Why Do Monkeys Not Grow Mustaches and Beards If We Evolved from a Common Ancestor? 0 76

Monkeys have bodies covered in fur, so the hair on their faces is almost imperceptible. However, in some species, it is well expressed. For example, the beard monkey has white fur on its cheeks and lower jaw, which against the overall brown coloration looks like a gray beard.

The males of orangutans have a lush red beard. But the title for this trait goes to South American monkeys: the emperor tamarin (Saguinus imperator) with large white mustaches and the black-backed saki (Chiropotes satanas) with a long black beard.

It is worth noting that the shape of facial hair in monkeys changes over the course of evolution, and in most species, mustaches and beards are not sexual characteristics.