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Many people believe that when a new species appears, another one vanishes. This is a common notion among the public about evolution, and it is actually wrong because that is not how nature works. This is also the reason why the question of why there are still monkeys if we evolved from them is popular among many others.
The short answer is that we did not evolve from the modern apes of today, but instead share a common ancestor with them. Our paths diverged a long time ago, mainly because we needed to evolve to survive and adapt in our own environments and various life circumstances. But let’s dive a little bit deeper to answer the question.
Evolution Isn’t a Single Ladder
A common idea among people who are not familiar with the concept of evolution is that they think the birth of a new species means replacing the old ones, creating a singular ladder of evolution. However, that is wrong, and evolution is not a linear progression.
The best way to think of evolution is the idea of a tree that branches out to have multiple different leaves and fruits, but shares the same roots. Just like the history of humans, we evolved from a particular primate millions of years ago.
Over time, the evolutionary process branches out to have different lineages triggered by the need to change and adapt based on each species’ unique environments and challenges, resulting in the evolution of modern humans, apes, and other monkeys.
This means we did not evolve from the monkeys of today; rather, we and they share the same ancestors a long time ago, but we both had different evolutionary paths, which led to us being perfectly suited to adapt to our own circumstances.
Read more: Wikipedia
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Humans Are Still Primates
Humans are actually still primates, a specific order in the animal group of mammals. It is a unique branch within the class Mammalia, which all have traits like keen vision and flexible limbs, helping them thrive in environments like forests.
So, to answer the question again, the other monkeys today are more like humans’ evolutionary cousins rather than ancestors. We are both primates and simply evolved from one particular species a long time ago.
Shared Traits vs. Separate Survival
Because we share a common ancestor, but diverged evolutionarily over time, we have some similarities and differences with monkeys. Some common traits are our binocular vision, opposable thumbs, and complex social behaviors. We both evolved to be social beings and not lone hunting animals.
But since each branch of the evolution of our species had to adapt to their environments, some monkeys still remained tree-dwellers with long tails, while apes and humans have developed broader chests and intelligence to survive in different habitats.
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Different Needs, Different Paths
As our ancestral primates grew in population, they also went on and explored different environments to try to find the best way to survive and adapt. It is estimated that about 25 to 35 million years ago, the monkey and ape lineages diverged as each group evolved to meet their evolutionary needs.
In the monkey’s case, they did not evolve into something else because they were able to thrive, while apes develop traits like larger brains and tail loss, opening up new possibilities for evolution. This simply means that monkeys of today are suited to their environment, but over millions of more years, they will likely be different than what they are today, but won’t evolve into humans.
Author's Final Thoughts
To answer the question, why are there monkeys still if we evolved from them, is because we did not. We share a common primate root, but over millions of years, we branched off into separate lineages. In other words, humans did not evolve from modern monkeys. However, just like humans, they still exist because they were able to reproduce, adapt, and evolve successfully alongside us.
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References & Further Reading
Meikle, W. E., & Scott, E. C. (2010). Why are there still monkeys? Evolution: Education and Outreach. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-010-0293-2
Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. (2005). Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature04072
Almécija, S., et al. (2021). Fossil apes and human evolution. Science. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb4363
Zalmout, I. S., et al. (2010). New Oligocene primate from Saudi Arabia and the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09094
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (2024). Frequently asked questions: Human origins. https://humanorigins.si.edu/education/frequently-asked-questions
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