A Barrel of Monkeys Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The order Primates of the class Mammalia comprises two suborders - the Strepsirrhini ("wet-nosed), which include lemurs, galagos and lorisids, and the Haplorhini ("dry-nosed"), which includes tarsiers and simians. The name primate comes from the Latin "primus", meaning "first", as biologist Carl Linnaeus believed primates to be the highest order of animals. Monkeys and apes form the infraorder Simiiformes: the Latin "simia" comes from a word of Greek origin meaning "snub-nosed".

Apes (superfamily Hominoidea) are closely related to Old World monkeys (family Cercopithecidae), which also lack a tail. While Old World monkeys are found in a variety of environments, New World monkeys are mostly adapted to life in forested habitats. The names Platyrrhini and Catarrhini refer to the main difference between the two monkey groups, which lies in the shape of their nose: the platyrrhines ("flat-nose") have nostrils that face sideways, while the nostrils of the catarrhines ("down-nose") face downwards. New World monkeys also differ in their social structure, as they often form monogamous pair bonds instead of living in groups - known by various names, such as troops or hordes.

The tiny pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) is a denizen of the Amazon rainforest, threatened by habitat loss and the exotic pet trade. Native to west-central Africa (in particular Gabon), the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) is a very distinctive-looking creature, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. As is the case with all Old World monkeys, males are considerably larger than females; they also have bigger canine teeth and brighter colouring.

The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) is the only monkey species found in Europe, although the small population living in Gibraltar was introduced there - probably by the Moors in the Middle Ages - from their native North Africa. Another macaque species, the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), found in most of Japan except the island of Hokkaido, is adapted to living in a much colder climate - than most other primate species - hence its colloquial name of "snow monkey".

Spider monkeys are members of the genus Ateles: the type species is the red-faced spider monkey (Ateles paniscus) of northern South America. They are very agile, and can easily jump from tree to tree. Howler monkeys (genus Alouatta) also belong to the family Atelidae, which comprises the only monkeys with a fully prehensile tail. Their loud vocalizations can be heard through their native rainforest habitat for nearly 5 km (3.1 mi).

Also known as night monkeys or douroucoulis, owl monkeys (genus Aotus) are the only truly nocturnal monkey species - as indicated by their unusually large eyes, which make their night vision more effective. One of the largest monkey species, the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is endemic to the island of Borneo. Males have noses that can exceed 10 cm (4 in) in length, while those of females are smaller, but still larger than in most primate species.