Which Ones Are Primates? (Part 1) Quiz

Answer:

Here are the primates:

The aye-aye is one of the most specialized primates in the world. Endemic to Madagascar, the aye-aye has an elongated, bony third finger that it uses to tap on trees to feel where grubs are and then scoops them out with that specialized tool-like finger. Its unusual appearance, consisting of large ears and rodent-like teeth for gnawing at trees to get at larvae, has led some people to think it is a rodent or marsupial. But it is all primate.

The galago is another primate that some people mistake for an opossum type animal. Also called bushbabies, due to their complex infant vocalizations that sound like a human crying, galagos are small, nocturnal primates. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, galagos inhabit forests, savannas, and woodlands, where their strong legs let bound several meters from tree to tree.

The gibbon belongs to the apes, part of the family Hylobatidae within the primate order. Gibbons are called "lesser apes" due to their smaller size compared to great apes. Evolutionarily, they diverged from great apes about 16.8 million years ago. They are the fastest non-flying arboreal mammals, swinging in trees at speeds up to 34mph (55 km/h).

Native to the rainforests of Central Africa, the mandrill is the largest of the monkey species with adult males weighing over 30 kg (65 lbs). This primate monkey is notable for its bright blue and red facial markings and bright coloration on its hindquarters.

The grivet is an Old World monkey within the primate order. It is distinguished by its black face and white eyebrows and patches of white fur that grow in tufts on its cheeks. In ancient Egypt, grivets were kept as pets by some but they also held symbolic and religious roles; statuettes of grivets were placed in sanctuaries as votive offerings to a baboon god.

The guenon is another Old World monkey in the primate order; there are many species of guenon including the blue monkey, Campbell's mona monkey, De Brazza's monkey, Diana monkey, greater spot-nosed monkey, lesula, red-eared guenon, and many others. Guenons are medium-sized and slender monkeys, and they have long tails, that are not prehensile, meaning that it cannot grab and hold onto objects like branches.

Native to central and south-central Africa, the Malbrouck is an Old World monkey, very agile with a slender body, long limbs and a long tail. They have black faces with white cheek tufts, while the males have a brightly colored blue scrotum and red penis. Why it's called a Malbrouck is up for debate with at least a half dozen theories.

The mandrill is one of the most colorful of all primates with the bright red and blue ridged muzzle, yellow beard, and colored patches on their rears of the adult males, all signs of good health and dominance. They are also in the Old World monkey order, and they live in social groups called "hordes" that can have hundreds of individual mandrills.

The muriqui, also called the wooly spider monkey, is native to the Atlantic forests of Brazil. They are the largest primates native to the Americas, weighing 9-15 kg (20-33 lbs) and measuring about 1.5 meters (5 feet) from head to tail. Both the Northern muriqui and Southern muriqui are on the endangered species list due to deforestation, hunting, and dwindling habitat areas.

Like the galago, a potto is a small nocturnal primate, with claws on some digits and flat nails on others. They mostly eat fruit. The potto is native to tropical rainforests in Central and West Africa, where they employ slow and stealthy movement as they cling and then leap while hunting (insects but sometimes small rodents or birds) and avoiding predators.

Tarsiers have been called "living fossils" because they have traits that link the two main primate suborders, which makes their specific classification within the order of primates. However, the latest genetic evidence has determined them to be of the Haplorhini suborder, alongside gibbons, mandrills, humans, and many others. Tarsiers have eyeballs that are about as large as their brain-but they can't move their eyes. Instead, they can rotate their head almost up to 360 degrees to see around them, like an owl does.

The vervet is an Old World monkey, native to Eastern and Southern Africa's savannas and woodlands. They have long tails that although they are non-prehensile, are used for balance. They are noted for their sophisticated vocalizations in which they have different alarm calls dependent on the type of predator they have spotted. They live in large troops with up to 50 members.

Now for the choices that are not primates:

The flying lemur is also called a colugo. While a lemur is a primate, the flying lemur is not. It is a separate type of mammal belonging to the order called Dermoptera. Their name is based on a superficial resemblance to lemurs. They are however, the closest living non-primate relatives to primates.

The dugong is a marine mammal of the order Sirenia, which also includes manatees. Genetic studies have determined that dugongs are more closely related to elephants than primates.

The kinkajou may behave like a monkey in some ways, but it is not a primate. It looks like a raccoon and indeed it does belong to the Procyonidae family within the Carnivora order, which makes it related to the raccoon.

Although the sloth lives in a tree and has long limbs like a primate it is a xenarthran, part of the group that includes anteaters and armadillos.