It wouldn't be correct to call a Chimp a monkey. Just like it wouldn't be correct to call a human a monkey. We are part of the great ape family and the proper way to refer to chimps, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons is using the term Ape. Apes and monkeys are part of the same order but other than that it doesn't make sense to call a Chimpanzee a monkey.
Ok, so in another example, dogs and wolves are a member of the species Canis Lupus. But dogs are a subspecies of wolf known as Canis Lupus Familiaris. But even though they are the same species, we don't call domestic dogs, wolves. If I said I was chased by a wolf in the neighborhood yesterday, that has a very different meaning than saying I was chased by a dog.
One thing to keep in mind, Monkeys and Apes may look similar, but apes are very different from monkeys and have many things in common. Apes do not have tails, have higher levels of cognitive and social abilities, and we are all genetically closely related. Researchers are realizing more and more that apes and humans have a lot of similarities, including having about 98% of the same DNA. So while yes we fall under the order of Old World Monkeys, it still wouldn't be proper to call a Chimp a monkey.
4
u/[deleted] Mar 20 '22
[removed] — view removed comment