Mmmmmonkeys!

So my posts have been pretty surface-level lately. I have plenty of deep things to write about, but as for now, I'm in the biology library (just discovered it!) studying for my Animal Behavior of Primates exam on Tuesday. It goes to show how much of a nerd I am because I'm having the time of my life studying for this exam. Monkeys are so cool! Will you help me study by receiving some awesome primate facts?

Prosimians are considered to be primates but are the precursor to monkeys - their ancestor. They live nocturnally in mainland Africa (as to not compete with day dwelling monkeys and apes who are bigger than them!) but have free reign on Madagascar. Here, the aye aye (shown below) is the "black cat" - if you cross one, bad luck!

The slender loris is a slooooow moving prosimian. This is how they go undetected by prey - they move so slow that no one even knows it's there. If predator or prey catch on, it freezes and become completely immobile and silent. They even have an special network of blood vessels in their wrists and hands that prevents their limbs from falling asleep (I hate the prickleys!).

Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs hibernate for up to eight months by keeping fat in their tails.

The indri got its name because the word "indri" means "there it is" in the language of Madagascar. The first European explorers took what their native guide said when first sighting the prosimian as its name.

The Tarsier is thought to be the link between prosimians and anthropoids (the rest of the primates) because it has traits of both. They have HUGE eyeballs which are larger and weigh more than its brain. Their eyeballs have little mobility, so they turn their heads like owls to see things. They also contribute nicely to this video. Never fails for a laugh. Har har.

The Capuchin is the smartest South American monkey. Most African monkeys are considered to be more intelligent than those of South America, but the Capuchin holds its own in this arena. Because of this, it's used in many movies and is considered the "organ grinder" monkey. If you see a monkey like this in a film set in Africa, you'll now know it's misplaced!

I think the Cotton Top Tamarin looks like James Earl Jones.

Some old world monkeys (of Africa and Asia) have ischial callosities. They're basically sex skins on their butts that follow the menstrual cycle. Well that's a nice color cue for when it's mating time ... These skins also swell, which is ... unappealing.

Rafiki is a mandrill : )

Blood typing and our "Rh factor" were discovered through the rhesus macaque. "Rh" actually stands for rhesus. Research that led to the polio vaccine was also done with rhesus macaques.

The vervet is thought to be the source of HIV, or at least how it was passed on to humans. Among them is a disease called SIV [Simian (meaning monkey) Immunodeficiency Virus] that was passed from them to chimps and then to us. But the difference is, SIV isn't fatal to these monkeys, unlike our case.

Orangutan means "old man of the forest" in Malay. Thus, how they got their name.

Gorillai means "tribe of hairy women." And this is how the gorilla got its name - European explorers thought a group of gorillas was just a bunch of really hairy women. Gosh, people are smart. LoL!

Gorillas have a sagittal crest on the crown of their skull. This is the result of their crazy strong jaw muscles - the muscles push the bone up into a crest. This creates more places for the muscle to hold, so it can gain even more power.

Primates are found in South America, Africa and Madagascar, as well as Asia. But the Amazon contains more monkey diversity than Africa and Asia combined. So if these monkey facts peaked your interest, head to the Amazon and see for yourself!