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New World monkeys are the four families of primate
Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
s that are found in Central
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
: Cebidae
Cebidae

The Cebidae form one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the marmosets, tamarins, capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys....
, Aotidae, Pitheciidae
Pitheciidae

The Pitheciidae are one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris....
 and Atelidae
Atelidae

The Atelidae are one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are general larger monkeys, and the family includes the howler monkey, spider monkey and woolly monkeys....
. The four families are ranked together as the Platyrrhini parvorder
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
. They differ from other groupings of monkeys and primates, such as the Old World monkey
Old World monkey

The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade Catarrhini....
s and the apes.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m1447469",this)' onMouseout='hide("m1447469")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/New_World">New World
New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
 monkeys are small to mid-sized primates, ranging from the Pygmy Marmoset
Pygmy Marmoset

The Pygmy Marmoset is a monkey native to the rainforest canopy of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest monkey, with its body length ranging from ....
 (the world's smallest monkey), at 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) and a weight of 120 to 190 grams (4.2 to 6.7 oz) to the Southern Muriqui
Southern Muriqui

The Southern Muriqui, Brachyteles arachnoides, is a muriqui species endemic to Brazil. It is found in the Brazilian States of Brazil of Paran? , S?o Paulo , Rio de Janeiro , Esp?rito Santo and Minas Gerais....
, at 55 to 70 cm (22 to 28 in) and a weight of 12 to 15 kg (26 to 33 lbs).






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New World monkeys are the four families of primate
Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
s that are found in Central
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
: Cebidae
Cebidae

The Cebidae form one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the marmosets, tamarins, capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys....
, Aotidae, Pitheciidae
Pitheciidae

The Pitheciidae are one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris....
 and Atelidae
Atelidae

The Atelidae are one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are general larger monkeys, and the family includes the howler monkey, spider monkey and woolly monkeys....
. The four families are ranked together as the Platyrrhini parvorder
Order (biology)

In Biological classification used in biology, the order is a taxonomic rank between class and family . The superorder is a rank between class and order....
. They differ from other groupings of monkeys and primates, such as the Old World monkey
Old World monkey

The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade Catarrhini....
s and the apes.

Characteristics

New World
New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
 monkeys are small to mid-sized primates, ranging from the Pygmy Marmoset
Pygmy Marmoset

The Pygmy Marmoset is a monkey native to the rainforest canopy of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru. It is one of the smallest primates, and the smallest monkey, with its body length ranging from ....
 (the world's smallest monkey), at 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) and a weight of 120 to 190 grams (4.2 to 6.7 oz) to the Southern Muriqui
Southern Muriqui

The Southern Muriqui, Brachyteles arachnoides, is a muriqui species endemic to Brazil. It is found in the Brazilian States of Brazil of Paran? , S?o Paulo , Rio de Janeiro , Esp?rito Santo and Minas Gerais....
, at 55 to 70 cm (22 to 28 in) and a weight of 12 to 15 kg (26 to 33 lbs). New World monkeys differ slightly from Old World monkeys in several aspects. The most prominent difference is the nose, which is the feature used most commonly to distinguish between the two groups. The scientific name for the New World monkeys, Platyrrhini, means "flat nosed". The noses of New World monkeys are flatter than the narrow noses of the Old World monkeys, and have side-facing nostrils. Male New World monkeys (except for the howler monkey
Howler monkey

Howler monkeys are among the largest of the New World monkeys. Nine species are currently recognised. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae....
s of genus Alouatta) also lack the trichromatic vision of Old World monkeys. Platyrrhines also differ from Old World monkeys in that they have twelve premolars instead of eight. New World monkeys in the family Atelidae are the only primates with tails that are prehensile
Prehensile tail

A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has Adaptation to be able to grasp and/or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees....
. Many New World monkeys are small and almost all are arboreal
Arboreal

Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees". Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees or Shrubes....
, so knowledge of them is less comprehensive than that of the more easily observed Old World monkeys. Unlike most Old World monkeys, many New World monkeys form monogamous pair bond
Pair bond

In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the males and or females in a pair, potentially leading to breeding....
s, and show substantial paternal care of young. they eat fruits, nuts, insects, flowers, bird eggs, spiders, and small mammals

Origin

About 40 million years ago the Simiiformes infraorder split into parvorders Platyrrhini (New World monkeys—in South America) and Catarrhini
Catarrhini

Catarrhini is a parvorder of the Primates, one of the three major divisions of the suborder Haplorrhini. It contains the Old World monkeys and the apes ....
 (ape
Ape

An ape is any member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates. In less scientific language, it has various meanings, although it often excludes humans....
s and Old World monkey
Old World monkey

The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade Catarrhini....
s—in Africa). The Platyrrhini are currently conjectured to have migrated across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
 to South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
 on a raft of vegetation
Rafting event

Rafting events occur when organisms transfer from one land mass to another by way of a sea crossing on large clumps of floating vegetation. Such matted clumps of vegetation are often seen floating down major rivers in the tropics and washing out to sea, occasionally with animals trapped on them....
 similar to the vast pieces of floating mangrove
Mangrove

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline water coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses: most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal, for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove forest are also used, to refer to all trees and...
 forest that storms occasionally break off from the tropical African coast. At that time the Atlantic Ocean was less than the present wide.

Classification

  • ORDER PRIMATES
    • Suborder Strepsirrhini
      Strepsirrhini

      The clade Strepsirrhini is one of the two suborders of primates. One of the most distinguishing characteristic of these 118 species is their wet noses, and it is this feature for which the grouping is named....
      : lemurs, lorises, etc.
    • Suborder Haplorrhini
      Haplorrhini

      The haplorrhines, the "dry-nosed" primates , are members of the Haplorrhini Cladistics: the prosimian tarsiers and all of the true simians ....
      : tarsiers, monkeys and apes
      • Infraorder Tarsiiformes
        • Family Tarsiidae: tarsiers
      • Infraorder Simiiformes
        • Parvorder Platyrrhini: New World monkeys
          • Family Cebidae
            Cebidae

            The Cebidae form one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. It includes the marmosets, tamarins, capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys....
            : marmosets, tamarins, capuchins and squirrel monkeys
          • Family Aotidae: night or owl monkeys (douroucoulis)
          • Family Pitheciidae
            Pitheciidae

            The Pitheciidae are one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Atelidae. The family includes the titis, saki monkeys and uakaris....
            : titis, sakis and uakaris
          • Family Atelidae
            Atelidae

            The Atelidae are one of the four family of New World monkeys now recognised. Formerly they were included in the family Cebidae. Atelids are general larger monkeys, and the family includes the howler monkey, spider monkey and woolly monkeys....
            : howler, spider and woolly monkeys
        • Parvorder Catarrhini
          Catarrhini

          Catarrhini is a parvorder of the Primates, one of the three major divisions of the suborder Haplorrhini. It contains the Old World monkeys and the apes ....
          : Old World monkeys, apes and humans


Further reading



External links