9 - What are Primates Flashcards
1
Q
Primates order
A
Mammals
2
Q
Mammalian synapomorphies
A
- Warm blooded
- Viviparity
- Lactation & mammary glands
3
Q
DIstribution of living and nonhuman primates
A
Found mostly in tropical areas e.g. central and south america, madagascar, japan
4
Q
Primate Characteristics
A
- Grasping hands & feet
- Sensory system
- Large complex brain and associated behaviour
- Dental specialisation, but generalised skeletoin
5
Q
Grasping hands and feet
A
- Opposable thumb and hallux (big toe)
- Nails, not claws
- Sensitive tactile pads
- Power grip
- Precision grip
6
Q
Power grip
A
Squeeze an object strongly between finger pads and palm, allowing full strength of the forearm muscles to be applied
7
Q
Precision grip
A
Use just the tips of your fingers for fine control (picking up a grape)
8
Q
Vision
A
- Forward facing eyes (stereoscopic vision, depth perception)
- Greater Reliance on vision (elaboration of the visual centers of the brain)
- Colour vision (at least dichromatic - blue, green, many trichromatic (RBG)
9
Q
Cranial anatomy
A
- All primates have a postorbital bar
- Higher primates (haplorhines) have a postorbital closure
- Non primate mammals generally only have postorbital process
10
Q
Olfaction
A
- Reduced reliance on olfaction
- Reduction of the snout
- Corresponding reduction of olfactory centers of the brain
11
Q
Large complex brains
A
- Large brains relative to body size
- Primates 2x larger than other mammals their size, humans 7-8x
- Also many folds (sulci & fissures) to increase surface area
- Learning & socialisation very important for
survival - Greater reliance on learning linked to reduction in reliance upon instinct
12
Q
High investment in offspring
A
- Fewer offspring, but greater investment in rearing them (Usually means longer lived, Typically give birth to a single young and not litters)
- Infants are relatively altricial (“requiring nourishment” vs. precocial (e.g. ungulates)
- Cling to mother, not left in nests (usually) have grasping hands (even humans)
- Longer juvenescence (juvenile development period)
13
Q
Dental formula
A
- Ancestral mammal condition = 3.1.4.3
- Primitive primates (most strepsirhines
& NWM) = 2.1.3.3 - Later primates (OWM, Apes, Humans) = 2.1.2.3
Chimpanzee 2.1.2.3 dental formula
(chimpanzee - 32 teeth in total)
14
Q
Generalised skeleton
A
- Generalized limb structure
- Generalized, flexible morphology
- Non-specialized physical form
15
Q
Two groups of primates
A
- Strepsirrhines (Lemurs, Galagos, Lorises
- Haplorrhines (Tarsiers, monkeys, apes)
16
Q
Strepsirrhine characteristics
A
- Found in Sub Saharan Africa, Madagascar and Asia
- Most nocturnal
- Large eyes
- Post orbital bar only
- Rely on scent marking
- Dental comb
- Grooming claw
17
Q
Lemuriformes characteristics
A
- Only found on Madagascar & neighbouring
Comoros Islands (endemic) - Diverse! Because of endemism and lack of
competition → an adaptive radiation - Small and medium-sized today
- Diurnal and nocturnal
- Female dominance
- All nocturnal and small bodied
- Generally solitary
- Eat insects, gum and nectar, some fruits
18
Q
2 families of Lorisiformes
A
- Galagidae
- Lorisidae
19
Q
Galagidae
A
- Very active
- Fast movers
- Africa only
20
Q
Lorisidae
A
- Often immobile
- Slow movers
- Africa and Asia
21
Q
Haplorrhine Characteristics
A
- Diurnal (except tarsiers & owl monkeys)
- Reduced reliance on smell & hearing
- Flatter faces, shorter snouts
- Larger, more complex brains
- Longer juvenile dependency
- Increased parental care/investment
- Increased social complexity
22
Q
Enigmatic Tarsiers
A
- Infraorder Tarsiiformes
- Only one living genus (Tarsius)
- Retain primitive morphology
- Same genus applied to fossil from middle Eocene in China (~ 45 mya)
- Superficially they look like strepsirrhines, so used to be classified in Strepsirrhini
- Nocturnal
- Small
- Genetics tells us that they are haplorrhines
23
Q
Higher primates
A
Can be classified together as Anthropoidea
24
Q
Platyrrhini
A
- Broad, outward-facing nostrils
- 2.1.3.3. dental formula
25
Catarrhini
- Narrow, downward facing nostrils
- 2.1.2.3 dental formula
26
Platyrrhine Monkey Characteristics
- Five families
- Found in the Americas (Mexico, Central and South America)
Arrived from Africa around 35 Ma
- All have tails (several prehensile)
- All arboreal
- Smaller body than cercopithecoid monkeys
- Most have 2.1.3.3 dental formula
- Minimal sexual dimorphism
- Diurnal (except Aotus – the owl monkey)
27
Two major subdivisions of Catarrhine
- Cercopithecoid
- Hominoidea
28
Superfamily Cercopithecoidea
- Found in wide variety of
environments (tropical Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Arabian Peninsula)
- All diurnal
- Single births
- Some species are terrestrial
- Larger body size, often sexually dimorphic
29
Two subfamilies of Cercopithecoidea
- Cercopithecinae (fruit eaters)
- Colobinae (Leaf eaters)
30
Cercopithecinae
- Broad incisors
- Low cusps
- Cheek pouches
- Simple stomach
- Shorter limbs
- Africa and Asia
- Baoobsm macawues
- Wide range of habitats
- Diet highly variable
- Sexually dimorphic
- More terrestrial species than in any other primate group
31
Colobinae
- Narrow incisors
- High cusps
- No cheek pouches
- Complex stomach
- Long limbs
- Africa and Asia
- All Arboreal
- Specialised folivores
- Sacculated stomach, supports bacteria for digestion of cellulose
- High shearing crests on teeth
32
Superfamily Hominoidea
- The Apes
- No tails
- Larger size and weight
- Larger brain to body weight ratio
- More upright posture
- Longer gestation and maturationq
33
Family Hylobatidae: “Lesser Apes”
- Gibbons & Siamangs
- Southeast Asia
- Pair-bonded (“monogamous”)
- Sexually monomorphic
- Frugivores
- Move using brachiation
- Long strong arms, short legs, elongated hook-like fingers
- Highly territorial
- Singing calls
34
Family Hominidae: “Great Apes”
- Large bodied
- Suspensory locomotion in trees (NOT brachiation); knuckle- walking or ”fist walking” on the ground
- Sexually dimorphic
- Advanced cognitive abilities (all show tool use)
- Diverse diets & social systems
- Most investments in offspring – intense parenting and prolonged juvenile periods
