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ANTH1014: Introduction to Biological Anthropology > 1.6: What is a primate? > Flashcards

1.6: What is a primate? Flashcards

1
Q

What is primatology?

A

Uses living primates as models for evolutionary trends

Bridges zoology and anthropology

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2
Q

Where do primates mostly live?

A

South of the equator in the tropics of sub-tropics

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3
Q

What are the main primate groups (taxa)?

A

Prosimians
New world monkeys
Old world monkeys
Apes

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4
Q

Who are the members of the prosimians taxa?

A

Lemurs
Lorises
Galagos
Tarsier

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5
Q

Who are the members of the new world monkey taxa?

A

Marmosets
Tamarins
Spider monkeys
Capuchin monkeys

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6
Q

Who are the members of the old world monkey taxa?

A

Langurs
Macaques
Baboons

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7
Q

Who are the members of the ape taxa?

A 
Gibbons
Orangutan
Gorilla
Chimpanzee
Bonobo
Human
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8
Q

Name the 12 shared common characteristics that reflect adaptation to arboreality

A 
Pentactyly
Flat nails
Reduction of snout and facial hair
Tactile pads at terminal portions of digits
Prehensility (grasping ability)
Tendency towards erectness
Clavicle
Generalised dentition
Reduction of olfaction
Binocular & stereoscopic vision
Colour vision
Delayed maturation
Complex brain
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9
Q

Explain how the trait ‘pendactyly’ is adapted to arboreality

A

5 digits in hands and feet

Enables grip

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10
Q

Explain how the trait ‘flat nails’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Larger surface of terminal portions of digits

Allows better grasp

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11
Q

What is unique about pygmy marmoset/callitrichid nails?

A

They have secondary claws, but not on their big toes

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12
Q

Explain how the trait ‘reduction of snout and facial hair’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Allows manual exploration

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13
Q

Explain how the trait ‘tactile pads’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Highly sensitive nerve endings (neurofibrils) and sweat glands
Allows manual exploration and better grip

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14
Q

Explain how the trait ‘prehensility’ is adapted to arboreality

A 
Claws
Prosimians have a power grip
Monkeys have precise grip
Apes have opposable thumbs
A few NWM have prehensile tails
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15
Q

Explain how the trait ‘tendency towards erectness’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Upright trunk allows vertical climbing, brachiation, upright sitting, and walking

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16
Q

What are the 2 consequences of having a tendency towards erectness?

A

Slipped disks

Haemorrhoids

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17
Q

Explain how the trait ‘clavicle’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Flexible shoulder joint

Allows movement of arm in any direction

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18
Q

Explain how the trait ‘generalised dentition’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Heterodonty (incisors, canines, premolars, molars) allows diverse food to be processed (omnivory)

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19
Q

Explain how the trait ‘reduction of olfaction’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Primate are diurnal

Diurnal orientates reliance on vision (microsomatic) rather than smell (macrosmatic)

20
Q

Which primate is the exception to ‘reduction of olfaction’?

A

Lemurs have wet noses (rhinarium) because they are microsmatic

21
Q

Explain how the trait ‘binocular & stereoscopic vision’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Stereoscopic vision creates 3D picture due to chiasma (cross-over) of optical nerves – allows production of very good projection

Binocular overlap (stereopsis) allows better depth perception and therefore better detection of camouflaged prey

Nervi optici; each eye relays information to both sides of the brain

22
Q

Explain how the trait ‘colour vision’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Trichromatism is allows the ability to see 1 million colours

Colour vision allows foot detection, mate choice

23
Q

Which primate taxon does not have colour vision?

A

Some NWM have dichromatism, perhaps for better detection of camouflaged objects

24
Q

Explain how the trait ‘delayed maturation’ is adapted to arboreality

A

Offspring are high quality rather than quantity

Improved fetal nourishment, longer gestation, and longer dependency in a juvenile phase results in learning via teaching

25
Q

List and critique 4 ways in which we can measure ‘intelligence’

A

Absolute values (ccm) – BUT elephant brains are 4x larger than humans

Relative brain weight/body weight – BUT squirrel monkeys have greater ratio

Encephalization quotient (EQ); brain size related to size expected from mammal of same body weight – BUT human brains are 3x larger than expected for a ‘hypothetical primate’ of our build

Ratio of neocortex (thinking centre)/rest of brain (grey matter)

26
Q

Why are ‘intelligence’ measurements anthropocentric?

A

Humans must always come out on top in intelligence measurements, and therefore variation in selection pressures are not taken into account

27
Q

Give 3 selection pressures that may have resulted in more complex brains

A

3D habitats produce larger brains that 2D habitats

Expansion of brain regions that control hands

Social intelligence hypothesis: the cognitive demands of social complexity

28
Q

Phenetic taxonomy

A

Based on appearance

29
Q

What are the 2 main phenetic taxa?

A

Prosimians: lemurs, lorises, tarsiers

Anthropoids: NWM, OWM, apes

30
Q

Cladistic taxonomy

A

Based on ancestry

31
Q

What are the 2 main cladistics taxa?

A

Strepsirrhini

Haplorrhini

32
Q

List the 2 main groups in the strepsirrhini

A

Lemurs

Lorises

33
Q

List the 3 types of lemurs

A

Indri
Ring-tailed lemur
Aye-aye

34
Q

List the 2 types of lorises

A

Loris

Galago (bushbaby)

35
Q

List the 3 main groups in the haplorrhini

A

Tarsier
Platyrrhini (new world monkeys)
Catarrhini

36
Q

List the three types of platyrrhini (NWM)

A

Atelids
Cebids
Callitrichids

37
Q

List the 3 atelids

A

Howler monkey
Spider monkey
Muriqui

38
Q

List the 2 cebids

A

Capuchin

Squirrel monkey

39
Q

List the 2 callitrichids

A

Marmoset

Tamarin

40
Q

Like the two main groups of catarrhini

A

Old world monkeys

Apes

41
Q

List the 2 types of old world monkeys

A

Cercopithecines

Colobines

42
Q

List the 5 cercopithecines

A 
Macaque
Guenon
Baboon
Gelada
Mandrill
43
Q

List the 4 colobines

A

Black and white colobus
Proboscis monkey
Langur
Snub-nosed monkeys

44
Q

List the 2 types of apes

A

Small apes

Great apes

45
Q

What is the small ape called?

46
Q

List the 5 great apes

A 
Orangutan
Gorilla
Chimpanzee
Bonobo
Human

ANTH1014: Introduction to Biological Anthropology (13 decks)

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