From Curious George to King Kong, monkeys and monkeys have always been fan favorites. The majestic silver mountain gorilla and the tiny pygmy monkey, despite their incredible differences, are somehow related. Monkeys and monkeys belong to the taxonomic order Primates. While primates have many similarities, there are several important distinguishing traits between apes and apes. Animals classified as monkeys include great apes, orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans, as well as smaller apes, gibbons. This article will analyze the 5 main differences between monkeys and monkeys.
| Monkey | Monkey | |
| Taxonomy | 200+ types | 20 types |
| Body size | 4 oz – 119 lbs | 99 lbs – 500 lbs |
| Band size | 1-845 people | 1-150 people |
| Diet | Carnivores, carnivores, herbivores, omnivores | Carnivores, carnivores, herbivores, omnivores |
| Movement | Cling and jumping, four-legged | Quadrupeds, brachyation, bipedal |
| Distribution | Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America | Africa, Asia, Europe |
Monkeys vs monkeys: 5 main differences between monkeys and monkeys
The main differences between monkeys and monkeys:
- Movable shoulder joint
- Body size
- Geography
- The presence of a tail
- Intelligence
Below, we’ll take a closer look at each of these differences in order.
# 5: movable shoulder joint
The monkeys have developed a particularly flexible shoulder joint that allows them to move from branch to branch. This form of movement is called brachyation. The shoulder blade or shoulder blades of monkeys are located dorsally, that is, closer to the back than on the side. This backward positioning of the shoulder blades provides less restriction of movement in the shoulder joint and makes it easier to swing from branches. While some monkeys can walk over their shoulders like monkeys, most monkeys run along tree branches and jump from tree to tree rather than swinging.
Of the great apes, orangutans spend more time in trees than on the ground. Their long arms and specialized shoulder joints allow them to travel efficiently through trees. Orangutans also have four long toes and a unique short contrasted thumb when compared to other monkeys. This strange shape of the hand also helps to swing from branch to branch.
# 4: body size
In general, monkeys are much larger than monkeys. Gibbons, small apes, are an exception and smaller than some large monkey species. The largest of the great apes is the male gorilla, which can weigh up to 500 pounds. The largest monkey is the mandrill, whose mature male can weigh up to 119 pounds. The smallest big monkey is the female bonobos, which weighs 99 pounds on average. However, the smallest monkey is the pygmy monkey, which weighs about 4 ounces.
Both monkeys and monkeys exhibit sexual dimorphism. This means that males and females of the same species have very different physical characteristics. Sexual dimorphism is the result of mating, usually between males, and results in many differences, including size and coloration. For example, male mandrills typically weigh 82 pounds and females up to 32 pounds. Likewise, male gorillas weigh up to 430 pounds and females 220 pounds.
# 3: Geography
Unlike monkeys, there are no monkeys in America. For example, gorillas live in Africa, while orangutans live in Asia. The only exception is people who currently live all over the world. Although humans now inhabit America with artificial technology, humans originated from Africa and populated Africa, Europe, and Asia like other apes.
Monkeys are divided into two groups known as New World monkeys and Old World monkeys. Old World monkeys live in Africa, Europe and Asia, while New World monkeys live in Mexico, Central America and South America. Monkeys, like the monkeys of the Old World, are also found in Africa, Europe and Asia, however, many European species of monkeys and monkeys have become extinct.
The white-faced capuchin monkeys are an example of the New World monkeys found in Central and South America. Tamarins, including the golden lion tamarin, are also New World monkeys native to South America. An example of an Old World monkey is the mandrill found in Africa.
# 2: having a tail
Monkeys, unlike monkeys, do not have tails. Although some monkeys do not have a tail either, such as barbarian monkeys, monkeys do not have a tail like most monkeys.
Many monkeys in the New World have a prehensile tail. This means that the tail can grab or hold on to objects such as a tree branch. For example, arachnid monkeys have a prehensile tail, which allows them to be outstanding climbers. They can live in forest canopy and use their tail to help climb, swing, or hang while picking fruit.
Most Old World monkeys have tails, but they don’t have this ability to grab. Colobus monkeys, for example, live mostly in tree crowns, but they climb without the aid of a prehensile tail. Land monkeys such as baboons also have tails without the ability to grab.
# 1: intelligence
Perhaps the most important and distinctive difference between apes and apes is intelligence. Monkeys are believed to have more primitive brains than monkeys. All primates are incredibly social creatures, and among mammals they are very intelligent. Intelligence in this context means the ability to solve problems, learn, plan, understand and communicate. Behavioral studies in non-human monkeys have shown that they are incredibly intelligent based on their tool use, social interaction, and learning ability.
Chimpanzees are recorded in the wild and in captivity using a wide variety of instruments. They often use a “probe” or “fishing rod” to catch ants from the bark or to get honey. Chimpanzees also often use a stone hammer and anvil to chop nuts. A typical chimpanzee in the wild has about 20 different tools and ways to use them.
A remarkable example of the intelligence of apes is American Sign Language, which is taught to gorillas. In 1976, a gorilla named Coco had a vocabulary of over 1000 ASL characters and could understand 2000 spoken English words. She was found to have an IQ of 70 to 95 on a human scale. The “normal” human IQ on the same scale is 100.
Another example of ape’s intelligence is the ability to remember. In a 2007 study in Kyoto, Japan, chimpanzees competed with humans on a memory test. Random numbers appeared on the touchscreen in front of the chimpanzees, and when they competed with humans, the chimpanzees consistently coped with the task of memory faster.