Primate variation - Vervet Monkeys and their Conservation

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Primate variation

Primate Variation

Primates vary in size from Berthe's mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae) from Madagascar, weighing an average of 30g, to the Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) found in the Virunga volcanic mountains, weighing in at an average of 200Kg.

Berthe's Mouse lemur, Madagascar

Mountain gorillas, Virunga NP

Pale-thighed langur,

Primate diets vary greatly. Some primates are folivores, eating only leaves, like langurs (or leaf-monkeys); others are frugivorous, eating mostly fruit, like the red-tailed guenons. Other primates, like vervets, will eat almost anything. These species are omnivores.

Red-tailed monkey, Democratic Republic of Congo

Vervet monkey eating Acacia sap, South Africa

Primates inhabit an immensely diverse range of enviroments. Vervet and green monkeys can live on the edge of the Sahara and Kalahari deserts. Allen's swamp monkey lives in swamp forest. Japanese snow macaques live in the snowy mountains of Northern Japan. Some primates live at high altitudes, such as the Bale Mountains vervet, or djam-djam monkey. While others, including the golden monkey, live in lowland habitats.

Japanese Macaque juvenile eating snowball, Japan

Humans are the most successful primate, inhabiting every continent of the Earth