There are a lot of different kinds of monkeys. Scientists divide all of these monkeys into two large groups based on where the monkeys live. Monkeys are either Old World monkeys that live in Africa or Asia, or New World monkeys that live in South America or Central America.
When Christopher Columbus and other explorers from Europe came to the Americas, they thought of these lands as the "New World". The places that they knew about before this we call the "Old World".
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SOME NEW WORLD MONKEYS |
SOME OLD WORLD MONKEYS |
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Titi Monkey |
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There are differences between Old World
and New World monkeys that can help you to tell them apart even if
you don't know where they come from. This chart shows you some
of those differences.
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Where they live |
South America, Central America |
Africa and Asia |
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Type of tail |
Prehensile tail |
Tails are not prehensile |
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Rear side |
No seat pads |
Have resting seat pads that are found on their rumps- making resting and sleeping more comfortable |
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Grooming |
Do not groom very much |
Groom a lot |
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Tree Living |
Live in trees |
Can live in trees or on the ground |
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Noses |
Have flat noses |
Nostrils are close together |
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Size |
Usually smaller than Old World |
Larger than New World |
Whether they are from the New World or Old World, monkeys can live in different habitats:
- Jungle
- Rain Forest
- The Dry Plains
- Forest
- Cliffs
- Mountains
- Desert
- Trees
- On the Ground
Fun Facts
Japanese
macaques live in cold snowy
mountains and like to take baths in hot natural springs.
Owl
monkeys live in hollow trees just
like some owls.
Langur
monkeys can be found hanging out
on hotel ledges in India.
Have
a monkey question? Send an E-mail
to Max
