anthropoid

Anthropoid is a term used in primatology to refer to a clade that includes the simians: monkeys, apes, and humans. The name derives from Greek anthropos, “human,” and -oid, “likeness.” In many classifications, anthropoids are the group within Haplorhini that comprises the parvorder Platyrrhini (New World monkeys) and Catarrhini (Old World monkeys, apes, and humans). Prosimians such as lemurs and lorises are distinguished from anthropoids. Some sources reserve the term for simians only, or use Anthropoidea as a formal taxonomic group.

Key traits of anthropoids include a relatively large brain for body size, forward-facing eyes with stereoscopic vision, and a reduced reliance on the sense of smell. They typically have more complex dentition and skeletons adapted to varied locomotion. Developmental periods tend to be longer, and social structures more elaborate than those of most prosimians.

Fossil evidence places the earliest anthropoids in Africa and Asia during the Eocene, roughly 45 to 40 million years ago. Within Catarrhini and Platyrrhini, the Old World monkeys, apes, and humans form the larger group, while New World monkeys are found in the Americas. Modern anthropoids are distributed across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, with humans occupying all inhabited continents.

Usage notes: the term is sometimes used broadly to mean “humanlike,” or in palaeontological contexts to describe extinct relatives. In contemporary taxonomy, clades such as Simiiformes or Anthropoidea are often used as formal terms for the groups that include monkeys, apes, and humans.