If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?

Question

If monkeys evolved into humans, why are there still monkeys?

Answer 1

Monkeys were created by the monkey god in his own image.

Answer 2

NO scientist scientist has ever said that "monkeys evolved into humans."

This would be an absurd view of evolution to think that a species "evolves into" something else that *replaces* it.  If that were true, then *logically* there would be only one species alive on the planet.

Instead, species *BRANCH*.   They have to.   Some early species of primate that is NOT any species of monkey alive today, got isolated into different populations that lost contact with each other ... and each subpopulation evolved to the point where it could no longer interbreed with the other subpopulations ... so they became separate species.    Species branch, and branch, and branch again.   The descendants of all these different branches are all the species of monkeys and apes alive today, including humans, and including many many species of monkeys, apes, and early humans that have long gone extinct.

Answer 3

Because they occupy distinct niches.  

Monkeys evolved from lemur like mammals about 55 million years ago.  Great apes first evolved about 20 million years ago from monkeys (so yes, we are descended from monkeys).  This did not lead to the extinction of all monkeys because that first great ape (Ramapithecus) occupied a distinct niche.

Humans are an anthropoid ape. Biologically speaking we are classed in the superfamily Hominoidae.  We are closely related, within the last 14-15 million years to all other great apes by a common ancestor Pierolapithecus.  According to work in molecular genetics humans and chimps (our closest cousin among our fellow great apes) began their divergence (probably due to reproductive isolation) from a common ancestor 10 million years ago, but occasionally interchanged genes (interbred) until 5 million years ago, when reproductive isolation (thus speciation) became complete. This also fits with fossil evidence, as well as circumstantial evidence from studies of comparative morphology.

Answer 4

Because evolution is a lie believed only by people who observationally challenged

Answer 5

Try watching this: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=7w57_P9DZJ...

actually this one is probably better for your question: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=R_RXX7pntr...

Answer 6

*drink*

If Jews evolved into Christians, why are there still Jews?

If Europeans evolved into Americans and Australians, why are there still Europeans?

If your second cousin once removed is better looking and smarter than you, then why do you exist?

Answer 7

Because, for the umpteenth time, humans did not evolve from monkeys.  Primates evolved from a common ancestor.  

Your cousin did not come from you, but you share grandparents.  

Answer 8

Some of them aren't quite there yet. (also applies to some of the folk on Yahoo! Answers asking questions)

Answer 9

Because humans are not 'more evolved' than monkeys.  It's the TREE of life, with different branches.  It's not the ladder of life with one guy on top and everything else trying to get up there.

Another thing is that modern monkeys didn't evolve into humans.  Both humans and modern monkeys evolved from a now-extinct ancestor.

And yet another thing is that, given isolated populations with different selection pressures, it's perfectly possible for one population to evolve into something new while the other population stays the same.  Again, neither is more evolved than the other, just differently evolved.

You would do well to learn more about this.

Answer 10

for the "Wisdom" guy...please actually read about evolution before you make such absurd claims. Your powers of observation and certainly your ability to reason...have obviously NOT evolved...but then  evolution has produced many deadends.

Answer 11

First we are not descended from monkeys... we share an ancestor with the great apes. The theory is that there was a group of these apelike beings that inhabited the area of Africa that became known as the rift valley (after a natural disaster made it so). This ended up separating this group of beings from the rest of the species, and thus isolated their development began to focus on those attributes which allowed for the best survival rates. These would be things such as the ability to stand upright, bipedal motility, etc. Whatever allowed them to evade predators and have better access to food and water, thus allowing for a better chance for them to mate and pass on their genes. Over time this would be supplemented by a better diet which allowed the development of larger muscles and more advanced brains which finally made us what we are today... well some of us at least, there are some whose brains have not quite traveled out of the dark ages yet.

The other groups of our apelike ancestor never faced these types of selective pressures and thus they evolved along different lines. Those lines favored body plans like gorillas and chimps. That is why there are still apes left in the world. Stop being so arrogant in assuming that humankind is the end-all-be-all to the evolutionary process.  

Answer 12

This has been asked and answered so many times I can only conclude you are

a) too lazy to look it up: or,

b) too dumb to understand the answer: or,

c) fully aware of all this and can't come up with anything original: or,

d) a believer in evolution who is trying to make creationists look stupid by asking a question that exposes ones ignorance

Yes, this is exactly the same answer I have given before. If you can't find any original questions, I don't feel obligated to give original answers