Types of Monkey | 20 Species List Pictures and ID Chart

A monkey stole my sandwich once. I was at a hill temple in the foothills when a macaque dropped off a wall, snatched it from my hand, and was gone before I understood what had happened. It sat on a ledge and ate the whole thing while watching me. I was annoyed and a little impressed. I should have known better.

For years I lumped all monkeys together. One word, one animal. They are nothing alike. A mandrill the size of a dog wears a blue and red face. A pygmy marmoset could sit in your palm. A gelada grazes grass like a small cow on an Ethiopian cliff. The range is wild, from palm-sized to dog-sized.

Below you will find 20 types of monkey, where each one lives, and what makes it stand out. They split into two great families: the New World monkeys of the Americas and the Old World monkeys of Africa and Asia. One famous animal does not make the list, and I will explain why. The chart comes first.

Table of Contents

Monkey identification chart

Here are the 20 monkeys side by side. Use it to match a name to a group, a home, and a claim to fame. The sections below take each group in turn, starting with the New World monkeys of the Americas.

Monkey	Scientific name	Group	Native range	Notable for
Howler monkey	Alouatta spp.	New World	Central & South America	Loudest land animal
Spider monkey	Ateles spp.	New World	Central & South America	Long limbs, gripping tail
Woolly monkey	Lagothrix spp.	New World	Amazon Basin	Thick wool-like fur
Capuchin monkey	Cebus spp.	New World	Central & South America	Clever stone-tool user
Squirrel monkey	Saimiri spp.	New World	Central & South America	Huge fast-moving troops
Uakari	Cacajao spp.	New World	Amazon Basin	Bald bright-red face
Saki monkey	Pithecia spp.	New World	South America	Bushy coat, long leaps
Titi monkey	Plecturocebus spp.	New World	South America	Pairs entwine their tails
Marmoset	Callithrix spp.	New World	South America	Tiny, with claws
Tamarin	Saguinus spp.	New World	South America	Small, mustached faces
Golden lion tamarin	Leontopithecus rosalia	New World	Brazil	Orange mane; comeback story
Baboon	Papio spp.	Old World	Africa & Arabia	Large ground-living troops
Macaque	Macaca spp.	Old World	Asia & North Africa	Most widespread monkey
Vervet monkey	Chlorocebus pygerythrus	Old World	Africa	Distinct alarm calls
Mandrill	Mandrillus sphinx	Old World	Central Africa	Largest, most colorful monkey
Gelada	Theropithecus gelada	Old World	Ethiopian Highlands	Grass-grazer; red chest
Colobus monkey	Colobus spp.	Old World	Africa	Leaf-eater; reduced thumb
Langur	Semnopithecus spp.	Old World	South Asia	The sacred Hanuman langur
Snub-nosed monkey	Rhinopithecus spp.	Old World	China & Vietnam	Upturned nose; cold forests
Proboscis monkey	Nasalis larvatus	Old World	Borneo	Huge drooping nose

What makes a monkey a monkey

A monkey is a primate with a tail. That tail is the quickest way to tell a monkey from an ape. Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons are apes, and not one of them has a tail.

So a chimp is not a monkey, even though people call it one all the time. If you want the tailless cousins, the types of apes guide covers them. Britannica lays out the same test.

There are more than 250 species of monkey, and they fall into two great branches. New World monkeys live in Central and South America. They have wide flat noses, and many have a tail that grips like a fifth hand.

Old World monkeys live in Africa and Asia. Their nostrils sit close together and point down, their tails cannot grip, and they spend more of their time on the ground. The table below lines the two groups up.

Feature	New World monkeys	Old World monkeys
Where they live	Central and South America	Africa and Asia
Nostrils	Wide apart, facing sideways	Close together, facing down
Tail	Often grips like a hand	Cannot grip; sometimes short
Mostly	Up in the trees	More time on the ground
Examples	Capuchin, howler, marmoset	Baboon, macaque, mandrill

Large New World monkeys

The big monkeys of the Americas live high in the trees and rely on a gripping tail. The howler monkey is the loudest land animal alive. A male’s dawn call can carry for kilometres, boosted by a hollow throat bone.

The spider monkey is all limbs, swinging through the canopy with a tail that works like a hand. The woolly monkey is the heavyset one, wrapped in thick fur. These three share the Amazon canopy with the slow-moving sloths.

Monkey	Size	Diet	Standout feature
Howler monkey	Medium to large	Mostly leaves	A call that carries for kilometres
Spider monkey	Large, very long limbs	Fruit	A tail that grips like a hand
Woolly monkey	Large, heavy build	Fruit and leaves	A dense, woolly coat

Capuchins and other New World monkeys

This is the busy middle of the New World group. The capuchin is the brainy one, famous for cracking nuts with stones and for the tricks that once landed it in films.

