Читать книгу Anthropology For Dummies - Cameron M. Smith - Страница 78

The monkeys of the Old World, members of the parvorder (a major division in the order) Catarrhini (meaning narrow-nosed) are distinct from the New World monkeys because they live on a different continent, distinct from the apes because the apes are generally larger, and different from the prosimians because they’re generally larger and have evolved more ecological adaptations than the prosimians. They also have the following distinctive anatomical characteristics:

 Narrow nose with nostrils facing down (as opposed to wide-nosed, out-facing nostrils in New World monkeys)

 A dental formula of 2.1.2.3 (one premolar fewer than the New World monkeys) with some species having molars shaped like knives for shearing vegetation

 Lack of a prehensile tail (see the next section for more on prehensile tails)

 Both arboreal and terrestrial lifestyles

The Old World monkeys are themselves split into at least two main groups: the subfamilies Cercopithecinae (including the terrestrial, brilliantly colored mandrill baboons) and Colobinae, which include the large-nosed proboscis monkey and the leaf-devouring colobus monkey, with its large, complex, leaf-digesting stomach. Old World monkeys live in diverse habitats, from dry African savanna to the snowy mountains of Japan. Africa’s patas monkey, distributed south of the Sahara, is a consummate survivor, consuming fruit, bird eggs, roots, and leaves; it can also sprint at up to 34 miles per hour, making it the fastest primate. Japanese snow monkeys spend winter hours soaking in natural hot springs.