Which primate suborder includes monkeys, apes, and tarsiers?

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Which primate suborder includes monkeys, apes, and tarsiers? Haplorhini includes them all.

Haplorhini is one of the two major primate suborders, alongside Strepsirrhini, which includes lemurs, lorises, and galagos. Its members are called haplorhines, a name derived from Greek roots meaning “simple-nosed” or “dry-nosed.” The group contains tarsiers and the simians, or anthropoids.

The simians divide into New World monkeys, placed in Platyrrhini, and catarrhines, which include Old World monkeys and apes. Humans therefore belong to Haplorhini as well, through the catarrhine branch. Tarsiers are the other major living haplorhine lineage and are not monkeys, although their evolutionary relationship to simians places them in the same suborder.

A common mix-up is treating Haplorhini as a synonym for monkeys and apes alone. Tarsiers are essential to the definition of the group. The opposing suborder, Strepsirrhini, is characterized by members such as lemurs and lorises, often described as “wet-nosed” primates.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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