The Old World monkeys or Cercopithecidae are a group of primates, falling in the superfamily Cercopithecoidea in the clade Catarrhini. The Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, inhabiting a range of environments from tropical rain forest to savanna, shrubland and mountainous terrain, and are also known from Europe in the fossil record. However, a (possibly introduced) free-roaming group of monkeys still survives in Gibraltar (Europe) to this day. Old World monkeys include many of the most familiar species of non-human primates such as baboons and macaques.

Characteristics

From the point of view of superficial appearance, Old World monkeys are unlike apes in that most have tails (the family name means "tailed ape"), and unlike the New World monkeys in that their tails are never prehensile. Technically, the distinction of catarrhines from platyrrhines depends on the structure of the nose, and the distinction of Old World monkeys from apes depends on dentition (the number of teeth is the same in both, but they are shaped differently). In platyrrhines the nostrils face sideways, whilst in catarrhines, they face downwards. Other distinctions include both a tubular ectotympanic (ear bone), and eight, not twelve, premolars in catarrhines, giving them a dental formula of:

Several Old World monkeys have anatomical oddities. The colobus monkeys have a stub for a thumb to assist with their arboreal movement; the proboscis monkey has an extraordinary nose while the snub-nosed monkeys have almost no nose at all; the penis of the male Mandrill is colored red and the scrotum has a lilac color, while the face also has bright coloration like the genitalia and this develops in only the dominant male of a multi-male group.

Most Old World monkeys are at least partially omnivorous, but all prefer plant matter, which forms the bulk of their diet. Leaf monkeys are the most vegetarian, subsisting primarily on leaves, and eating only a small number of insects, while the other species are highly opportunistic, primarily eating fruit, but also consuming almost any food items available, such as flowers, leaves, bulbs and rhizomes, insects, snails, and even small vertebrates.

Gestation in the Old World monkeys lasts between five and seven months. Births are usually single, although, as with humans, twin births do also occur from time to time. The young are born relatively well developed, and are able to cling onto their mother's fur with their hands from birth. Compared with most other mammals, they take a long time to reach sexual maturity, with four to six years being typical of most species.

In most species, daughters remain with their mothers for life, so that the basic social group among Old World monkeys is a matrilineal troop. Males leave the group on reaching adolescence, and find a new troop to join. In many species, only a single adult male lives with each group, driving off all rivals, but others are more tolerant, establishing hierarchical relationships between dominant and subordinate males. Group sizes are highly variable, even within species, depending on the availability of food and other resources.

Classification

References

Category:Old World monkeys

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" (i.e., the Americas).

The ''Old World'' includes Africa, Asia, and Europe (collectively known as Afro-Eurasia), plus surrounding islands (or at least those parts which were known to classical geography before the 15th century).

The concept of the three continents in the Old World goes back to Classical Antiquity. Their boundaries as defined by Ptolemy and other geographers of antiquity were drawn along the Nile and Don rivers. This definition remained influential throughout the Middle Ages (see T and O map) and the Early Modern period.

See also

References

Category:European culture Category:African culture Category:Asian culture Category:Oceanian culture Category:Human geography Category:Country classifications

Parry Gripp (born September 22, 1967) is a singer-songwriter as well as lead vocalist and guitarist for the pop punk band Nerf Herder.

As a songwriter, Gripp is best known for fake jingles, as in his 2005 solo album ''For Those About to Shop, We Salute You'' - a 51-track concept album mimicking various musical styles as product commercials. While it does not have one single concept, it goes through many various concept suites, such as trucks, beer, and insomnia. He also maintains a song-of-the-week website and a YouTube channel on which he creates soundtracks to internet memes as well as music videos for his own novelty songs, with titles including "Do You Like Waffles?", "Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom","Last Train to Awesometown", "Spaghetti Cat (I weep for you)", "Hamster on a Piano (Eating Popcorn)" and "Baby Monkey (Going Backwards On A Pig)". Gripp also performs the Super Hero Squad Show theme song.

Gripp also joined forces with MC Lars to perform some of the vocals, including the chorus, to 'Guitar Hero Hero (Beating Guitar Hero Doesn't Make You Slash)' a song commenting on the notion that video games like Guitar Hero take kids away from playing in bands and actually learning their instruments.

