Anthro Exam Question Flashcards
Mammalian Characteristics
-Body Hair
- Long Gestation period (live birth)
- Mammary Glands
- Heterodont
- Endothermy
- Increased Brain Size
Primate Characteristics: Limbs & Locomotion
- Tendency toward erect posture
- Generalized limb structure
- Prehensile
Primate Characteristics: Diet & Teeth
- No dietary specialization
- Generalized dentition
Primate Characteristics: Senses & The Brain
- Color vision
- Depth perception
- Decreased reliance on olfaction
- Expanded & complex brain
Primate Characteristics: Maturation, Learning & Behavior
- Longer period of gestation
- Dependence of flexible, learned behavior
- Social grouping
- Diurnal activity patterns
Arboreal
Primates adaptive niche is in the trees
Dental formula: New World vs Old World Monkeys
New World: 2-1-3-3 (incisors, canines, premolars, molars)
-more fruit, leaves, insects
Old World - 2: 1: 2: 3
- wider range of diet: fruits, leaves, seeds, insects, and sometimes even small mammals
Dental formula: Apes
2.1.2.3
Dental formula: generalized mammal (ancestral)
3:1:4:3
Dental formula: hominoids (apes, including humans)
2:1:2:3
4 types of locomotion
- Quadrupedalism
- Bipedalism
- Arboreal Locomotion
- Aquatic Locomotion
Functional Anatomy of Quadrupedalism:
- typically have a well-developed shoulder and hip girdle, strong limbs and a flexible spine.
Human’s spine and bipedalism: shape and reason
Spine: S-shaped
- curves help distribute body weight and maintain balance while standing and walking
- serves a shock absorbed, reducing the impact of each step
Human’s Pelvis and Bipedalism: shape and reason
broad, short and bowl-shaped compared to other primates.
- provides a stable platform for the upper body and supports the internal organs
- influences the mechanics of walking and running by affecting the leverage and positioning of the leg muscles.
Human Lower limbs and Bipedalism:
length and alignment of the femur, tibia, and fibula are optimized for bipedal locomotion.
- the angle of the femur helps bring the knees closer to the midline of the body, making a more natural motion where legs are able to bend and walk comfortably
Human feet and Bipedalism: shape and purpose
Arches
- provide structural support and absorb shock.
- Act as springs, strong and releasing energy with each step.
- weight is distributed through the big toe which helps with balance and comfort.
Adducted foot:
- toes in line
Human skull and locomotion:
Foramen Magnum is placed in the center of the skull, helps human balance their heads upright. Alligned with the body’s center of gravity.
Ape’s foramen magnum (and most other NHP)
Towards the back
- balanced for quadrupedal locomotion
- helps maintain stability while moving on four limbs
Strepsirhine Characteristics
Size?
olfaction?
Teeth?
Grooming?
Mandible?
Brain?
- Smaller body size
- Increased Olfaction
- Open eye socket
- Dental comb
- Primitive shaped molars
- Grooming claw
- Unfused mandible
- Smaller brain relative to body size
Haplorhine Characteristics
- Larger body size
- Increased vision
- Enclosed eye sockets
- Less specialized dentition
- Derived molar shape
- Nail instead of claw
- Fusion of mandible
- Larger brain (both absolutely & relartive to body size/weight)
Prosimians were the original
Strepsirhines
Anthropoids were the original
Haplorhines
Why the name change?
Prosimians were traditionally considered to be the more primitive or ancestral group of primates, characterized by traits such as a reliance on olfaction, a dental tooth comb, and a reflective layer in the eye (tapetum lucidum).
Anthropoids, on the other hand, were seen as more advanced or derived, exhibiting features such as forward-facing eyes, reduced reliance on olfaction, and a more complex social organization.
However, as scientific knowledge advanced and molecular techniques became more sophisticated, researchers gained a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships among primates.
5 NHP Social Groups
- One Male - multifemale
- Multimale - multifemale
- Monogamous pairing
- Polyandry
- Solitary
Factors affecting social structure: Body size
- Calorie intake vs Size
Larger animals require relatively fewer calories
- Lower metabolic rates in larger-bodies primates may enable them to invest more energy in maintaining dominant status with hierarchies
New World vs Old World Monkeys
New World: sideways-facing nostrils, three premolars, no ear tube, prehensile tail
Old world: downward facing nostril, two premolars, ear tube, ischial callosite
