In his Systema Naturae of 1758, Carl Linnaeus divided the Order Primates within Mammalia into four genera: Homo, Simia, Lemur, and Vespertilio. His Vespertilio included all bats, and has since been moved from Primates to Chiroptera.[1] Homo contained humans, Lemur contained four lemurs and a colugo, and Simia contained the other Primates. Linnaeus did not think that Homo should form a distinct group from Simia, classifying them separately mainly to avoid conflict with religious authorities. If this is taken into account, Simia (including Homo) would be roughly equivalent to the Suborder Haplorhini of the Primates (while Lemur would be roughly equivalent to the Suborder Strepsirrhini).
Homo, Lemur, and Vespertilio have survived as generic names, but Simia has not. All the species have since been moved to other genera, and in 1929, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature ruled in its Opinion 114 that Simia be suppressed.[2] The genus Simias is distinct and remains valid, containing a single species, the pig-tailed langur (Simias concolor).
The original genus Simia came to include these species:
| Modern genus | Modern common name | Original scientific name |
|---|---|---|
| Carlito Groves and Shekelle, 2010 | Philippine tarsier | Simia syrichta Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Callithrix Erxleben, 1777 | Silvery marmoset | Simia argentata Linnaeus, 1771 |
| Common marmoset | Simia jacchus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Leontopithecus Lesson, 1840 | Golden lion tamarin | Simia rosalia Linnaeus, 1766 |
| Saguinus Hoffmannsegg, 1807 | Brown-mantled tamarin | Simia leonina Humboldt, 1806[3] |
| Red-handed tamarin | Simia midas Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Cotton-top tamarin | Simia oedipus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Cebus Erxleben, 1777 | White-fronted capuchin | Simia albifrons Humboldt, 1812 |
| White-headed capuchin | Simia capucina Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Tufted capuchin | Simia apella Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Simia fatuellus Linnaeus, 1766 | ||
| Saimiri Voigt, 1831 | Common squirrel monkey | Simia sciurea Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Alouatta Lacépède, 1799 | Red-handed howler | Simia belzebul Linnaeus, 1766 |
| Venezuelan red howler | Simia seniculus Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Ateles É. Geoffroy, 1806 | Red-faced spider monkey | Simia paniscus Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Lagothrix É. Geoffroy, 1812 | Brown woolly monkey | Simia lagotricha Humboldt, 1812 |
| Pithecia Desmarest, 1804 | White-faced saki | Simia pithecia Linnaeus, 1766 |
| Chiropotes Lesson, 1840 | Black bearded saki | Simia chiropotes Humboldt, 1812 |
| Callicebus Thomas, 1903 | Black titi | Simia lugens Humboldt, 1812? |
| Atlantic titi | Simia personatus É. Geoffroy, 1812 | |
| Chlorocebus Gray, 1870 | Grivet | Simia aethiops Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Green monkey | Simia sabacea Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Cercopithecus Linnaeus, 1758 (named as a subsection of Simia) | Moustached guenon | Simia cephus Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Diana monkey | Simia diana Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Simia faunus Linnaeus, 1758 | ||
| Greater spot-nosed monkey | Simia nictitans Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Macaca Lacépède, 1799 | Crab-eating macaque | Simia aygula Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Barbary macaque | ?Simia cynamolgos Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| ?Simia cynomolgus Linnaeus, 1766 | ||
| Simia inuus Linnaeus, 1766 | ||
| Simia sylvanus Linnaeus, 1758 | ||
| Southern pig-tailed macaque | Simia nemestrina Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Lion-tailed macaque | Simia silenus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Toque macaque | Simia sinica Linnaeus, 1771 | |
| Papio Erxleben, 1777 | Hamadryas baboon | Simia hamadryas Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Yellow baboon | Simia cynocephalus Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Mandrillus Ritgen, 1824 | Mandrill | Simia sphinx Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Simia maimon Linnaeus, 1766 | ||
| Pygathrix É. Geoffroy, 1812 | Red-shanked douc | Simia nemaeus Linnaeus, 1771 |
| Pongo Lacépède, 1799 | Bornean orangutan | Simia pygmaeus Linnaeus, 1760 |
| Simia satyrus Linnaeus, 1758 | ||
| Pan Oken, 1816 | Common chimpanzee | Simia satyrus Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 | ||
| (unknown) | Simia apedia Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Simia morta Linnaeus, 1758 | ||
| Simia trepida Linnaeus, 1766 | ||
| Simia veter Linnaeus, 1766 |