Along with faux jingles, Gripp also creates some real advertising music, such as Beatles-inspired tunes promoting the Wawa Food Markets' Breakfast Hoagiefest, and songs for the Hallmark Cards e-characters hoops&yoyo;.

On July 9, 2009 Parry Gripp debuted a new song called "The Girl at the Video Game Store" for the 1000th episode of the G4 TV program ''Attack of the Show!'' The video features the show's hosts Olivia Munn as the titular character and Kevin Pereira on drums.

Aside from his music, Gripp is the co-owner (with his sister) of the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate, which was founded by his father.

Discography

Albums

Artwork

See also

References

External links

Category:1967 births Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Living people

Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was a popular American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide.

Scarry was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where his parents ran a shop. The Scarry family enjoyed a comfortable life even during the time of the Great Depression. Following high school graduation, Scarry enrolled in a business college but soon dropped out, finding it not to his liking. He then studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he remained until being drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II.

Following the war, Scarry worked for the art departments of various magazines before making a career breakthrough in 1949 with Little Golden Books.

''Busytown''

While his books are largely populated by common animal species such as cats, rabbits, domestic pigs, and mice, he proved to be quite adept at giving human characteristics to a seemingly endless number of creatures. Beavers, raccoons, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, owls, bears, goats, elephants, foxes, gorillas, crocodiles, dogs, wolves, anteaters, hyenas, baboons, chickens, worms, and insects were just some of the other animals to be featured in Scarry's works. Many of his later illustrations feature characters in traditional Swiss clothing and show architecturally correct drawings of half-timber houses. Examinations of drawings featuring mechanical devices, such as the rigging on a sailboat, also show that they were drawn with accuracy.

In the 1980s and 1990s, many of his ''Best Ever'' series of books were converted into popular animated videos, which are available on DVD and VHS. Some of these animated films include ''Richard Scarry's Best Silly Stories and Songs Videos Ever'' and ''The Busiest Firefighters Ever''. The Busytown books were also adapted into an animated series, ''The Busy World of Richard Scarry'', which ran on Showtime from 1993 to 1996 and later reran in the late 1990s on Nickelodeon and Noggin. A further animated series, ''Busytown Mysteries'' was commissioned by CBC Television from the Cookie Jar Group in 2007, and airs on the Kids' CBC Block morning program. Busytown was also featured at the Carnegie Science Center from June 13 through September 8, 2002 in an interactive exhibit entitled "Richard Scarry's Busytown."

Titles reprinted since the death of Mr. Scarry in 1994 were significantly condensed from their original versions. For example, in "Best Word Book Ever" whole sections have been deleted: the section on painting was removed, as was the section on music making. "Buildings" section removed — originally depicted were a church, a cathedral, and a French Foreign Legion fortress. "Out West" section removed entirely. Other parts of the book were edited to show more women in the workplace and fewer cultural stereotypes. Examples in ''Best Word Book Ever'' — Grocery section: old version, grocer is a male bear — new version, grocer is a female bear. Boats and Ships section: old version showed an Native American in a canoe — new version, a mouse in a pink sweater. "Work Machines" section — male bulldozer operator became a female bulldozer operator with the addition of pink flowers on sleeves. In the "When You Grow Up" section, a milkman becomes a female taxi driver. A Cowboy was replaced by a female gardener and a female scientist; a commuter-train conductor was replaced by a reporter and a female photographer; a soldier was replaced by a female judge and a small female cat.

Personal life and family

In 1972 the Scarrys bought a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland. Here he founded his studio where he spent most of the day (from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) writing and illustrating his books. His studio contained a single desk, lamp and chair. His wife was told not to bother him except for his hour break for lunch.

Scarry died of a heart attack in Gstaad at age 74 in 1994.

Scarry's papers and drawings are in the collection of the University of Connecticut archives.

His son, Richard Scarry, Jr., is also an illustrator, sometimes working under the nickname Huck Scarry, sometimes working in his father's style as Richard Scarry. Huck is the nickname of Huckle Cat, one of the most commonly recurring Busytown characters. Scarry Jr. lives in Vienna, Austria; socialites Olympia and Fiona Scarry are his daughters.

Bibliography

Stories made to video

Random House Videos:

The Busy World of Richard Scarry:

Richard Scarry's:

References

External links

Category:1919 births Category:1994 deaths Category:American children's writers Category:People from Ridgefield, Connecticut Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:Cardiovascular disease deaths in Switzerland Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing