All the Worlds Primates

Lemurs, monkeys, and apes are a diverse order of mammals known as the primates. Humans are primates and some of the expressive faces that appear in the photographs of this book may remind you of people you know. We have great similarities with and great differences from our closest biological relatives, the primates, which is why they are so fascinating. With 505 currently recognized species, All the World's Primates lavishly illustrates all of their amazing faces. More than 100 of these primates have been described within the last 25 years. This book provides a map for each species and a wealth of short, concise information, with more than 5000 references, so that the readers can find more information if they wish. Primates are often thought of as just monkeys swinging through the jungle using their tail, but only some of the South American monkeys can do this. Gibbons have no tail and swing through the trees using their hands, which don't have thumbs. Some monkeys spend most of their time on the ground and sleep on cliffs. Half of the lemurs are active only at night, and some hop bipedally rather than walk when on the ground. A few monkeys, like the one on the cover, live in China at high elevations with snow on the ground for months, eating lichen hanging from the trees. Sadly, more than half of all primate species are threatened to varying degrees with extinction. We hope you will be inspired to protect them and the habitats they need to survive.