Editing Old World monkey

{{Short description|Family of mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Old World monkeys<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=152–178}}</ref>
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Oligocene|Recent}}
| image = Olive baboon Ngorongoro.jpg
| image_caption = [[Olive baboon]] (''Papio anubis'')
| taxon = Cercopithecidae
| display_parents = 2
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1821<ref name=JEG>{{Cite journal|last=Gray|first=J.E.|date=1821|title=On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals|url=https://archive.org/stream/londonmedicalre08unkngoog#page/n309/mode/2up|journal=London Medical Repository|volume=15|issue=1|pages=296–310}}</ref>
| parent_authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1821<ref name=JEG/>
| type_genus = ''[[Cercopithecus]]''
| type_genus_authority = Linnaeus, 1758
| range_map = OldWorldMonkeys_SpeciesDensity.png
| range_map_caption = The distribution and density of Old World monkey species
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision = *[[Cercopithecinae]] – 13 genera<br />
*[[Colobinae]] – 10 genera
}}

'''Old World monkeys''' are [[primate]]s in the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Cercopithecidae''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|s|ɜr|k|oʊ|p|ᵻ|ˈ|θ|ɛ|s|ᵻ|d|iː}}). Twenty-four [[genus|genera]] and 138 [[species]] are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include [[baboon]]s (genus ''[[Papio]]''), red colobus (genus ''[[Red colobus|Piliocolobus]]''), and [[macaque]]s (genus ''[[Macaca (genus)|Macaca]]''). Common names for other Old World monkeys include the [[talapoin]], [[guenon]], [[colobus]], [[douc]] (douc langur, genus ''[[Pygathrix]]''), [[vervet]], [[gelada]], [[mangabey]] (a group of genera), [[langur]], [[mandrill]], [[drill (animal)|drill]], [[surili]] (''[[Presbytis]]''), [[patas]], and [[proboscis monkey]].

Phylogenetically, they are more closely related to [[ape]]s than to [[New World monkey]]s, with the Old World monkeys and apes diverging from a common ancestor between 25 million and 30 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fossils Indicate Common Ancestor for Old World Monkeys and Apes |last1=Palmer |first1=Chris |last2=magazine |first2=Nature |work=Scientific American |date= |access-date=11 December 2023 |url= https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fossils-indicate-common-ancestor-old-world-monkeys-apes/ |quote=25 million to 30 }}</ref> This [[Cladistics|clade]], containing  the Old World monkeys and the apes, diverged from a common ancestor with the New World monkeys around 45 to 55&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name=Perez2013>{{cite journal |last1= Perez |first1= S.I. |last2= Tejedor |first2= M.F. |display-authors=etal |date= June 2013 |title= Divergence times and the evolutionary radiation of New World monkeys (Platyrrhini, Primates): an analysis of fossil and molecular data |journal= PLOS ONE |volume= 8 |issue= 6 |pages= e68029 |doi= 10.1371/journal.pone.0068029|pmid= 23826358 |pmc= 3694915 |bibcode= 2013PLoSO...868029P |doi-access= free }}</ref>{{Request quotation|date=October 2024}} The individual species of Old World monkey are more closely related to each other than to apes or any other grouping, with a common ancestor around 14 million years ago.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rR9XPnaqvCMC&pg=PA138 |page=138 |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |title=The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution |year=2004 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=9780618619160 }}</ref>

The smallest Old World monkey is the [[talapoin]], with a head and body {{convert|34|–|37|cm}} in length, and weighing between {{convert|0.7|and|1.3|kg}}. The largest is the male mandrill,  around {{convert|70|cm}} in length, and weighing up to {{convert|50|kg}}<ref name="EoM370-405">{{cite book |editor=Macdonald, D. |author1=Brandon-Jones, Douglas |author2=Rowell, Thelma E. |name-list-style=amp |year=1984 |title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/370 370–405] |isbn=0-87196-871-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/370 }}</ref> Old World monkeys have a variety of facial features; some have [[snout]]s, some are flat-nosed, and many exhibit coloration. Most have tails, but they are not [[prehensile]].

Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting numerous environments: tropical [[rain forest]]s,  [[savanna]]s, [[shrubland]]s, and mountainous terrain. They inhabited much of Europe in the past; today, the only survivors in Europe are the [[Barbary macaque]]s of [[Gibraltar]]. Whether they were native to Gibraltar or were brought by humans is unknown.

Some Old World monkeys are [[arboreal]], such as the [[colobus]] monkeys; others are [[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]], such as the [[baboon]]s. Most are at least partially [[omnivore|omnivorous]], but all prefer plant matter, which forms the bulk of their diets. Most are highly opportunistic, primarily eating fruit, but also consuming almost any food item available, such as flowers, leaves, bulbs and [[rhizome]]s, insects, snails, small mammals,<ref name="EoM370-405"/> and garbage and handouts from humans.

