Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains prosimians (including lemurs, lorises, galagos and tarsiers ) and simians (monkeys and apes). Most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia.

Primates range in size from the Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur, which weighs only 30 grams to the Mountain Gorilla weighing 200 kilograms.

The Primates order has traditionally been divided into two main groupings: prosimians and simians. Prosimians have characteristics most like those of the earliest primates, and included the lemurs of Madagascar, lorisiforms and tarsiers. Simians included the monkeys and apes. Simians are divided into two groups: the platyrrhines ("flat nosed") or New World monkeys of South and Central America and the catarrhine (narrow nosed) monkeys of Africa and southeastern Asia. The New World monkeys include the capuchin, howler and squirrel monkeys, and the catarrhines include the Old World monkeys (such as baboons and macaques) and the apes.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primate - 07.05.2010