish on the top of the head and reddish or yellow on forearms, hands, and feet. They have a well developed but short thumb. They bear a bi-color tail with a black tip.

Howler Monkey

It is a large monkey in the New World Primate group. They are given the name of howler monkeys because they sound louder than other types of monkeys. These monkeys give a call as the sun comes and as it goes down. Also, they howl when suspect any danger.

They have a long tail as much as of their body size. They can use their tails to pick items from it. These monkeys like humans can see in all the colors. Monkeys are mostly known for their quickness and agility, but howler monkeys are not quick enough as they walk slowly because of their large body.

Golden Lion Tamarin

The golden lion monkey is considered as a small monkey that grows up to 14 inches. Due to their golden color, they have had special place in legends and stories, as their golden color shines in the sunshine.

The lion part of their name refers to their appearance as a lion. They possess long but thin tails which is about 16 inches in length. A golden maze surrounds their face. Males and females golden lion monkeys weigh less than 1 pound.

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