The Prosimii Suborder

 

A Prosimian is a premonkey or protomonkey. They are small insectivore-like mammals that exhibit some characteristics of monkeys. They have special behavioral and physical adaptations to fill different ecological niches?.

Prosimians can be diurnal?, but the majority of them are nocturnal?. Compared to non-primate insectivores, they have a reduced snout and less dependency on olfactory communication. Their rhinarium, or moist area around their nose, allows them to chemically analyze and identify smells and they have scent glands to mark where they have been for identification.

Prosimians have ears positioned at the side of the head. Their diet includes insects, gums, bark and fruit. Their brains are larger than other insectivores, like the tree shrew. The pads on the digits of their hands and feet enable them to grasp and cling to the branches and trunks of trees. Prosimians move about by clinging to branches and leaping and by slowly quadrupedal? walking along branches. They have 36 teeth in a V-shaped jaw and many have a tooth comb?.

Members of the Prosimii suborder are geographically located in parts of Africa, Asia, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and the East Indies.

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