Apes are monkeys.
The very fact of having these two different words makes English appear ridiculous.
There are some pretty important physiological differences between monkeys and apes. The problem is that humans are categorized as apes, despite deviating from the ape template in a couple important fashions; the most troubling one being that we have a cylindrical ribcage like that of monkeys, as opposed to the conical ribcage that is characteristic of the apes.
Personally I'd rather be descended from monkeys than apes for aesthetic reasons.
This is a neat story showing adaptation of a species to a new situation. I don't see how it proves common descent or any of the things about evolution that are actually contentious.
