Paragraph on “Family of Monkeys and Apes” complete paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12

Family of Monkeys and Apes

Lemurs, monkeys, apes etc are vertebrate mammals belonging to the family of ‘Primates’, they are considered to be one the most intelligent creatures mainly because of their large brains. On occasions they use their hands and feet and behave like humans. They are largely herbivores but they may also eat small insects and bird eggs. Gorillas, which are the biggest in this family may measure between 6 to 7 ft in height and weigh upto 175 kgs. They live in groups which are generally large families, and move around in the forests using their well developed sense of smell and colour vision to find and cat fruits, plant shoots and stems. Monkeys are smaller in size and unlike gorillas, have tails which help them in swinging between branches and moving on trees. Monkeys are primarily of two types i.e. the ‘Old world monkeys’ which live in Asia and Africa and include Langurs, Macaques and Baboons and the ‘New world monkeys’ which are found in the tropical forests of S.America and include Spider monkeys, Marmosets, Howler monkeys, Capuchins etc. Apes on the other hand are found only in Asia and Africa. The `Orangutan’ is another type of primate which is found only in the rain forests of Borneo and Sumatra and arc an endangered species. Orang-Utans mostly live on trees in what would look like a large nests and move around either by swinging or walking on branches. Some of the other types of primates would include the Chimpanzees, Gibbons, Tarsier, Loris and the smallest primate called the ‘Pygmy Marmoset’ which may weigh under 150 arms. Apes and monkeys mate and one male gorilla may have a number of female gorillas in his family. The female primates conceive their young in their wombs and after birth, they nourish them with milk from their mammary glands located on their chests. Communication between these creatures is carried out through sounds which include grunts, howling noises etc.