ape

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ape Term usually applied to the anthropoid apes (primates) that are the closest relatives of humans. There are three great apes – chimpanzee, gorilla and orang-utan – and one lesser, the gibbon. An ape differs from a monkey in being larger, having no visible tail, and in possessing a more complex brain. Two monkeys are also called ‘apes’ – the Barbary ape of n Africa and Gibraltar, and the black ape of Celebes.

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