Old World monkeys are primates of the family Cercopithecidae, a diverse and widespread group native to Africa and Asia. They are characterized by narrow, downward-facing nostrils (catarrhine condition), non-prehensile tails (when present), and ischial callosities that facilitate sitting. Cercopithecidae is divided into two subfamilies: Cercopithecinae (generally omnivorous, often cheek-pouched species such as macaques and baboons) and Colobinae (primarily folivorous, foregut-fermenting species such as colobus and langurs). Members exhibit complex social structures, marked sexual dimorphism in many taxa, and play important roles as model organisms in behavioral, ecological, and biomedical research.
Like people, nonhuman primates live in groups that vary in size and shape depending on the species. Some primate groups are small and simple; others are large and more layered. Over the decades, primatologists have observed ...
Plants & Animals
May 5, 2026
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Monkeys in a tourism hotspot have learned that swallowing dirt can quell the upset stomachs caused by overconsumption of sweet and salty snacks fed to them by holidaymakers, a new University of Cambridge-led study suggests. ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 22, 2026
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Yuji, a 6-week-old patas monkey in Mexico, wakes up every day clinging to a stuffed dog. More than a toy, this plush companion acts as a surrogate mom after the tiny primate was rejected by his own mother, Kamaria, a first-time ...
Plants & Animals
Apr 16, 2026
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Just because a female olive baboon has mated with a specific male doesn't mean he will be the father of her offspring. According to a new study published in PLOS Biology, mate selection continues long after copulation as ...
A critically endangered monkey has given birth just months after pioneering surgery saved her from undergoing an amputation. Masaya, a 15-year-old roloway monkey at Chester Zoo, had a golf-ball-sized mass removed from her ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 21, 2026
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Wild animal species respond very differently to human development, and as a result, they use ecological corridors in agricultural and urban areas in distinct ways. This emerges from research in Botswana by ecologist Marlee ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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Little Punch, a seven-month-old Japanese macaque living in the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, has captured hearts on the internet. Abandoned by his mother in the first few days of his life and raised by the keepers at the zoo, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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A camera-trap survey conducted throughout 2025 has revealed the bewildering breadth of biodiversity hidden within the Annamite Mountains, a largely unexplored forest haven stretching for 1,100 kilometers through Laos and ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 14, 2026
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Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HIOH), a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), together with an interdisciplinary team of partners, have identified the fire-footed rope squirrel ...
Ecology
Feb 11, 2026
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Artificial intelligence allows tracing the evolution of genetic control elements in the developing mammalian cerebellum. An international research team led by biologists from Heidelberg University as well as the Vlaams Instituut ...
Evolution
Jan 29, 2026
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