the monkeys is the mammals most similar the human being in physique and behavior, so that the human being within the natural system is also classed as belonging to the subordination of the monkeys. With the semi-monkeys (Prosimiae), the monkeys are summarized primates or primates to the order.
The monkeys are developed in the comparison into the semi-monkeys as higher to look at. they differ in the absence of a moist nose-mirror and the shaping of a simple uterus in particular from those while this still is two-hearing-y with the semi-monkeys. Through this degeneration, a longer ripening time of the offspring became possible in the womb.
Descent Approximately 35 million years (in the oligocene) ago, the first monkeys came off from the development-stream common until then with the semi-monkeys and probably went through all a phase of real Baumlebens like these in the further evolution. Good gripping-poor were to it of course and - hands as well as a well distinctive balance-sense necessary. Also the face-sense (vision, color and Formensehen) was necessary in the dense jungle of that time for a successful survival. With the formation of the face-sense, also the evolution of the body-signals might happen as coloring and gesture of limbs (tail, hands) and face (facial expression). The basis of the Soziallebens (family-association) was put with it.
That an always better trained brain was necessary for the recognition and evaluation of such signals, gets along by itself. Accordingly, a steady increase of the brain-size leaves itself in the dug out ancestries of the primates and particularly the forehead and temple-brain determines.
The tree-life caused also the selection of such characteristics: a small descendant-number for birth, the formation of breast-continuous milk-glands (the original order with the mammals is a milk-glandular-strip at the stomach-side along) and a longer lasting cohesion of young and mother as well as. Parents. Also this fact explains some behavior with the present-day monkeys (and people): according to Z. B. the (early-childlike) gripping-reflexes by means of and foot, that is to be understood only from the former tree-life: The young must be able to certainly cling at escape and locomotion in the branches without long thinking, therefore per reflex, in the mother's fur. The food of this early one(s) - and also the most present-day one(s) - monkeys consisted predominantly of leaves and fruits, that through occasional meat-diet in form of insects and their larvae, frogs, lizards, birds and small-mammals was supplemented. Accordingly, the denture has in direction on plant-food of indicating tooth-forms sooner: the edge-teeth are flat and sharp-edged (to cutting apart the leaves and fruits), that Z from this. T. predatorily living mammal-driving up come over cuspids are pointed-conical and can gain remarkable size with some monkeys (baboons). Such cuspids are effective arms, and you exposing through corresponding face-facial expression won Drohbedeutung, therefore stands in the service of the social Signalgebung. The grinders finally (cheek-teeth) are excellently suitable for the grinding mastication of the plant-food.
The adaptation to leaf, fruit and seeds as main-food points out the necessity of a good face-sense on the other hand, and also the prestidigitation to the aimed picking and cleaning of the fruits wins from this view, meaning renews. The thumb is included that can be compared the remaining fingers and so to the real griffin - tools (and comprehend - (stub-monkeys)) becomes, an especially typical primate-characteristic, that was receded again secondarily only with few forms. For such gripping-actions, the claws of the remaining mammals are less suitable of course as the nails of the primates, and also the hairless hand and foot-surface lets itself understand from the era of the Baumlebens. These bare surfaces carry a pattern of skin-strips ("fingerprint"), even at the gripping-tail - in fact on the bare gripping-surface -, typical for each individual, that Newcomer-world-monkeys !
Transition in the steppe The higher the tribal-historical development of the monkeys proceeded in direction on the apes (and the human being), a new adaptation-line became all the clearer at a temporary life at the ground of the jungle-clearings as well as. at the edge of the savannas: the ability to move on to the zweifüßigen and with it upright walk from the quadruped one developed. The early apes always moved similarly only short-term two-legged on that occasion like the present-day chimpanzees and gorillas above all if they required both hands to carrying. Usually, they moved in a half-raised quadruped-walk, with what they leaned on the ankles of the hands. However, this semi-erection was the prerequisite for the later total-erection of the human being. The transition to the continuous two-legged-ness marks the transition from the animal to the human being. The first certainly proved Urmensch (Australopithecus afarensis), lived in East-Africa approximately 4,0-3,7 million years ago.
The upright walk and the ability to sit down with help of the buttocks caused alterations of attitude and form of head and spinal column, with what the suspension of the skull bent against the spinal column and is ordered the face-skull under (instead of before) the brain-skull. A slow retreating the nose-part, with what the "schnauzige" impression of a semi-monkey or primitive monkeys made place for a more humanly working face, was accompanied by the more inferior meaning of the sense of smell. Also the eyes, that became relatively bigger and are ordered separately instead of at the side head-on side by side, contribute to it: So, they make a binokulares of seeing with better depth-perception, spatial seeing and better recognition of things possible with unfavorable illumination.
