primate summary

Learn about the common traits of primates and their diversity

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see primate.

primate, Any of more than 300 species of the order Primates, including monkeys, apes, humans, and others.

Primates are distinguished from other mammals by one or more of the following traits: unspecialized structure, specialized behaviour, a short muzzle, comparatively poor sense of smell, prehensile five-digit hands and feet possessing flat nails instead of claws, acute vision with depth perception due to forward-facing eyes, a large brain, and prolonged pre- and postnatal development. Most species bear a single young and live in troops headed by a male.

The primates are one of the most diverse orders of mammals on Earth. They include the lemurs (more than 70 species in six families), the lorises (three or more species in one subfamily), the tarsiers (six or more species in one family), the New World monkeys (almost 100 species in five families), the Old World monkeys (more than 100 species in one family), and the apes and humans (about 20 species in two families).

anubis baboons (Papio anubis) — anubis baboons (*Papio anubis*)
Anubis, or olive, baboons (*Papio anubis*) are found from Kenya and Ethiopia through the grasslands and Sahel westward to Mali. Some also inhabit the less-arid highlands of the Sahara.

The oldest known fossil remains of primates are about 60 million years old.

marmoset Summary

Marmoset, (family Callitrichidae), any of numerous species of small long-tailed South American monkeys. Similar in appearance to squirrels, marmosets are tree-dwelling primates that move in a quick jerky manner. Claws on all the digits except the big toe aid them in scampering along branches, where

tarsier Summary

Tarsier, (family Tarsiidae), any of about 13 species of small leaping primates found only on various islands of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. Tarsiers are intermediate in form between lemurs and monkeys, measuring only about 9–16 cm (3.5–6 inches) long, excluding a tail of about twice

ape Summary

Ape, (superfamily Hominoidea), any tailless primate of the families Hylobatidae (gibbons) and Hominidae (chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, and human beings). Apes are found in the tropical forests of western and central Africa and Southeast Asia. Apes are distinguished from monkeys by the

monkey Summary

Monkey, in general, any of nearly 200 species of tailed primate, with the exception of lemurs, tarsiers, and lorises. The presence of a tail (even if only a tiny nub), along with their narrow-chested bodies and other features of the skeleton, distinguishes monkeys from apes. Most monkeys have a