Astounding Facts About Primates that Never Cease to Amaze
21. Monkeys have tails, while other primates do not.
Apes and other primates don’t have tails, but monkeys do. If you really think about it, you can imagine monkeys swinging from trees happily. Their tails often serve as a counter-balance to the weight of their heads and assist their movements. In fact, their tails are designed to help with balance as monkeys swing, climb, or jump through their environment. Now, focus hard and think about any movie you’ve ever seen with an ape: no tail. Planet of the Apes is just one example; King Kong depicts a gorilla, also a primate, also tail-less. We humans, who have descended from apes, usually don’t have tails, if you need a fun way to remember that.
This “tail or no tail” is a result of adapting to our environments. Monkeys usually walk on all fours, while apes tend to walk on their hind legs. However, they are also prone to swinging by their tails, as they have adapted to life in jungles and other challenging environments that require them to live up in the trees. There, they can access ripe fruits near the tree canopy, where the sunlight is most vital. The upright stance of an ape (sans tail) is ideal for walking on the ground, while the monkey’s tail enables them to balance on small branches and jump more easily through the air.
Apes and other primates don’t have tails, but monkeys do. If you really think about it, you can imagine monkeys swinging from trees happily. Their tails often serve as a counter-balance to the weight of their heads and assist their movements. In fact, their tails are designed to help with balance as monkeys swing, climb, or jump through their environment. Now, focus hard and think about any movie you’ve ever seen with an ape: no tail. Planet of the Apes is just one example; King Kong depicts a gorilla, also a primate, also tail-less. We humans, who have descended from apes, usually don’t have tails, if you need a fun way to remember that.
This “tail or no tail” is a result of adapting to our environments. Monkeys usually walk on all fours, while apes tend to walk on their hind legs. However, they are also prone to swinging by their tails, as they have adapted to life in jungles and other challenging environments that require them to live up in the trees. There, they can access ripe fruits near the tree canopy, where the sunlight is most vital. The upright stance of an ape (sans tail) is ideal for walking on the ground, while the monkey’s tail enables them to balance on small branches and jump more easily through the air.
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13 September 2022
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