Ape

Ape. Popularly this term is applied to any tailless monkey; zoologically it is used for any individual of the middle group of the Primates (q.v.), thus excluding man in the ascending, and the Lemurs, or half-apes, in the descending scale. According to this definition the apes consist of two families: - 1. Simiidae, with three sub-families - (1) Simiinae (the Anthropoid apes), (2) Semnopithecinae (Slender apes), and (3) Cynopithecinae (Baboons), all from the Old World. 2. Cebidae, with five subfamilies - (1) Cebinae (Spider monkeys, Woolly monkeys, and Sapajous), (2) Mycetinae (Howlers), (3) Pithecinae (Sakis), (4) Nyctipithecinae (Night apes), and (5) Hapalinae (Marmosets), all from the New World. Some authorities exclude the anthropoid apes from their definition.