Squirrel monkeys race through the branches in troops that can number in the hundreds. The uakari startles people with its bald, blazing red face. The saki, bushy and shy, can leap huge gaps between trees. The titi monkey is the romantic of the bunch, since mated pairs sit side by side with their tails wound together.

Monkey	Size	Diet	Standout feature
Capuchin monkey	Small to medium	Omnivore	Cracks nuts with stone tools
Squirrel monkey	Small	Insects and fruit	Troops of dozens to hundreds
Uakari	Medium, short tail	Seeds and fruit	A bald, scarlet face
Saki monkey	Medium, bushy coat	Seeds and fruit	Leaps wide gaps between trees
Titi monkey	Small	Fruit and leaves	Mated pairs sit tail in tail

Marmosets and tamarins

These are the smallest monkeys on Earth, tiny tree-dwellers with claws instead of flat nails. The marmoset gnaws holes in bark and feeds on the sap. The pygmy marmoset, the smallest of all, weighs about as much as a few coins.

Tamarins are slightly larger and often raise twins, with the father doing much of the carrying. The golden lion tamarin is the star, a flame-orange monkey from Brazil that came back from the edge of extinction through captive breeding and replanted forest. Its recovery is tracked on the IUCN Red List.

Monkey	Size	Diet	Standout feature
Marmoset	Tiny; the pygmy is smallest	Tree sap and gum	Has claws instead of flat nails
Tamarin	Small	Fruit and insects	Often twins; the father helps carry them
Golden lion tamarin	Small, bright orange	Fruit and insects	Saved from near extinction

Baboons and macaques

Now to the Old World. These African and Asian monkeys are bigger and bolder, and far more at home on the ground. The baboon lives in large troops and crosses open country alongside zebra and elephants.

The macaque is the great survivor, the most widespread monkey of all, from Japanese snow monkeys soaking in hot springs to city raiders like the one that took my lunch. The vervet gives one alarm call for an eagle overhead, another for a snake, another for a leopard.

The mandrill is the giant, the largest monkey alive, with a face of electric blue and red that glows brighter as a male climbs in rank. The gelada is the oddest, a grass-eater that shuffles across Ethiopian cliffs on its backside.

Monkey	Size	Diet	Standout feature
Baboon	Large	Omnivore	Troops that can top a hundred
Macaque	Medium to large	Omnivore	The snow monkey bathes in hot springs
Vervet monkey	Medium	Omnivore	A separate alarm call for each predator
Mandrill	Largest monkey, over 30 kg	Omnivore	Blue and red face brightens with rank
Gelada	Large	Almost all grass	Grazes seated, like a cow on a cliff

Leaf-eating Old World monkeys

This last group lives on leaves, with special stomachs to break down tough greenery. The colobus wears a long mantle of black and white fur and has only a stub of a thumb. The langur is the monkey of South Asia, and the grey Hanuman langur is sacred across much of India.

The snub-nosed monkey climbs high into cold Chinese and Vietnamese mountains, its short upturned nose set in a blue face. The proboscis monkey of Borneo is unmistakable, with the male’s long drooping nose and a round belly full of leaves. In India the langurs keep a sharp watch for tigers.

Monkey	Size	Diet	Standout feature
Colobus monkey	Medium to large	Leaves	A long fur mantle and a tiny thumb
Langur	Medium to large	Leaves	The grey Hanuman langur is sacred in India
Snub-nosed monkey	Medium to large	Leaves and lichen	Survives snowy mountain winters
Proboscis monkey	Large, pot-bellied	Leaves	The male’s long pendulous nose

FAQs

Is a chimpanzee a monkey?

No. A chimpanzee is an ape. The simplest test is the tail. Monkeys have one, apes do not. Chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons are all apes.

What is the difference between New World and Old World monkeys?

New World monkeys live in the Americas, have wide noses, and often a gripping tail. Old World monkeys live in Africa and Asia, have narrow downward noses, and tails that cannot grip.

What is the largest and smallest monkey?

The mandrill is the largest, with big males over 30 kg. The pygmy marmoset is the smallest, at roughly 100 grams, light enough to perch on a finger.

What is the loudest monkey?

The howler monkey. Its call carries for several kilometres through the forest, amplified by an enlarged bone in its throat.

Do all monkeys have tails?

Almost all do, and the tail is the easy way to tell a monkey from a tailless ape. A few, like the Barbary macaque, have only a small stub.

Are monkeys endangered?

Many are. Habitat loss and hunting put plenty at risk, from the proboscis monkey of Borneo to several snub-nosed monkeys in China. The golden lion tamarin shows that recovery is possible.

Where can I learn about apes and other primates?

Apes are the tailless cousins of monkeys. See the gorilla guide for one of the great apes, then browse the wider Animals Chart hub for more species.