Physique and behavior Before this tribal-historical background the most important body and behavioral-characteristics of the monkeys let themselves now generalize:
1. one relatively to the weight big and well trained brain with emphasis of the forehead and temple-parts of the cerebrum; good formation of seeing and hearing, clearly less good shaping of the Riechvermögens;
2. sent moving through Greifhangeln in the branches as well as. differently strongly distinctive ability as the upright biped-walk at the ground;
3. outstanding manipulation-fortune with the front-limbs (hand with opponierbarem thumbs) and Z. T. the rear-limbs, with some types, a gripping-tail is distinctive as "fifth hand";
4. the permanent teeth insist from two edge-teeth, a typical cuspid, two or three prämolaren and two or three molaren cheek-teeth in waiter and lower jaws on each side;
5. the secondary sex-characteristics usually are more multifarious and more clearly distinctive than with the semi-monkeys.
Reproduction In contrast to the remaining mammals with the only one or twice-repeated heat-periods per year, the monkeys can propagate anytime to get what the hormone-controlled month-cycle of the egg-ripening with the fertilization-possibility given through it helps them. With numerous monkey-types, this Periodik is marked through swelling and change in color of certain skin-parts at the sex-organs, that increase the male mating-willingness and steer. Also in the male sex, the outer sex-characteristics can often have emphasized grotesquely: The scrotum sometimes is approximately colorfully colored shining by sea-cats and bellow-monkeys and functions as signal-givers of its bearer's position-height within the group.
This also is valid, approximately with the skull-monkey, for the male mating-organ: The erigierte penis is the insignia of the Ranghöheren. Purely functionally, the existence of a Penisknochens (Baculum) is remarkable on that occasion with most monkeys, exceptions: Clinch -, wool-monkey (human being). Also the Aufreiten to the mating - always from the back, exception: Bonobo - social function possesses: It documents the male superiority, because the position-higher male climbs also a position-low male in the same-sex social-contact. On the other hand, the inferior male offers itself to the Ranghöheren (like a female) in sexual Duckhaltung.
The development-duration of the boys before and after the birth lasts usually longer than with the semi-monkeys, and also the admission the sexually mature is delayed in the sense of a youth-phase extended with it. These on the other hand conditionally a closer and longer cohesion of young and parents and enables d so more intensive and varied educational-processes, that make even the formation of "cultural" traditions possible. h. the passing on of learned behaviors of the parents to the children (like Z). B. with the Rotgesichtsmakaken.
System The present-day monkeys let themselves divide into two well distinguishable groups, that moreover still geographically clearly separately in the warmer regions of the newcomer as well as. Live old world:
All Newcomer-world-monkeys belong to the width-nose-monkeys or Platyrrhini while all alto-world-monkeys are among the narrow-noses or Catarrhini. This simply seeming outer characteristic this spreads as well as. causes narrow nose-partition with the width-noses that far of each other separately the nose-holes and after the sides directional is, while narrowly together they stand with the narrow-noses, to which also the human being belongs, and opens.
Another difference separates the two groups: The width-noses still possess three prämolare cheek-teeth while the narrow-noses show only their two. This fact expels the width-noses as the tribal-historically more primitive group beside other characteristics.
Also the bone hearing-walk of the eardrum to the outer ear-opening, with the human being quite clearly, is not found even in the adult stage with the width-noses, while it manifests himself with the narrow-nose-child as permanent characteristic after the birth already soon: Skulls with big certainty let themselves so assign one of the two groups.
Also in the shape of the tail, differences appear: With the width-noses, it is not as differently as with the Catarrhinen from type to type. The width-noses show between 21 and 34 tail-fuss, exception: Uakaris with usually only 13, what on the importance of this organ as taxes, balance, and gripping-tools indicate. This role apparently is no more so uniformly with the narrow-noses against it, because from the very long tails approximately with the Hulman hands the variation-width up to the almost lacking or even quite missing tail with the gibbon or with the real apes.
All alto-world-monkeys are predominantly day-active, while after all another type (night-monkeys) with the neuweltlichen width-noses, how many semi-monkeys that nightlife is adjusted.
A primitive characteristic finally still be the regular appearance of Mehrlingsgeburten, what also characteristically is found in the new world only with the subfamily of the marmosets, during twins or even Mehrlinge with the alto-world-forms rather rare. Despite these differences, there is a series of astonishing similarities with both groups, that one interprets world as result of a secondary adaptation to similar habitats (parallel-development, convergence) in the newcomer and elderly today.
Scientific name: