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Primates

About Primates

  • A primate is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all the species commonly related to the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans. Primates are found all over the world.
  • Non-human primates occur mostly in Central and South America, Africa, and southern Asia.
  • A few species exist as far north in the Americas as southern Mexico, and as far north in Asia as northern Japan.
  • The Primates order is divided informally into three main groupings: prosimians, monkeys of the New World, and monkeys and apes of the Old World.
  • All primates have five fingers (pentadactyly), a generalized dental pattern, and a primitive (unspecialized) body plan.
  • Another distinguishing feature of primates is fingernails.
  • Opposing thumbs are also a characteristic primate feature, but are not limited to this order; opossums, for example, also have opposing thumbs.

Ring tailed lemur (Lemur catta)

Lemur is type of small primate that can be found only on the island of Madagascar. There are 5 families of lemur with more than 50 species and hundreds of subspecies. 

  1. Habit: Live in organized troops
  2. Habitat: Ring-tailed lemurs are found in all tree habitats, brush and scrub forests, and mixed forests.
  3. Distribution: Madagascar.
  4. Activity: Diurnal, terrestrial.
  5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Eggs, Fruits and Vegetables.
  6. Weight: 2-3 kg
  7. Body length: 39-46 cm; tail: 56-63 cm.
  8. Sexual maturity: Male: 2-3 years; Female: 1-2 years
  9. Breeding season: Throughout the year, peaks in April to May
  10. Gestation period: 135-144 days
  11. Litter size: One or two
  12. Life span: 25-30 years
  13. Threats in wild: Hunting, man-animal conflict and habitat loss.
  14. Conservation status: “Lest concern” in IUCN.
  • Lemur plays important role in dispersal of seed in the wild.
  • Lemur can slow down its metabolism and hibernate when food is scarce (the only primate that hibernates).

Baboons can communicate using more than 30 distinct vocalisations.

Sacred baboon (Papio hamadryas)

Baboon is a type of monkey that can be found in Africa and Arabia. There are five species of baboons. They can survive in different habitats: tropical rainforests, savannas, open woodlands and semi-arid areas.

  1. Habit: Live in organized hierarchical troops (several hundreds)
  2. Habitat: Semi-desert, steppe, alpine grass meadows, plains and short grass savanna.
  3. Distribution: Ethiopia, Somalia, Saudi, Arabia.
  4. Activity: Diurnal
  5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Eggs, Fruits and Vegetables.
  6. Height: 40-60 cm; Males are longer than females.
  7. Weight: Male: 15-18 kg; Female: 8-10 kg.
  8. Body length: 76 cm; tail; 61 cm.
  9. Sexual maturity: Male: 4 years; Female: 3 years
  10. Breeding season: Throughout the year.
  11. Gestation period: 170-180 days
  12. Litter size: One
  13. Life span: 20-30 years
  14. Threats in wild: Hunting, man-animal conflict and habitat loss.
  15. Conservation status: “Lest concern” in IUCN.

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Chimpanzees are apes and they are the closest relatives to humans. They are mammals and have thumbs and fingernails like us. They can stand and walk upright as well.

  1.  Habit: Live in groups (15-120), highly territorial, males are dominant and aggressive.
  2. Habitat: Humid forest, deciduous woodlands or mixed savanna in Africa.
  3. Distribution: Western and Central Africa, North of river Zaire from Senegal to Tanzania.
  4. Activity: Diurnal
  5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Fruits and Vegetables, Coconut water, dates.
  6. Height: Male: 140-170 cm; Female: 100-130 cm.
  7. Weight: Male: 90 kg; Female: 80 kg
  8. Body length: Male: 77-92 cm; Female: 70-85 cm 
  9. Sexual maturity: Male: 12 years; Female: 10 years
  10. Breeding season: Birth season: March-June and September to October.
  11. Gestation period: 230-240 days
  12. Litter size: One
  13. Life span: 40-45 years
  14. Threats in wild: Hunting, man-animal conflict and habitat loss.
  15. Conservation status: “Vulnerable” in IUCN.
  • Chimpanzees walk on all fours and have longer arms than legs. They are called “knuckle walkers” because they use their knuckles for support.
  • Humans and chimpanzees share 95 to 98 percent of the same DNA. Biologically, chimpanzees are more closely related to humans than they are to gorillas.

Bonnet macaques likely play a role in tree propagation by dispersing seeds throughout the forest floor.

 

Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata)

  1. Bonnet macaque is a species of monkey that belongs to the group of Old World monkeys. There are two subspecies of bonnet macaque that can be found in the southern parts of India.

    1. Habit: Live in troops (5-75); territorial
    2. Habitat: Scrub to evergreen forests; agricultural lands; urban areas
    3. Distribution: Endemic to Indian Peninsula
    4. Activity: Diurnal
    5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Fruits and Vegetables.
    6. Weight: Male: 5.5-9.0 kg; Female: 3.5-4.5 kg
    7. Body length: 35-60cm excluding 35-68 cm long tail.
    8. Sexual maturity: 3-4 years
    9. Breeding season: Throughout the year; peaks in October & November
    10. Gestation period: 150-180 days
    11. Litter size: One
    12. Life span: 15-20 years
    13. Threats in wild: Hunting, man-animal conflict and habitat fragmentation.
    14. Conservation status: “Least concern” in IUCN.
    in IUCN.

Common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

The Common Marmoset is also known as the White-tufted-ear Marmoset or Cotton-eared Marmoset; it has a white blaze on the forehead and white ear tufts.

  1. Habit: Live in troops; territorial
  2. Habitat: They live in many forest types, including plantations.
  3. Distribution: North eastern Brazil, but habitat destruction in that area is widespread.
  4. Activity: Diurnal
  5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Fruits and Vegetables, cerelac 
  6. Weight: 300 to 360 g
  7. Body length: 12 – 15 cm, with a tail length of 29.5 – 35 cm.
  8. Sexual maturity: 1-2 years
  9. Breeding season: Throughout the year
  10. Gestation period: 140-150 days
  11. Litter size: One or two
  12. Life span: 10-15 years
  13. Threats in wild: Hunting, man-animal conflict and habitat fragmentation.
  14. Conservation status: “Least concern” in IUCN.
  • These primates have an unusual skin, which changes its color under the sun, so that the animals literally 'tan'.

Stump-tailed macaque babies are born white, and as stump-tailed macaques age, they often begin to lose their hair, males and females alike. Their light pink faces darken to red with age, and often they develop dark blotchy marks on their skin.

 

Stump tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides)

Stump-tailed macaques have long, thick, dark brown fur that covers their body, except for face and their short almost invisible tail. Infants are born white and darken as they mature.

  1. Habit: Live in troops; territorial
  2. Habitat: They live in many forest types, including plantations.
  3. Distribution: Stump-tailed macaques are native to Southeast Asia includes China, India, Burma, West Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, eastern Bangladesh, and the Malay Peninsula.
  4. Activity: Diurnal
  5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Eggs, Fruits and Vegetables, 
  6. Weight: 7-10 kg
  7. Body length: 48-65 cm
  8. Sexual maturity: 4-5 years
  9. Breeding season: Throughout the year peaks in October and November; 
  10. Gestation period: 160-180 days
  11. Litter size: One
  12. Life span: 25-30 years
  13. Threats in wild: Man-animal conflict and habitat fragmentation.
  14. Conservation status: “Vulnerable” in IUCN.

Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Rhesus macaques are familiar brown primates with red faces and rears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces.

  1. Habit: Live in organized troops
  2. Habitat: Arid and open areas, forests, grasslands, woodlands, mountains up 2500 m altitude, near human habitation.
  3. Distribution: Northern India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Afghanistan, China and neighboring areas.
  4. Activity: Diurnal
  5. Diet in captivity: Bread, Ground nuts, Eggs, Fruits and Vegetables.
  6. Weight: Male: 7-10 kg; Female: 5-6 kg
  7. Body length: Male: 50-60 cm; Female: 40-45 cm excluding 20-30 cm long tail.
  8. Sexual maturity: Male: 4 years; Female: 3 years
  9. Breeding season: Birth season: March-June and September to October.
  10. Gestation period: 135-194 days
  11. Litter size: One
  12. Life span: 15-20 years
  13. Threats in wild: Hunting, man-animal conflict and habitat loss.
  14. Conservation status: “Lest concern” in IUCN.

in IUCN.

  • Rhesus macaques are used a lot for research and are especially useful in the areas of biology, medicine, and psychology.

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