AI overview
Platyrrhini is an infraorder of mammals that includes the monkeys and primates native to Central and South America. Understanding this group matters because it helps scientists study primate evolution and behavior across different geographic regions.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Simiiformes
- Image
- BrownSpiderMonkey (edit2).jpg
Show 4 more facts
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea (/səˈbɔɪdi.ə/), the only extant superfamily in the parvorder Platyrrhini (/plætɪˈraɪnaɪ/).
Platyrrhini is derived from the Greek for "broad nosed", and their noses are flatter than those of other simians, with sideways-facing nostrils. Monkeys in the family Atelidae, such as the spider monkey, are the only primates to have prehensile tails. New World monkeys' closest relatives are the other simians, the Catarrhini ("down-nosed"), comprising Old World monkeys and apes. New World monkeys descend from African simians that colonized South America, a line that split off about 40 million years ago.