Monkeys are primates that have a tail and food pouches on the cheeks and hair on the buttocks. The types of monkeys that are very popular and easily recognizable include long-tailed monkeys, macaques, proboscis monkeys, and many other species.
Monkeys are still often considered the same as apes. Though the two are very different, even though they come from the same order. However, some people often misunderstand it, the following is the classification of monkeys:
Kingdom : animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : mammals
Order : Primates
Upaordo : Hapllorhini
Infraorder : Simiiformes
Familia :
- Cebidae
- Aotidae
- Pitheciidae
- Atelidae
- Cercopithecidae
The smallest known monkey in body length 4.6 to 6 inches, weighing 300 grams to 500 grams. While the largest monkey body length can be up to 3.6 meters with up to 30 kg more.
Different types of monkeys come from 2 regions of the New World and the Old World. Monkeys from the Old World exist in Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Japan, and India.
While monkeys from the New World are generally located in Central America and South America with a medium altitude area. New World monkeys mostly live in thickets and tropical rains.
Monkeys are animals that tend to spend their time in trees and shrubs (arboreal). Because monkey food is generally plant products such as fruit and seeds, leaves, or insects, spiders, and eggs. But there are also some species that live on the ground (terrestrial).
Monkeys that communicate by voice, facial expressions, or body movements also have fingerprints like humans. They also begin sexual activity or mating at the age of 18 months to 8 years.
Mammals that can survive up to 50 years, usually live in groups with a high social level. They can take care of each other by cleaning each other's fur and skin.
Because of the monkey's ability to adapt to humans, in Indonesia several types of monkeys are used to help humans in their daily work. For example, to help pick coconuts, make circus animals like monkey masks, or for experimental purposes in the health sector.
Classification of Monkey Characters
In addition, monkeys are also known as the first primates ever brought by humans into space. The following are examples of various types of monkeys that are easily recognizable and have unique characters:
1. Long Tailed Monkey (Macaca Fascicularis)
One type of monkey that is very familiar with human life, especially in Indonesia. This long-tailed monkey has a large population and is still related to the Mentawai Beruk and the Sulawesi Black Monkey.
This monkey is popularly kept and used as monkey mask entertainment. These primates can live in a variety of ecosystems, ranging from mangrove forests on the coast, lowlands to mountains with a maximum altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level.
In addition to Indonesia, this long-tailed monkey is also spread in other Southeast Asia and South Asia. Such as in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh.
2. Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis Larvatus) or Dutch Monkey
This primate is an endemic animal to Kalimantan that is easily recognizable because it has a characteristic on its long and large nose and reddish-brown fur.
The animal, which has become the mascot of Dunia Fantasi Ancol since 2000, has been categorized as 'Endangered' or 'Endangered' in the conservation status created by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist.
3. Javan Lutung or Budeng Lutung (Trachypithecus auratus)
This monkey has a body size of about 55 cm and the length of its tail is almost double the length of its body. The fur of the langur is black, the female has silvery fur around the genitals, while the young langur has orange fur. The langur weighs about 6 kg, is active during the day, and lives in groups of up to 20 langurs.
In Indonesia, Javan langurs can be found around the islands of Java, Bali, Lombok, especially in coastal mangrove areas, freshwater swamp forests, lowland forests, deciduous forests, to forests in the highlands reaching 3,500 meters above sea level.
This animal, whose home range can reach an area of ??15 ha, has since 2008 been categorized as 'Vulnerable' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Redlist.
4. Surili (Presbytis Comata)
This monkey is generally black or dark grayish brown. Surili's head to the crest is black. The body length of the tortoise is about 430-600 mm, and the tail length can be up to 80 cm.
Surili lives in primary and secondary tropical rain forests from an altitude of 0 meters above sea level (mangroves) to an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. In Indonesia, Surili is found in West Java and is endemic to West Java and Banten.
5. Pygmy Marmoset or Finger Monkey (Cebuella Pygmaea)
This monkey is a type of monkey that is known as the smallest monkey in the world because of its size as big as human fingers. This golden hairy monkey lives in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, around Ecuador, Peru, Colombia. Monkeys that weigh no more than 150 grams are able to survive until the age of 11 years.
