A primate ( , USdict: prī′·māt) is a member of the biological order Primates ( prī·mā′·tēz; Latin: "prime, first rank"
From Old French or French primat, from a noun use of Latin primat-, from primus ("prime, first rank"). The English singular primate was derived via back-formation from the Latin inflected form. Linnaeus thought this the "highest" order of mammals), the group that contains lemurs, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth, most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia. Primates range in size from the Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur weighing only to the Mountain Gorilla weighing . According to fossil evidence, the primitive ancestors of primates may have existed in the late Cretaceous period around 65 million years ago, and the oldest known primate is the Late Paleocene Plesiadapis, c. 55–58 million years ago. Molecular clock studies suggest that the primate branch may be even older, originating in the mid-Cretaceous period around 85 mya.

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