Ch.5 The Living Primates Flashcards
Know the characteristics of Old world monkeys, new world monkeys, and apes
morphological taxonomy uses morphology and phenotypic characteristics to distinguish between one species and another.
What is the honing complex?
the arrangement of the upper canine and lower third premolar that allows the back edge of the upper canine to be sharpened or honed against the front edge of the lower premolar.
What is the most common type of social group found in primate societies?
multimale-multifemale group.
What is the structure of a polygynous primate social group?
each male mates with multiple females
Define dominance hierarchy
The dominance hierarchy is a clearly discernible ranking order of group individuals, determined by the outcomes of aggressive and submissive (together, agonistic) social interactions that create asymmetrical dominance relationships between individuals.
Understand parental investment
any investment by the parent in an individual offspring that increases that offspring’s chance of surviving (and hence reproductive success) at the cost of the parent’s ability to invest in other offspring
Know the prosimians and their characteristics. How do they communicate?
Prosimians are NWM and they use vocalizations to communicate in many different social contexts. smaller brains, longer snouts, and a more developed sense of smell.
Anthropoids consist of____________? Where do they live (geographically)?
monkeys, apes, and humans.
China and Southeast Asia,
Monkeys are found in the two geographical regions generally known as
tropical rainforests of Africa, Central America
Know the dental formula of Old World (OWM) and New World monkeys (NWM)
NWM: 2-1-3-3
OWM and Apes:2-1-2-3
What is a prehensile tail? Which monkeys, i.e. OWM or NWM, have this trait?
A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects.-new world monkeys.
Define arboreal
inhabiting trees.
Define terrestrial
Living on the earth
land animal
Are Howler monkeys—NWM or OWM?
one of the largest New World monkeys
Howler and Colobus monkeys have a special adapation. What is it and what is the purpose of this
adaptation?
they have specialized stomachs and digestive systems that allow them to process leaves.
Which group of primates is closer (genetically) to humans: Prosimians, NWM, OWM, or Apes?
Apes
Which primate species is closer (genetically) to humans: lemurs, howler monkeys, baboons,
orangutans, gorillas, or chimpanzees?
Chimpanzees
Are baboons—NWM or OWM
Old world
Hominoidea consists of
Hominoidea is one of the six major groups in the order Primates. gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, bonobos, and humans.
Geographically, where does one find apes?
Africa and Asia
The “Y-5” molar pattern is found in living
the lower molar teeth of apes and humans
Generally, which primate group has longer arms than legs?
Apes
Which primate species has the longest arms?
Gibbons
The African apes consist of
bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans.
The Asian apes consist of
gibbons, humans, and orangutans.
Define sexual dimorphism. Be able to name two ape species where sexual dimorphism is most
noticeable? What does it suggests about social organization (mate selection)?
distinct difference in size or appearance between the sexes of an animal in addition to difference between the sexual organs themselves.
Gorillas and Orangutans (males have bigger bodies than females)
exhibited in primates may correspond to the intensity of competition between members of the same sex for access to mates–intrasexual competition, counteracted by fecundity selection on the other sex.
In bonobo (pygmy chimpanzee) society__________tend to be the most dominant.
females
Give an example of a primitive mammalian trait retained by primates
body hair was used as an example for a primitive trait among primates.
Primate taxonomy
