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There exist five variants of squirrel monkey, inhabiting regions throughout Central and South America.(Image credit: Heather Paul via Getty Images)ShareShare by:
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Primates — the group of mammals that includes people — can be spotted practically anywhere on the globe, from tropical rainforests to Antarctic research facilities. This incredibly varied order emerged prior to the dinosaur extinction, with wild communities of non-human primates adapting to reside in ecological niches spanning three continents — Asia, Africa, and Central/South America.
Primates don’t just populate numerous locales; there are also hundreds of distinct species and subspecies. Indeed, the order of primates ranks as the fourth most diverse group of mammals within the animal kingdom — however, the majority (62.6%) of primates are facing the threat of extinction.
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Sophie BerdugoSocial Links NavigationStaff writer
Sophie serves as a staff writer for Live Science, located in the U.K. She reports on a diverse array of subjects, with previous coverage including investigations on subjects from bonobo communication to the initial water in the cosmos. Her work has also been featured in outlets such as New Scientist, The Observer, and BBC Wildlife, and she was nominated for the Association of British Science Writers’ 2025 “Newcomer of the Year” prize for her independent contributions to New Scientist. Prior to becoming a science journalist, she earned a doctorate in evolutionary anthropology from the University of Oxford, where she dedicated four years to researching the factors behind the varying tool proficiency among chimpanzees.
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