52-499: Sister: Dermoptera Plesiadapiformes ( cladistically including crown primates) Primates is an order of mammals , which is further divided into the strepsirrhines , which include lemurs , galagos , and lorisids ; and the haplorhines , which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes ). Primates arose 85–55 million years ago first from small terrestrial mammals, which adapted for life in tropical forests : many primate characteristics represent adaptations to
104-403: A Malayan colugo ( Galeopterus variegatus ) individual having been observed traveling about 150 m (490 ft) in one glide. Their ability to glide is possible because of a large membrane of skin that extends between their paired limbs. This gliding membrane, or patagium , runs from the shoulder blades to the fore paws, from the tip of the rear-most fingers to the tip of the toes, and from
156-504: A characteristic type of keratin fingernail on the end of each finger and toe. The bottom sides of the hands and feet have sensitive pads on the fingertips . Most have opposable thumbs , a characteristic primate feature most developed in humans , though not limited to this order ( opossums and koalas , for example, also have them). Thumbs allow some species to use tools . In primates, the combination of opposing thumbs, short fingernails (rather than claws) and long, inward-closing fingers
208-519: A founding lemur population of a few individuals is thought to have reached Madagascar from Africa via a single rafting event between 50 and 80 mya. Other colonization options have been suggested, such as multiple colonizations from Africa and India, but none are supported by the genetic and molecular evidence. Until recently, the aye-aye has been difficult to place within Strepsirrhini. Theories had been proposed that its family, Daubentoniidae,
260-540: A four-one family distribution instead of five-two as presented here. During the Eocene , most of the northern continents were dominated by two groups, the adapiforms and the omomyids . The former are considered members of Strepsirrhini, but did not have a toothcomb like modern lemurs; recent analysis has demonstrated that Darwinius masillae fits into this grouping. The latter was closely related to tarsiers, monkeys, and apes. How these two groups relate to extant primates
312-761: A medium-length tail, and a relatively light build. The head is small, with large, front-focused eyes for excellent binocular vision, and small rounded ears. The incisor teeth of colugos are highly distinctive; they are comb-like in shape with up to 20 tines on each tooth. The incisors are analogous in appearance and function to the incisor suite in strepsirrhines , which is used for grooming. The second upper incisors have two roots, another unique feature among mammals. The dental formula of colugos is: 2.1.2.3 3.1.2.3 Colugos are proficient gliders, and thought better adapted for flight than any other gliding mammal. They can travel as far as 70 m (230 ft) from one tree to another without losing much altitude, with
364-522: A nocturnal species, they developed night vision . Colugos spend their days resting in tree holes and are active at night time; traveling around 1.7 km at night. Colugos may also be a territorial species. Although they are placental mammals, colugos raise their young in a manner similar to marsupials . Newborn colugos are underdeveloped and weigh only 35 g (1.2 oz). They spend the first six months of life clinging to their mother's belly. The mother colugo curls her tail and folds her patagium into
416-481: A noun use of Latin primat- , from primus ('prime, first rank'). The name was given by Carl Linnaeus because he thought this the "highest" order of animals. The relationships among the different groups of primates were not clearly understood until relatively recently, so the commonly used terms are somewhat confused. For example, ape has been used either as an alternative for monkey or for any tailless, relatively human-like primate. Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark
468-624: A warm, secure, quasipouch to protect and transport her young. The young do not reach maturity until they are two to three years old. In captivity, they live up to 15 years, but their lifespan in the wild is unknown. Both species are threatened by habitat destruction , and the Philippine flying lemur was once classified by the IUCN as vulnerable. In 1996, the IUCN declared the species vulnerable owing to destruction of lowland forests and hunting. It
520-655: Is a relict of the ancestral practice of gripping branches, and has, in part, allowed some species to develop brachiation (swinging by the arms from tree limb to tree limb) as a significant means of locomotion. Prosimians have clawlike nails on the second toe of each foot, called toilet-claws , which they use for grooming. Dermoptera Colugos ( / k ə ˈ l uː ɡ oʊ / ), flying lemurs , or cobegos ( / k ə ˈ b iː ɡ oʊ / ), are arboreal gliding euarchontogliran mammals that are native to Southeast Asia . Their closest evolutionary relatives are primates . There are just two living species of colugos:
572-575: Is composed of two sister clades. Prosimian tarsiers in the family Tarsiidae (monotypic in its own infraorder Tarsiiformes), represent the most basal division, originating about 58 mya. The earliest known haplorhine skeleton, that of 55 MA old tarsier-like Archicebus , was found in central China, supporting an already suspected Asian origin for the group. The infraorder Simiiformes (simian primates, consisting of monkeys and apes) emerged about 40 mya, possibly also in Asia; if so, they dispersed across
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#1732765900487624-460: Is estimated the ancestors of the colugos split from other mammals about 80 million years ago, leading to the present day forms that consist of 7 to 14 extant species. The Mixodectidae and Plagiomenidae appear to be fossil Dermoptera. Although other Paleogene mammals have been interpreted as related to dermopterans, the evidence for this association is uncertain and many of the fossils are no longer interpreted as being gliding mammals. At present,
676-464: Is unclear. Omomyids perished about 30 mya, while adapiforms survived until about 10 mya. According to genetic studies, the lemurs of Madagascar diverged from the lorisoids approximately 75 mya. These studies, as well as chromosomal and molecular evidence, also show that lemurs are more closely related to each other than to other strepsirrhine primates. However, Madagascar split from Africa 160 mya and from India 90 mya. To account for these facts,
728-946: Is used. New primate species continue to be discovered: over 25 species were described in the 2000s, 36 in the 2010s, and six in the 2020s . Primates have large brains (relative to body size) compared to other mammals, as well as an increased reliance on visual acuity at the expense of the sense of smell , which is the dominant sensory system in most mammals. These features are more developed in monkeys and apes, and noticeably less so in lorises and lemurs. Some primates, including gorillas , humans and baboons , are primarily ground-dwelling rather than arboreal, but all species have adaptations for climbing trees. Arboreal locomotion techniques used include leaping from tree to tree and swinging between branches of trees ( brachiation ); terrestrial locomotion techniques include walking on two hindlimbs ( bipedalism ) and modified walking on four limbs ( quadripedalism ) via knuckle-walking . Primates are among
780-545: The Eocene by island hopping , facilitated by Atlantic Ocean ridges and a lowered sea level. Alternatively, a single rafting event may explain this transoceanic colonization. Due to continental drift , the Atlantic Ocean was not nearly as wide at the time as it is today. Research suggests that a small 1 kg (2.2 lb) primate could have survived 13 days on a raft of vegetation. Given estimated current and wind speeds, this would have provided enough time to make
832-529: The Sunda flying lemur ( Galeopterus variegatus ) and the Philippine flying lemur ( Cynocephalus volans ). These two species make up the entire family Cynocephalidae ( / ˌ s aɪ n oʊ ˌ s ɛ f ə ˈ l aɪ d i , - ˌ k ɛ -/ ) and order Dermoptera . Colugos are nocturnal, tree-dwelling mammals. They reach lengths of 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in) and weigh 1 to 2 kg (2.2 to 4.4 lb). They have long, slender front and rear limbs,
884-580: The Tethys Sea from Asia to Africa soon afterwards. There are two simian clades, both parvorders : Catarrhini , which developed in Africa, consisting of Old World monkeys , humans and the other apes, and Platyrrhini, which developed in South America, consisting of New World monkeys . A third clade, which included the eosimiids , developed in Asia, but became extinct millions of years ago. As in
936-507: The gibbons and orangutan ... the gorilla and chimpanzee ... and humans "; thereby Benton was using apes to mean hominoids. In that case, the group heretofore called apes must now be identified as the non-human apes. As of 2021, there is no consensus as to whether to accept traditional (that is, common), but paraphyletic, names or to use monophyletic names only; or to use 'new' common names or adaptations of old ones. Both competing approaches can be found in biological sources, often in
988-586: The Primatomorpha. Scandentia (treeshrews) Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas) Rodentia (rodents) Dermoptera (colugos) † Plesiadapiformes Primates [REDACTED] Monkey drive A monkey drive is an operation where large numbers of wild monkeys are rounded up and killed in order to protect crops such as rice , banana and citrus trees. Monkey drives have been reported in Sierra Leone , where they were supported by
1040-808: The author, Colin Groves , increased that number to 376 for his contribution to the third edition of Mammal Species of the World (MSW3). However, publications since the taxonomy in MSW3 was compiled in 2003 have pushed the number to 522 species, or 708 including subspecies. Primate hybrids usually arise in captivity, but there have also been examples in the wild. Hybridization occurs where two species' range overlap to form hybrid zones ; hybrids may be created by humans when animals are placed in zoos or due to environmental pressures such as predation. Intergeneric hybridizations, hybrids of different genera, have also been found in
