Pro: PRIMATE PROS
BECOME A PRIMATE PRO... SORT OF
INSPIRED BY traditional FLASHCARDS,
THE facts found in these DIGITAL “flashcards” will have you SOUNDing LIKE A REAL PRIMATE PRO in no time!
be sure to scroll down on this page for general primate facts to round out your knowledge.
HERE'S WHO YOU'LL MEET
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Great Things to know to be a primate pro
WHY DO SPECIES HAVE BOTH COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES?
Common names are not officially defined. They are based on everyday conversational language and may differ by country, region, profession, community, or other factors. As a result, it is not unusual for a species to have multiple common names.
Scientific names, on the other hand, are standardized and constant. They are Latinized and rule-bound by a formal naming system called binominal nomenclature. Scientific names prevent misidentification. They typically only change if a species is officially redesignated.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MONKEYS, APES, AND PROSIMIANS?
The biological order “Primates” is divided into these classifications:
- Great Apes: bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, humans, and orangutans
- Small Apes: gibbons
- Monkeys: baboons, capuchins, colobus, drills, geladas, green monkeys, grivets, guenons, howler monkeys, kipunjis, langurs, lutungs, macaques, malbroucks, mandrills, mangabeys, marmosets, night monkeys, patas monkeys, proboscis monkeys, sakis, snub-nosed monkeys, spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, surilis, swamp monkeys, talapoins, tamarins, tantalus monkeys, titis, uakaris, vervets, and woolly monkeys
- Prosimians: the oldest, most “primitive” order of primates, includes angwantibos, galagos (bushbabies), lemurs, lorises, pottos, and tarsiers
WHAT ARE NEW WORLD vs. OLD WORLD MONKEYS?
New World monkeys are native to Central and South America. They are now referred to as “American monkeys.”
Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia. They are now referred to as “Afro-European” monkeys.”
To learn more about the differences between Afro-European and American Monkeys, visit Primate Facts.
WHAT ARE THE CONSERVATION STATUSES AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
Conservation Statuses are “codes” that tell us about the health of species and their habitats based upon the many threats that they face. They are glimpses into the stability of the Earth’s rich biodiversity.
Not Evaluated (NE): IUCN species specialists have not yet evaluated the species.
Data Deficient (DD): There are not enough data to assess the species’ risk of extinction.
Least Concern (LC): The species is widespread and abundant.
Near Threatened (NT): The species is likely to become endangered in the near future.
Vulnerable (VU): The species is at high risk of endangerment in the wild.
Endangered (EN): The species is at high risk of extinction in the wild.
Critically Endangered (CR): The species is at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Extinct in the Wild (EW): The species is known only to survive in captivity.
Extinct (EX): There are no known individuals remaining.
There is typically a span of about 50 years of no incidents of sightings of a species before that species is officially declared extinct.
Learn more about Conservation Statuses at
THE ALPHABET SOUP OF CONSERVATION
WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF A RAINFOREST ?
To learn more about the the levels of the rainforest visit
LIFE IN THE WORLD’S TROPICAL RAINFORESTS
WHERE IN THE WORLD DO NONHUMAN PRIMATES LIVE?
The map below illustrates
THE WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OF NONHUMAN PRIMATES
