Simian

The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes /ˈsɪmi.ɪfɔːrmiːz/) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders Platyrrhini (New World monkeys) and Catarrhini, the latter of which consists of the family Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys in the stricter sense) and the superfamily Hominoidea (apes—including humans).

"Anthropoids" redirects here. For other uses, see Anthropoid (disambiguation) and Simian (disambiguation).
For an explanation of very similar terms, see Monkey.

Simians
Temporal range: Middle Eocene-Holocene,
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Haeckel, 1866
Parvorders


sister: Tarsiiformes

Synonyms
  • Anthropoids
  • Monkeys (which from a strict cladistic sense includes apes, and thus humans)
  • Pithecoidea
  • Simiae
  • Pitheci

The simians are sister group to the tarsiers (Tarsiiformes), together forming the haplorhines. The radiation occurred about 60 million years ago (during the Cenozoic era); 40 million years ago, simians colonized South America, giving rise to the New World monkeys. The remaining simians (catarrhines) split about 25 million years ago into Cercopithecidae and apes (including humans).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.