How Many Hands Does A Monkey Have? 'Handy' Facts For Kids

The answer seems obvious to many people, but the facts are unknown.

We have always observed a pair when it comes to monkey hands and feet. This trend is observed in most new-world monkeys.

All old-world monkeys and new-world monkeys seem to have the same number of hands and feet. Monkeys use their hands for a number of things, including eating, drinking, climbing trees, grasping branches, and communicating. Monkeys are very intelligent animals.

They can be easily trained to use their hands and feet to do wonders. But, even without training, monkeys manage to make the fullest use of their hands and feet.

Some people believe monkeys have four legs, while others believe they have two legs and two hands. Discover which is the right answer with us. Or are they both right?

Want to find out more about wild animals? Check out how many eyes do flies have and how many hearts does a worm have.

Evolution Of Monkey Hands And Feet

Evolution is an unstoppable attempt by nature to make life easier. It is because of evolution that humans exist today. Evolution is a very slow process. It occurs over hundreds and thousands of years.

Old-world monkeys had different structures in the early years of life. Primates, such as apes, have developed over the years to gain new and better functions. All animals undergo evolution whether they want it or not, and monkeys have become one of the most evolved species on earth.

There was a time when monkeys looked very different than they look today. Almost every part of the monkey has undergone evolution. Today, monkeys have evolved into humans.

The monkeys we see today have different hands than humans, but they were once similar. Monkeys initially used to have only four fingers.

As time went by, they felt the need to have one more finger for better mobility. That is how they started to have opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs allowed them to do tasks they earlier couldn't.

Their fingers weren't always as muscular as they are today. Monkeys used to get hurt on their hands due to less muscular mass in the surrounding areas of their fingers.

But with time, they started developing muscular fingers, which now provide strength to their hands. Similar evolution patterns have also been observed in the feet of monkeys. With time they evolved to have better feet and hands than they had earlier.

How many hands do monkeys have?

Monkeys are found living in the wilds. These animals are the actual ancestors of humans. It is beautiful and surprising how much evolution primates have undergone in the past 10 million years. Earlier monkeys used to look and behave so differently.

Even today, similar behavioral traits are observed. One is the use of their hands. Monkeys use their hands just like humans. But in spite of that, the hands of monkeys and humans are quite different from one another.

It has been commonly accepted that monkeys have hands. They use their upper arms just like humans use their hands. But in addition to that, some species of monkeys even use their hands as legs.

One can say that the upper arms of monkeys have a dual function: of hands as well as of legs. The hands of monkeys have opposable thumbs and fingers, which allow them to use several objects without hindrance. This ability is not unique or limited to certain species of monkeys.

All species of monkeys can use their upper arms as hands to some extent. Hence, it is safe to say that monkeys have two hands.

The lower arms of monkeys do not have as much mobility and agility as their upper arms. That is why they are incapable of being used as hands. They are used as legs by all monkeys.

How many feet do monkeys have?

Humans have evolved from primates, so these animals are bound to have certain characteristics that humans possess. One such characteristic is being able to walk on two feet. In scientific language, this ability is referred to as being bipedal.

Not all monkeys are bipedal, meaning they are not all able to walk on two legs. It was found that several monkeys living in the wild have adapted the ability to walk on two legs. So how many legs do monkeys really have?

The body structure of primates is very similar to humans. Some people say monkeys have four legs because they use all their arms while walking, but some say they just have two legs because they use their two upper arms as hands.

These thoughts have caused debates amongst many talented and intelligent individuals.

The fact is there is no unique answer to the question of the number of legs that a monkey has. It really depends on which species of monkey we are talking about.

It has been found that monkeys such as gorillas, macaques, capuchins, chimpanzees, apes, gibbons, and spider monkeys can walk on two legs.

In their case, it is safe to say monkeys have two legs. In the case of other species of monkeys, who use all four of their arms for walking, it can be said that monkeys have four legs, which would mean that monkeys can have one or two pairs of feet.

What do monkey hands look like?

Monkey hands were once very similar to the human hand, but millions of years of evolution have brought about changes in the hands of monkeys. Primates have less developed hands compared to humans.

Monkeys are animals with a great need for hands for several purposes. Studying the hand of a monkey has been an intriguing research topic for many biologists. The description of monkeys' hands provided here is based on several observations made by scientists.

The hands of monkeys are more stout-looking than humans. Earlier monkeys only had four fingers, but now monkeys have thumbs. Thumbs allow monkeys to pick up and grab objects with ease.

Thumbs in monkeys are opposable thumbs, just like in humans. Opposable thumbs are defined as thumbs that can touch every other finger on that hand.

The fingers of monkeys are more long and curved compared to humans. Each hand has four fingers in addition to a thumb. These long fingers are used effectively to hold thick branches of trees.

The thing about monkey hands is that their range of mobility is less, especially in monkeys who use their upper arms for walking. This is to ensure that the monkeys do not accidentally twist their palms while walking.

Monkeys have fingerprints. The prints of monkeys are different from humans; they are less dense but more in number. Each part of monkey hands plays a role in their survival.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 'How many hands does a monkey have?' then why not take a look at 'How many legs do butterflies have?', or 'Spider Monkey facts'.