Facts about Monkeys

Here are some really interesting facts about monkeys. There are many features of this mammal worth discussing, thus the long list of facts.


Monkeys make up two of the three groups of simian primates, Old World monkeys and New World monkeys. The other group is the apes.

The origins of the word monkey are unclear. It could come from Moneke, the name of the son of Martin the Ape in a medieval animal story. It appears also to be related to manikin, from the Dutch manneken (little man).

Most primates share six basic features: forward-facing eyes, eye sockets, grasping hands, nails, fingerprints, and large brains.

Monkeys are most easily distinguished from apes by their tails. Apes have no tails.

Brazil has more kinds of primates than any other country, with 16 genera and 77 species. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is second, with 18 genera and 37 species.

A monkey is any primate that is not a human, prosimian, or ape.

The prosimians include lemurs, sifakas, lorises, pottos, bushbabies, and other primitive primates.

A group of monkeys is called a troop.

Monkeys use vocalizations, facial expressions, and body movements to communicate.

Grinning or pulling the lip is a sign of aggression in monkeys, along with yawning, head bobbing, and jerking the head and shoulders forward.

Monkeys express affection and make peace with others by grooming each other.

Monkeys live in trees, grasslands, mountains, forests, and on high plains.

All of Madagascar's native primate species are endemic.

As of 1999, 92 of the world's 192 nations have wild primate populations.

Twenty-one primate species are listed as critically endangered on the 2007 Red List of Threatened and Endangered Species. Forty-seven are endangered and 46 are vulnerable to extinction.

Apes and spider monkeys swing arm-to-arm in trees, but most monkeys don’t. Instead, they run across branches.

Monkeys peel their bananas and do not eat the skins.

Monkeys can grasp with both their fingers and their toes.

Most Old World monkeys have small, curved nostrils set close together. Most New World monkeys have round nostrils set far apart on flat noses.

Ten New World monkey species have been classified as nocturnal. All known Old World monkeys are diurnal.

Monkeys are seriously threatened by habitat loss--especially those that live in tropical forests, a habitat that is quickly disappearing.

The Pygmy Marmoset is the world's smallest monkey. It measures 117-159 millimeters (four and a half to six inches) in length and weighs 85 to 140 grams (three to five ounces).

The male Mandrill is the largest monkey. It is almost 1 meter (3.3 feet) long and weighs about 35 kilograms (77 pounds).

It is common for monkeys to carry tuberculosis, hepatitis, and simian herpes B.

Most monkeys eat both animals and plants. Some also eat dirt.

Some Old World monkeys, such as Drills, have sitting pads on their rumps, but New World monkeys do not.

Old World monkeys have 32 teeth. New World monkeys have 36.

There are 96 species of Old World monkeys.

Old World monkeys are divided into two subfamilies, generalists and specialists. Generalists eat almost anything, and specialists eat mainly leaves.

Old World monkeys often have large cheek pouches that enable them to feed rapidly and store their food, then chew and swallow it later.

As of 2008, there are 81 species of New World monkeys in the Amazon basin, and new ones are continually being discovered.

Many New World monkeys have prehensile tails, a feature not shared by any of their Old World cousins. Prehensile tails are used for grasping objects, swinging, and steadying the monkey by grasping limbs and branches when the hands and feet are being used in progression.

The Olive Colobus monkey and certain Red Colobus species are hunted for food by humans and chimpanzees.

Howler monkeys are the loudest monkeys. Their howls can be heard for about two miles in the forest and almost three miles in an open area.

Howler monkeys spend up to 80% of their time resting.

Many New World Monkeys, including the spider monkey, do not have thumbs. Capuchins and squirrel monkeys are the only New World monkeys with pseudo-opposable thumbs.

Proboscis monkeys are best known for the long noses of males, which grow larger as the monkeys age. Females have smaller, pointed noses. This distinctive feature might help to resonate the male's loud vocalizations.

Capuchins are skilled tool users. They smash nuts with rocks, insert branches into crevices to capture food, remove spines and hairs from caterpillars by rubbing them against a branch, protect their hands with leaves, and use large branches to club snakes.

Capuchin monkeys use different vocal sounds to identify different types of predators. They have also been seen banging stones together to warn each other of approaching predators.

As the name indicates, silvered leaf monkeys are silver to dark gray in color. Infants, however, are bright orange.

Twenty different vocalizations have been noted in squirrel monkeys.

Male squirrel monkeys sometimes assert dominance by urinating on subordinates.

Adult male guenon monkeys will sometimes rush after an eagle that has caught a family member, sometimes intimidating the bird enough that it lets go of its prey.

When a troop of guenon monkeys gets a new leader, the new alpha-male will sometimes kill all babies who are still being suckled, an evolutionary behavior known as kin selection, where the male protects his own offspring by killing the offspring of other males.

The Barbary Macaque is the only free-living species of monkey in Europe, which was once home to many monkeys.

South American Titi monkeys are rare among primates because they are monogamous. They mate for life and become distressed when separated. They show affection by remaining close, grooming each other, intertwining their tails, holding hands, nuzzling, cuddling, and lip smacking.


Source: facts.randomhistory.com , The Facts Blog

Amphibian Facts Especially Frogs

Here are some really interesting and fun facts about amphibians, especially frogs...


Because frogs swallow their food whole, the size of their meal is only limited by the size of their mouth and their stomach.

Tree frogs have adhesive pads on their toes for clinging to smooth surfaces.

Frogs cannot live in the sea or any salt water.

The eyes and nose of a frog are on top of its head so it can breathe and see when most of its body is under the water.

Certain frogs can jump up to 20 times their own body length in a single leap.

Some say that you will get warts from touching frogs and toads, but that is a myth. You get warts from human viruses, not from frogs and toads!

In Japan frogs are symbols of good luck.

Amphibians have been around for nearly 400 million years.

In ancient Egypt, frogs were symbols of resurrection and were even mummified with the dead.

Frogs don't drink water but absorb it through their skin.

Some frogs and salamanders have tongues 10x the length of their body.

The red-eyed tree frog lays its eggs on leaves over water so the tadpoles can drop right in.

Most frogs can change their color somewhat to match their surroundings.

Salamanders can re-grow their toes and tails.

Many frogs and salamanders take care of their young, either by guarding their eggs, transporting their young or feeding their tadpoles.

The paradoxical frog of South America has tadpoles up to 10 in. long while the mature adults are only 3 in. long. They get smaller as they age!

In most species of frogs only the male croaks. Croaking attracts female frogs during mating season and lets other males know that this is HIS territory and others should back off!

Bullfrogs stay tadpoles for about 2 years before they become frogs. Some frogs remain tadpoles for only 8 days.

The Bullfrog is the largest frog native to North America. It can grow to 18 in. and weigh 1.2 pounds!


Source: clemetzoo , Interesting Facts