Fractured Primates Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bonobo

The bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee, is more slender than the common chimpanzee, with a smaller head and less prominent brow ridge. Also less aggressive than common chimps, bonobos employ a "make love, not war" approach to conflict resolution. Found only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this subspecies of chimpanzee is thought to have evolved in areas where chimps did not face competition from gorillas. Genetically, bonobos are the closest living relatives of humans; nevertheless, they're considered the most endangered of the great apes.

Answer: Marmoset

The smallest of the true monkeys, marmosets average about 8 in. (20 cm) in height, not including the tail. Johnny Carson may have thought he was the only person on earth to have a marmoset sit on top of his head (in an episode of "The Tonight Show" featuring guest Joan Embery); but in the Amazon forests where these animals are native, they're sometimes tamed by the indigenous people, and the marmosets climb onto the heads of their human friends to groom them as they would any other member of their social group.

Answer: Macaque

Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, are the northernmost-living of all monkey species. Able to endure temperatures as low as 5 °F (-15 °C), they enjoy spending time in hot springs to warm up in the winter, and have even been known to invade people's hot tubs! They've also been observed washing their food, and are the only animals other than humans and raccoons known to do so.

Answer: Mountain gorilla

Mountain gorillas are distinguished from their lowland cousins by their longer, thicker black hair, which allows them to endure colder temperatures. They live in mountain forests on the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An endangered species, they are threatened by habitat loss as well as the bush meat trade, which has been linked to devastating illnesses such as AIDS and Ebola. Since gorillas and humans share about 97% of their DNA, diseases can pass from one to the other when gorillas are butchered for food.

Answer: Black lemur

Black lemurs are native to the tropical rainforests of northern Madagascar and its outlying islands. Males are completely black, while females are more reddish. They are the only lemurs to demonstrate a marked color difference between the sexes. Black lemurs are highly social, living in groups of 7-10 members. Since they feed largely on flowers, nectar, and fruit, they play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal.

Answer: Spider monkey

These New World monkeys have long limbs and a prehensile tail, resulting in the spider-like appearance that gives them their name. Arboreal, they are magnificent acrobats who rarely come down from the trees. Though spider monkeys are among the most intelligent of monkey species, they are hunted for their meat and are also threatened by habitat loss. They are critically endangered.

Answer: Colobus

The name "colobus" comes from the Greek word for "mutilated" because these monkeys have no thumbs. They are the most arboreal of all African monkeys, sometimes making thrilling leaps of 20 feet (6 m) when moving through the trees, their fringe of fur acting as a parachute.

The black-and-white colobus are distributed throughout the continent, while red colubus are limited to pockets along the coasts.

Answer: Orangutan

Found in the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, the orangutan is the world's largest tree-dwelling animal. The males are solitary, and the females raise their offspring alone. Young orangutans stay with their mother for about 6-8 years, learning the many skills they will need to survive in tall trees consuming a widely varied diet of fruit, leaves, shoots, bark, and small animals.

Unfortunately, both the Bornean and Sumatran species of these "people of the trees" are endangered.

Answer: Golden Lion Tamarin

These tiny monkeys of coastal Brazil weigh in at a little over a pound (500 g). They get their name from their yellow-orange coats and the mane of fur surrounding their black faces. They are popular zoo animals, which is a good thing, since nearly one-quarter of the individuals of this species live in captivity. Only about 1500 remain in the wild.

Answer: Olive Baboon

Baboons are among the largest of the monkeys. They are not apes, however; they exhibit quadrupedal locomotion, like a dog or cat, rather than the knuckle walking of a chimp or gorilla. Baboons live in large troops with a well-defined social structure. Ground-dwellers, they can adapt to a wide variety of habitats; their primary requirements appear to be a sufficient supply of water and a safe place to sleep, such as a tree or a cliff.