WINGED APE

Up  above you can see some Winged Monkeys from the land of Oz.  But have you ever seen a winged monkey in real life?  In the year 2000 at Tucapol, Chile, a Winged Ape was reported.  It was about 4' in height, it had clawed hands and protruding fangs.  It sounds a fearsome creature.

However, wings on an ape or monkey of the type seen in The Wizard of Oz should not be able to make it fly without defying the laws of physics.  Perhaps their function was to allow it to glide.  From the description, though, I wonder if what was actually seen was some kind of bat.

I hear someone ask, What exactly is the difference between an ape and a monkey?  You have come to the right place, O Inquisitor, for I have the answer to your query.  Basically, a monkey has a tail and an ape hasn't.  The only recognized apes are the gorilla, orang utan, chimpanzee, gibbon and bonobo.  The rock ape of Gibraltar is in fact a monkey.

Once the terms were interchangeable.  If you wanted to refer disparagingly to someone as a monkey, you could call him a jackanapes.  In fact, you still can if you want to.  I have no wish to restrict your freedom.