== Taxonomic classification and phylogeny ==

{{Main|List of cercopithecoids}}
[[File:Rhesus Macaque, Red Fort, Agra, India.jpg|thumb|A male [[rhesus macaque]] (''Macaca mulatta'')]]
[[File:Cercocebus_torquatus,_Colchester_Zoo,_Essex,_England_-_20080211.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Young [[collared mangabey]] (''Cercocebus torquatus'').]]
[[File:Semnopithecus hypoleucos.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Black-footed gray langur]], (''Semnopithecus hypoleucos'')]]
[[File:NILGIRI LANGUR (Trachypithecus johnii).jpg|thumb|[[Nilgiri langur]] (''Trachypithecus johnii'')]]
Two [[subfamily|subfamilies]] are recognized, the [[Cercopithecinae]], which are mainly African, but include the diverse [[genus]] of [[macaque]]s, which are Asian and North African, and the [[Colobinae]], which includes most of the Asian genera, but also the African colobus monkeys.

The [[Linnaean classification]] beginning with the [[biology|superfamily]] is:
* '''Superfamily Cercopithecoidea'''
** '''Family Cercopithecidae''': '''Old World monkeys'''
*** Subfamily [[Cercopithecinae]]
**** Tribe [[Cercopithecini]]
***** Genus ''[[Allen's swamp monkey|Allenopithecus]]'' – Allen's swamp monkey
***** Genus ''[[Miopithecus]]'' – talapoins
***** Genus ''[[Erythrocebus]]'' – patas monkeys
***** Genus ''[[Chlorocebus]]''
***** Genus ''[[Cercopithecus]]'' – guenons
***** Genus ''[[Allochrocebus]]'' – terrestrial guenons
**** Tribe [[Papionini]]
***** Genus ''[[Macaque|Macaca]]'' – macaques
***** Genus ''[[Lophocebus]]'' – crested mangabeys
***** Genus ''[[Rungwecebus]]'' – kipunji
***** Genus ''[[Papio]]'' – baboons
***** Genus ''[[Theropithecus]]'' – gelada
***** Genus ''[[Cercocebus]]'' – white-eyelid mangabeys
***** Genus ''[[Mandrillus]]'' – mandrill and drill
*** Subfamily [[Colobinae]]
**** African group
***** Genus ''[[Colobus]]'' – black-and-white colobuses
***** Genus ''[[Piliocolobus]]'' – red colobuses
***** Genus ''[[Procolobus]]'' – olive colobus
**** Langur (leaf monkey) group     
***** Genus ''[[Gray langur|Semnopithecus]]'' – gray langurs or Hanuman langurs
***** Genus ''[[Trachypithecus]]'' – lutungs
***** Genus ''[[Presbytis]]'' – surilis
**** Odd-nosed group
***** Genus ''[[Pygathrix]]'' – doucs
***** Genus ''[[Rhinopithecus]]'' – snub-nosed monkeys
***** Genus ''[[Proboscis monkey|Nasalis]]'' – proboscis monkey
***** Genus ''[[Simias]]'' – pig-tailed langur

[[Image:Paracolobus chemeroni.JPG|thumb|right|''Paracolobus chemeroni'' fossil]]
The distinction between apes and [[monkeys]] is complicated by the traditional [[paraphyly]] of [[monkeys]]: Apes emerged as a sister group of Old World monkeys in the [[Catarrhini|catarrhines]], which are a sister group of New World monkeys. Therefore, [[Cladistics|cladistically]], apes, catarrhines and related contemporary extinct groups, such as [[Parapithecidae]], are monkeys as well, for any consistent definition of "monkey".<ref>{{Cite web|title=GEOL 204 The Fossil Record: The Scatterlings of Africa: The Origins of Humanity|url=https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G204/lectures/204scatterlings.html|access-date=2022-01-02|website=www.geol.umd.edu|archive-date=2019-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020136/https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G204/lectures/204scatterlings.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

"Old World monkey" may also legitimately be taken to be meant to include all the catarrhines, including apes and extinct species such as ''[[Aegyptopithecus]]'',<ref>{{Citation|last=AronRa|title=Turns out we DID come from monkeys!|date=2010-01-16|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A-dMqEbSk8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/4A-dMqEbSk8 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-11-12}}{{cbignore}}</ref> in which case the apes, Cercopithecoidea and ''Aegyptopithecus'' as well as (under an even more expanded definition) even the [[Platyrrhini]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Early Primate Evolution: The First Primates|url=http://anthro.palomar.edu/earlyprimates/early_2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110174441/https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/earlyprimates/early_2.htm|archive-date=2018-01-10|access-date=2017-08-12|website=anthro.palomar.edu}}</ref> emerged within the Old World monkeys. Historically, monkeys from the "Old World" (Afro-Arabia), somehow drifted to the "New World" some 40 million years ago, forming the "New World monkeys" (platyrrhines). Apes would emerge later within the Afro-Arabia group.

== Characteristics ==

Old World monkeys are medium to large in size, and range from [[arboreal]] forms, such as the [[Colobus|colobus monkeys]], to fully terrestrial forms, such as the baboons. The smallest is the [[talapoin]], with a head and body 34–37&nbsp;cm in length, and weighing between 0.7 and 1.3 kilograms, while the largest is the male [[mandrill]] (the females of the species being significantly smaller), at around 70&nbsp;cm in length, and weighing up to 50 kilograms.<ref name="EoM370-405" />

Most Old World monkeys have tails (the family name means "tailed ape"), unlike the tailless apes.  The tails of Old World monkeys are not [[prehensile tail|prehensile]], unlike those of the [[New World monkey]]s (platyrrhines).

The distinction of catarrhines from platyrrhines depends on the structure of the [[rhinarium]], and the distinction of Old World monkeys from apes depends on [[dentition]] (the number of teeth is the same in both, but they are shaped differently). In platyrrhines, the nostrils face sideways, while in catarrhines, they face downward. Other distinctions include both a tubular ectotympanic (ear bone), and eight, not twelve, premolars in catarrhines, giving them a [[dentition|dental formula]] of: {{DentalFormula|upper=2.1.2.3|lower=2.1.2.3}}

Several Old World monkeys have anatomical oddities. For example, the [[colobus]] monkeys have stubs for thumbs to assist with their arboreal movement, the [[proboscis monkey]] has an extraordinary nose, while the [[snub-nosed monkey]]s have almost no nose at all.

The [[penis]] of the male [[mandrill]] is crimson and the [[scrotum]] is [[Lilac (color)|lilac]]; the face is also brightly colored. The coloration is more pronounced in dominant males.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Developmental variables and dominance rank in adolescent male mandrills (''Mandrillus sphinx'')|year=2002 |pmid=11793410 |doi= 10.1002/ajp.1060|last1=Setchell |first1=Joanna M. |last2=Dixson |first2=Alan F. |journal=American Journal of Primatology |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=9–25 |s2cid=25762754 }}</ref>

== Habitat and distribution ==

The Old World [[monkey]]s are native to [[Africa]] and [[Asia]] today, inhabiting numerous environments: tropical [[rain forest]]s,  [[savanna]]s, [[shrubland]]s, and mountainous terrain. They inhabited much of [[Europe]] during the [[Neogene]] period.<ref name=Agusti2002>{{cite book |last1= Agustí |first1= Jordi |last2= Antón |first2= Mauricio |date= 2002 |title= Mammoths, Sabretooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Evolution in Europe |location= New York |publisher= Columbia University Press |pages = 216–218 |isbn=0-231-11640-3}}</ref>

== Behaviour and ecology ==
=== Diet ===

Most Old World monkeys are at least partially [[omnivore|omnivorous]], but all prefer plant matter, which forms the bulk of their diet. [[Colobinae|Leaf monkeys]] are the most vegetarian, subsisting primarily on leaves, and eating only a small number of insects, while the other species are highly opportunistic, primarily eating fruit, but also consuming almost any food items available, such as flowers, leaves, bulbs and [[rhizome]]s, insects, snails, and even small vertebrates.<ref name="EoM370-405" /> The [[Barbary macaque]]'s diet consists mostly of leaves and roots, though it will also eat insects and uses cedar trees as a water source.<ref name="cedar">{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2001.99019.x|title=Effects of Water Availability and Habitat Quality on Bark-Stripping Behavior in Barbary Macaques |year=2001 |last1=Ciani |first1=Andrea Camperio |last2=Martinoli |first2=Loredana |last3=Capiluppi |first3=Claudio |last4=Arahou |first4=Mohamed |last5=Mouna |first5=Mohamed |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=259–265 |bibcode=2001ConBi..15..259C |s2cid=86080812 }}</ref>

=== Reproduction ===

[[Gestation]] in the Old World monkeys lasts between five and seven months. Births are usually single, although, as with humans, twins occur occasionally. The young are born relatively well-developed, and are able to cling onto their mother's fur with their hands from birth. Compared with most other mammals, they take a long time to reach sexual maturity, with four to six years being typical of most species.

=== Social systems ===

In most species, daughters remain with their mothers for life, so that the basic social group among Old World monkeys is a [[matrilineality|matrilineal]] troop. Males leave the group on reaching adolescence, and find a new troop to join. In many species, only a single adult male lives with each group, driving off all rivals, but others are more tolerant, establishing hierarchical relationships between dominant and subordinate males. Group sizes are highly variable, even within species, depending on the availability of food and other resources.<ref name="EoM370-405" />

== See also ==
{{Portal|Mammals|Primates}}
* [[List of Old World monkey species]]
* [[List of primates by population]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Cercopithecidae}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Cercopithecoidea}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Cercopithecidae}}

{{Primates}}
{{C.Cercopithecinae nav}}
{{C.Colobinae nav}}
{{Haplorhini|C.}}
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[[Category:Old World monkeys| ]]
[[Category:Extant Oligocene first appearances]]