New World Monkeys

New World monkeys are the nonhuman primates of South and Central America. Because almost all of their evolutionary history took place on the island continent of South America without competition from other primates, and most likely in a strictly arboreal setting, the character of their adaptation is unique. Fossils and molecules indicate the major lineages are long enduring, having attained diverse, stable ecological conditions quite early. Today, platyrrhine (wide-nosed) monkeys comprise the most diversified taxonomic group among anthropoids. More primitive anatomically than Old World monkeys or apes, some forms resemble early fossil anthropoids from Egypt and serve well as models for reconstructing their behaviour. Others are more like the specialised apes in their locomotor adaptations, or the modified, folivorous leaf monkeys, whereas some evoke the big-brained, extractive foraging strategies of African apes. Highly varied in their outward appearance as well, the range of social behaviours and mating strategies exhibited by platyrrhines is without equal among the primates.