6. Douc Langur (Pygathrix Nemaeus)
This monkey is found living in several areas of Southeast Asia such as Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar. This species is considered the most beautiful monkey in the world because of its colorful fur.
The body length of this langur is about 55 cm-63 cm, with a male tail length of 60-75cm while the female is about 60 cm. The weight of these plant-eating animals weighs between 8 kg-10 kg.
7. Emperor Tamarin (Saguinus Imperator)
This monkey is a type of monkey that lives in the Amazon, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. This Emperor Tamarin fur is gray and yellowish on the chest, while the hands and feet are black, and the tail is brown. The length of this Emperor Tamarin is about 24 cm-26 cm, and its tail is 35 cm long. It weighs between 300 grams and 400 grams.
8. Spider Monkey (Ateles Fusciceps)
This monkey lives in the tropical rainforests of Central America, South America, and northern Mexico. This monkey is black, with a long and large tail, and its arms and legs are also very long like that of a spider.
Spider monkeys are known as the most acrobatic types of monkeys, and are capable of making sounds like dogs barking, and neighing like horses. The IUCN Redlist also lists this monkey species as "Vulnerable".
9. Night Monkey (Aotus trivirgatus) or Owl Monkey
This monkey has a lot of monkeys, also nicknamed owl monkeys, only come out at night. This animal has thick grayish fur, with an owl-like face, body length between 23 cm and 48 cm and tail up to 41 cm. The weight of a Night Monkey is about 1 to 2 kg.
10. Golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)
This monkey is an old world monkey endemic to the mountainous forests of central and southwest China. They live at an altitude of 1500-3400 m above sea level. In winter, this monkey group has about 20-30 individuals, but in summer this monkey group can reach 200 individuals.
11. Colobus Monkey (Colobus angolensis)
This monkey is often called the "panda" of the monkey world because it has black and white fur. This type of monkey lives in east Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and only eats leaves.
This monkey is the only monkey species without a thumb. The word "colobus" which comes from the Greek word meaning "mutilated", was given to this animal because the animal's thumb was cut off. The color of this monkey's fur is black with a white stripe from the back to the tail.
12. Baboon Monkey (Papio anubis)
This monkey is the largest monkey in the world living in Africa and Arabia. Baboon males measure 33-82 pounds (15-37 kilograms) on average. Their body length is about 60 cm 102 cm), not including the tail which varies in length, weighing between 22 kg-37 kg.
Baboons use at least ten different and unique sounds to communicate with other baboon groups. Although baboons generally live in the savanna, there are also some that are found living in tropical rainforests.
The legs and arms of this all-eating baboon cannot grasp and neither can the tail. Even so they can climb trees with agility.
13. Gelada (Theropithecus gelada) or Gelada Baboon
The Gelada Monkeys are found living in the mountains of Ethiopia, with the largest population found around the Simien Mountains. These grass-eating animals and insects weigh about 18.5 kg (male) and 11 kg (female), the length of the tail is between 30-50 cm.
As a terrestrial animal, Geladas form groups when looking for food with a group number of around 30-350 Geladas. When food is abundant, the number of group members can reach more than 600 geladas.
14. The Mona Monkey (Cercopithecus mona)
This monkey is found living on the Caribbean Island of Grenada and spread from Ghana to the Cameroon region. The monkey that stores food in its cheek pouches during foraging, the color of the fur on its face is gray with dark lines from each of its eyes and ears.
The muzzle is pink and the forehead is white. The height of these mammals is between 37 cm to 63 cm, with a tail length of up to 80 cm and a weight of about 2.5 kg to 5 kg.
15. Lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis)
Monkey is a type of monkey that was only discovered in the forests of the Lomami Basin of the Congo in 2007, and was only widely published under an internationally recognized scientific name in 2012. The monkey has golden brown hair and an owl-like face , and has a characteristic blue color on the buttocks.
There are still about 200 more kinds of monkeys scattered around the world. Their populations are generally threatened due to habitat destruction due to forest conversion or disasters, such as forest fires.
Several international institutions have specifically tried to make them as protected animals and do things that are important in efforts to conserve these primates.