Are old world monkeys related to new monkeys?

Yes, old world monkeys and new world monkeys are related, but they are not as closely related as you might think. They are both primates, belonging to the same order, but they diverged from a common ancestor millions of years ago.

Here's a breakdown:

* Common ancestor: Old and new world monkeys share a common ancestor that lived approximately 40 million years ago.

* Divergence: After that, their evolutionary paths diverged, resulting in two distinct groups with different characteristics and geographical distributions.

* Old World Monkeys: These monkeys evolved in Africa and Asia. They have downward-facing nostrils, lack prehensile tails, and have cheek pouches for storing food.

* New World Monkeys: These monkeys evolved in the Americas. They have sideways-facing nostrils, prehensile tails (which they use for grasping and swinging), and lack cheek pouches.

In summary: While they are both primates, old world and new world monkeys belong to different infraorders:

* Old World Monkeys: Cercopithecoidea

* New World Monkeys: Platyrrhini

This means they are distant relatives, having diverged from a common ancestor long ago and developing distinct features.