Why Only Some Monkeys Have Awesome Tails

MinuteEarth

Almost all mammals with prehensile tails live in the neotropics because the forest is different there. Thanks to http://www.audible.com/minuteearth for sponsoring this video. Thanks also to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth : ___________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg) Script Editor: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar) Video Director: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) Video Narrator: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida) With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Emily Elert, Peter Reich Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder Image Credits: Spider Monkey - Wikimedia user Petruss https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ateles_fusciceps_Colombia.JPG Capuchin Monkey - Steve Jurvetson https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/4238921909/ Guianan Saki - Wikimedia user Skyscraper https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White-faced_Saki_2008-07.jpg Emperor Tamarin - TheBrockenInaGlory https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Tamarin_SF_ZOO.jpg Aotus nigriceps - Wikimedia user Miguelrangeljr https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aotus_nigriceps.jpg _________________________________________ Like our videos? Subscribe to MinuteEarth on YouTube: http://goo.gl/EpIDGd Support us on Patreon: https://goo.gl/ZVgLQZ Also, say hello on: Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6 Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC And find us on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n ___________________________________________ FYI: We try to leave jargon out of our videos, but if you want to learn more about this topic, here are some handy keywords to get your googling started: Prehensile Tail: An animal tail that can grasp or hold objects. A wide range of animals have prehensile tails, including mammals (like opossums and kinkajous), reptiles (like chameleons), amphibians (like salamanders), and fish (seahorses). Old World Monkeys (Cercopithecidae): A family of primates native to Africa and Asia that includes baboons, guenons and macaques – all of which have non-prehensile tails. New World Monkeys (Platyrrhini): A family of primates native to Central and South America that includes spider monkeys, howlers, and capuchins – all of which have prehensile tails. Prehensile tails evolved twice in new world monkeys: In atelines (spider monkey and howlers) the prehensile tail tip is like a finger and incredibly dextrous. In cebines (capuchin monkeys) the tip is furry and not quite as dextrous. Species featured in this video: - Spider Monkey (and Diddy Kong!) - Ficus insipida (tripical fig tree) - Barbary Macaque (from Northern Africa) - Rhesus Macaque(from India) - Opossum - Chameleon - Salamander (Aneides lugubris) - Seahorses (actually Horsea!) ___________________________________________ References: Glander, K. (2016). Personal Communication Organ, J. (2016). Personal Communication Emmons, L.H., Gentry, A.H. (1983). Tropical Forest Structure and the Distribution of Gliding and Prehensile-Tailed Vertebrates. The American Naturalist 121-4 (513-524). Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2460978?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Lambert, T., Halsey, M. (2015) Relationship Between Lianas and Arboreal Mammals: Examining the Emmons–Gentry Hypothesis. Ecology of Lianas (398-406).. Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118392409.ch26/summary Deane, A., Russo, G., Muchlinski, M., Organ, J. (2014). Caudal Vertebral Body Articular Surface Morphology Correlates With Functional Tail Use in Anthropoid Primates. Journal of Morphology 275 (1300-1311). Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.20304/abstract