The highly concave palate extends beyond the last molar, and the skull is rounded or flattened, with a large braincase. The members of this family have good sight, hearing, and sense of smell, a moderate amount of facial expression, and a variety of calls. Nearly all Old World monkeys and baboons are diurnal. Cercopithecids can stand upright, but they generally progress on all four limbs. Langurs and colobus monkeys, perhaps the most arboreal members of the family, jump and leap through trees with amazing agility and speed.
Most forms are good swimmers.
Some members of this family raid crops or forage near villages. Cercopithecids are hunted for their meat and fur. Most members of this family have constitutions better suited for a life in captivity than that of the New World monkeys. However, their manners are less gentle, and when they grow old, they usually are not satisfactory pets. Three genera of extinct baboons are known from the Pleistocene of Africa.