Primates
Get the lowdown on our relatives. Find out about the slow loris and pygmy marmoset, and discover what made the howler monkey famous.
We’re primates, just like apes, monkeys, lorises and lemurs. Marvel at how much we all have in common when you discover how these creatures bond, play, care for their infants, groom and form friendships.
The slow loris is an accomplished climber that can hang by its feet alone. Sleeping by day and feeding by night, its sleepy exterior hides some fearsome secret weapons: sharp teeth and a venomous bite.
The howler monkey is the world’s loudest land animal, with a fearsome cry that can be heard three miles away.
The pygmy marmoset is one of the world’s smallest mammals. It lives in extended family groups in trees, where it can find its food of insects, spiders, fruit and tree sap.
This is a skeleton of the giant lemur or the lost lemur. You can see how it used its grasping hands and feet to climb trees. The giant lemur died out about 2,000 years ago, when humans arrived on its home island of Madagascar.
Toolbox
The Museum's smallest members of staff are our flesh-eating beetles, Dermestes maculates, who strip carcasses to the bone.