1092-426: The case of lemurs, the origin of New World monkeys is unclear. Molecular studies of concatenated nuclear sequences have yielded a widely varying estimated date of divergence between platyrrhines and catarrhines, ranging from 33 to 70 mya, while studies based on mitochondrial sequences produce a narrower range of 35 to 43 mya. The anthropoid primates possibly traversed the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to South America during
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#17327659004871144-543: The challenging environment among tree tops , including large brain sizes , binocular vision , color vision , vocalizations , shoulder girdles allowing a large degree of movement in the upper limbs , and opposable thumbs (in most but not all) that enable better grasping and dexterity . Primates range in size from Madame Berthe's mouse lemur , which weighs 30 g (1 oz), to the eastern gorilla , weighing over 200 kg (440 lb). There are 376–524 species of living primates, depending on which classification
1196-417: The clade Euarchontoglires , which is nested within the clade Eutheria of Class Mammalia . Recent molecular genetic research on primates, colugos , and treeshrews has shown that the two species of colugos are more closely related to primates than to treeshrews, even though treeshrews were at one time considered primates. These three orders make up the clade Euarchonta . The combination of this clade with
1248-634: The clade Glires (composed of Rodentia and Lagomorpha ) forms the clade Euarchontoglires. Variously, both Euarchonta and Euarchontoglires are ranked as superorders. Some scientists consider Dermoptera to be a suborder of Primates and use the suborder Euprimates for the "true" primates. The primate lineage is thought to go back at least near the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary or around 63–74 ( mya ). The earliest possible primate/proto-primate may be Purgatorius , which dates back to Early Paleocene of North America ~66mya. The oldest known primates from
1300-592: The day resting. At night, colugos spend most of their time up in the trees foraging, with gliding being used to either find another foraging tree or to find possible mates and protect territory. Colugos are shy, nocturnal , solitary animals found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. Consequently, very little is known about their behavior. They are herbivorous and eat leaves, shoots, flowers, sap, and fruit. They have well-developed stomachs and long intestines capable of extracting nutrients from leaves and other fibrous material. As part of Colugos' evolution into
1352-403: The elaboration of the brain, in particular the neocortex (a part of the cerebral cortex ), which is involved with sensory perception , generation of motor commands , spatial reasoning, conscious thought and, in humans, language . While other mammals rely heavily on their sense of smell , the arboreal life of primates has led to a tactile , visually dominant sensory system, a reduction in
1404-417: The eye sockets reinforces weaker bones in the face, which are put under strain during chewing. Strepsirrhines have a postorbital bar , a bone around the eye socket, to protect their eyes; in contrast, the higher primates, haplorhines , have evolved fully enclosed sockets. Primates show an evolutionary trend towards a reduced snout . Technically, Old World monkeys are distinguished from New World monkeys by
1456-566: The first time. The primate skull has a large, domed cranium , which is particularly prominent in anthropoids . The cranium protects the large brain, a distinguishing characteristic of this group. The endocranial volume (the volume within the skull) is three times greater in humans than in the greatest nonhuman primate, reflecting a larger brain size. The mean endocranial volume is 1,201 cubic centimeters in humans, 469 cm in gorillas , 400 cm in chimpanzees and 397 cm in orangutans . The primary evolutionary trend of primates has been
1508-562: The fossil record date to the Late Paleocene of Africa, c.57 mya ( Altiatlasius ) or the Paleocene-Eocene transition in the northern continents, c. 55 mya ( Cantius , Donrussellia , Altanius , Plesiadapis and Teilhardina ). Other studies, including molecular clock studies, have estimated the origin of the primate branch to have been in the mid-Cretaceous period, around 85 mya. By modern cladistic reckoning,
1560-588: The fossil record of definitive dermopterans is limited to two species of the Eocene and Oligocene cynocephalid genus Dermotherium . Molecular phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that colugos emerged as a basal Primatomorpha clade – which, in turn, is a basal Euarchontoglires clade. Scandentia are widely considered to be the closest relatives of Primatomorpha, within Euarchonta . Some studies, however, place Scandentia as sister of Glires ( lagomorphs and rodents ), in an unnamed sister clade of
1612-565: The government. In 1965, Gerald Durrell organised a monkey drive in Sierra Leone during a collecting mission for Jersey Zoo (formerly the Durrell Wildlife Park). The monkey drive was out of season, and not to exterminate monkeys, but in order to capture colobus monkeys . In his book on the expedition, published in 1972, he wrote that 2000 to 3000 monkeys are killed in monkey drives in Sierra Leone each year, including
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1664-457: The hind legs to the tip of the tail. The spaces between the colugo's fingers and toes are webbed. As a result, colugos were once considered to be close relatives of bats . Today, on account of genetic data, they are considered to be more closely related to primates . Colugos are unskilled climbers; they lack opposable thumbs. They progress up trees in a series of slow hops, gripping onto the bark with their small, sharp claws. They spend most of
1716-565: The living Strepsirrhini divides them into two infraorders, Lemuriformes and Lorisiformes. Order Primates was established by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, in the tenth edition of his book Systema Naturae , for the genera Homo (humans), Simia (other apes and monkeys), Lemur (prosimians) and Vespertilio (bats). In the first edition of the same book (1735), he had used the name Anthropomorpha for Homo , Simia and Bradypus (sloths). In 1839, Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville , following Linnaeus and aping his nomenclature, established
1768-735: The living primates: groups that use common (traditional) names are shown on the right. Dermoptera [REDACTED] lemurs (superfamily Lemuroidea) [REDACTED] lorises and allies (superfamily Lorisoidea) [REDACTED] tarsiers (superfamily Tarsioidea) [REDACTED] New World monkeys (parvorder Platyrrhini) [REDACTED] Old World monkeys (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) [REDACTED] gibbons (family Hylobatidae) [REDACTED] orangutans (subfamily Ponginae) [REDACTED] gorillas (tribe Gorillini) [REDACTED] humans (g. Homo ) [REDACTED] chimpanzees, bonobos (g. Pan ) [REDACTED] All groups with scientific names are clades , or monophyletic groups, and
1820-563: The most cognitively advanced animals, with humans (genus Homo ) capable of creating complex languages and sophisticated civilizations , and non-human primates are recorded to use tools . They may communicate using facial and hand gestures, smells and vocalizations. Close interactions between humans and non-human primates (NHPs) can create opportunities for the transmission of zoonotic diseases , especially virus diseases including herpes , measles , ebola , rabies and hepatitis . Thousands of non-human primates are used in research around
1872-405: The most social of all animals, forming pairs or family groups, uni-male harems, and multi-male/multi-female groups. Non-human primates have at least four types of social systems , many defined by the amount of movement by adolescent females between groups. Primates have slower rates of development than other similarly sized mammals, reach maturity later, and have longer lifespans. Primates are also
1924-473: The number of cusps on their molars : monkeys have four, apes have five - although humans may have four or five. The main hominid molar cusp ( hypocone ) evolved in early primate history, while the cusp of the corresponding primitive lower molar (paraconid) was lost. Prosimians are distinguished by their immobilized upper lips, the moist tip of their noses and forward-facing lower front teeth. Primates generally have five digits on each limb ( pentadactyly ), with
1976-463: The olfactory region of the brain and increasingly complex social behavior. The visual acuity of humans and other hominids is exceptional; they have the most acute vision known among all vertebrates, with the exception of certain species of predatory birds . Primates have forward-facing eyes on the front of the skull; binocular vision allows accurate distance perception, useful for the brachiating ancestors of all great apes. A bony ridge above
2028-487: The order Primates is monophyletic . The suborder Strepsirrhini , the " wet-nosed " primates, is generally thought to have split off from the primitive primate line about 63 mya, although earlier dates are also supported. The seven strepsirrhine families are the five related lemur families and the two remaining families that include the lorisids and the galagos . Older classification schemes wrap Lepilemuridae into Lemuridae and Galagidae into Lorisidae , yielding
2080-411: The orders Secundates (including the suborders Chiroptera , Insectivora and Carnivora ), Tertiates (or Glires ) and Quaternates (including Gravigrada , Pachydermata and Ruminantia ), but these new taxa were not accepted. Before Anderson and Jones introduced the classification of Strepsirrhini and Haplorhini in 1984, (followed by McKenna and Bell's 1997 work Classification of Mammals: Above
2132-428: The primates, several of these groups are paraphyletic , or rather they do not include all the descendants of a common ancestor. In contrast with Clark's methodology, modern classifications typically identify (or name) only those groupings that are monophyletic ; that is, such a named group includes all the descendants of the group's common ancestor. The cladogram below shows one possible classification sequence of
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2184-533: The same work, and sometimes by the same author. Thus, Benton defines apes to include humans, then he repeatedly uses ape-like to mean 'like an ape rather than a human'; and when discussing the reaction of others to a new fossil he writes of "claims that Orrorin ... was an ape rather than a human". A list of the families of the living primates is given below, together with one possible classification into ranks between order and family. Other classifications are also used. For example, an alternative classification of
2236-430: The sequence of scientific classification reflects the evolutionary history of the related lineages. Groups that are traditionally named are shown on the right; they form an "ascending series" (per Clark, see above), and several groups are paraphyletic: Thus, the members of the two sets of groups, and hence names, do not match, which causes problems in relating scientific names to common (usually traditional) names. Consider
2288-404: The species level ), Primates was divided into two superfamilies: Prosimii and Anthropoidea . Prosimii included all of the prosimians : Strepsirrhini plus the tarsiers . Anthropoidea contained all of the simians . Rodentia (rodents) Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas) Scandentia (treeshrews) Dermoptera (colugos) † Plesiadapiformes crown primates Order Primates is part of
2340-682: The structure of the nose, and from apes by the arrangement of their teeth . In New World monkeys, the nostrils face sideways; in Old World monkeys, they face downwards. Dental pattern in primates vary considerably; although some have lost most of their incisors , all retain at least one lower incisor. In most strepsirrhines, the lower incisors form a toothcomb , which is used in grooming and sometimes foraging. Old World monkeys have eight premolars , compared with 12 in New World monkeys. The Old World species are divided into apes and monkeys depending on
2392-438: The superfamily Hominoidea: In terms of the common names on the right, this group consists of apes and humans and there is no single common name for all the members of the group. One remedy is to create a new common name, in this case hominoids . Another possibility is to expand the use of one of the traditional names. For example, in his 2005 book, the vertebrate palaeontologist Benton wrote, "The apes, Hominoidea, today include
2444-765: The voyage between the continents. Apes and monkeys spread from Africa into Europe and Asia starting in the Miocene . Soon after, the lorises and tarsiers made the same journey. The first hominin fossils were discovered in northern Africa and date back 5–8 mya. Old World monkeys disappeared from Europe about 1.8 mya. Molecular and fossil studies generally show that modern humans originated in Africa 100,000–200,000 years ago. Although primates are well studied in comparison to other animal groups, several new species have been discovered recently , and genetic tests have revealed previously unrecognised species in known populations. Primate Taxonomy listed about 350 species of primates in 2001;
2496-464: The wild. Although they belong to genera that have been distinct for several million years, interbreeding still occurs between the gelada and the hamadryas baboon . On 24 January 2018, scientists in China reported in the journal Cell the creation of two crab-eating macaque clones , named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua , using the complex DNA transfer method that produced Dolly the sheep , for
2548-454: The world because of their psychological and physiological similarity to humans. About 60% of primate species are threatened with extinction. Common threats include deforestation , forest fragmentation , monkey drives , and primate hunting for use in medicines, as pets, and for food. Large-scale tropical forest clearing for agriculture most threatens primates. The English name primates is derived from Old French or French primat , from
2600-562: Was downlisted to least-concern status in 2008 but still faces the same threats. In addition to the ongoing clearing of its rainforest habitat, it is hunted for its meat and fur. It is also a favorite prey item for the critically endangered Philippine eagle ; some studies suggest colugos account for 90% of the eagle's diet. Their family name Cynocephalidae comes from the Greek words κύων kyōn "dog" and κεφαλή kephalē "head" because their heads are broad with short snouts like dogs. It
2652-428: Was either a lemuriform primate (meaning its ancestors split from the lemur line more recently than lemurs and lorises split) or a sister group to all the other strepsirrhines. In 2008, the aye-aye family was confirmed to be most closely related to the other Malagasy lemurs, likely having descended from the same ancestral population that colonized the island. Suborder Haplorhini , the simple-nosed or "dry-nosed" primates,
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#17327659004872704-407: Was one of the primatologists who developed the idea of trends in primate evolution and the methodology of arranging the living members of an order into an "ascending series" leading to humans. Commonly used names for groups of primates such as prosimians , monkeys , lesser apes , and great apes reflect this methodology. According to our current understanding of the evolutionary history of
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