Primates

Facts about creatures

Primates are members of the order Primata, the order of placental mammals that includes human beings.

Aye-ayeslemurslorisestarsiersmonkeys and apes are primates. (A human being is a kind of ape.)

Primates have large brains in comparison to their body size.

A primate has a large, differentiated cerebral cortex – the part of the brain that is involved with consciousness and higher levels of thought.

The first primates, who lived between 65 and 85 million years ago, lived in trees.

Today, not all living primates live in trees; however, they all have physical characteristics that make them suited to an arboreal lifestyle.

Primates have large collarbones that link their arms to their chests. This arrangement allows them to move their shoulders in all directions, so they can grasp branches.

Their forearms and lower legs have two separate bones. This provides greater flexibility.

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