World famous animals
The most common monkey species found in animal research are the grivet, the rhesus macaque, and the crab-eating macaque, which are either wild-caught or purpose-bred. [66][67] They are used primarily because of their relative ease of handling, their fast reproductive cycle (compared to apes) and their psychological and physical similarity to humans
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word "monkey" may originate in a German version of the Reynard the Fox fable, published c. 1580. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape. In English, no clear distinction was originally made between "ape" and "monkey";
Monkeys are tree-dwelling animals known for their high level of intelligence as they belong to the order of primates. Though they are mostly arboreal, some dwell on land in the savannas and mountainous regions, the baboon being a primary example. The Old World and New World monkeys are primarily distinguished based on their physical features, particularly the structure of their nose.
There are about 24 genera and 138 species of the Old World monkeys, while the New World monkeys possess 19 genera and 100 species categorized into four families. The Old World monkeys are named so since they inhabit the Old World, comprising of the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. The New World species are the ones native to North and South America.