Some of the lemurs (Brachytarsi) approach closely to the true apes.

Next to the lemurs come the true apes (Simiae), the twenty-sixth stage in our ancestry.

The Simiidæ, or true apes, possess an overwhelming importance, far beyond that of the baboons and monkeys.

Another group of true apes inhabit Asia and the larger Asiatic islands, and are in some respects the most remarkable of the whole family.

The order of the true apes (Simiae or Pitheca)-excludingthe lemurs-haslong been divided into two principal groups, which also differ in their geographical distribution.

Hartmann divides the primate order into two families: (1) Primarii (man and the anthropoid apes); and (2) Simianae ( true apes, Catarrhines and Platyrrhines).