Chapter 2: Primates Flashcards
Primate belong to what class?
Mammalia
11 Characteristics of primates
prehensile, claws not nails, forward-facing eyes, single offspring, large brains, long period of infant dependency, diurnal, arboreal, movement in many ways, social, non specialized diets
Prehensile
ability to grasp things with digits of hands or feet
Diurnal
active during the day
Arboreal
spend most of the time in trees
Taxa
taxonomic group of any rank
Brachiate
Swing from arm to arm
6 Suborders of primates
Strepsirhini, Haplorhini, Platyrrhini, Catarrhini, Cercopithecoidea (old world monkeys), Hominoidea
Strepsirhini characteristics
Tend to have a greater reliance on olfaction (sense of smell), a larger snout, a rhinarium, have claws with fingernails, lack colour vision, most live in Madagascar, about 40 species, ex- lemurs
Rhinarium
hairless nose “nose leather”
Haplorhini
no rhinarium, worse olfaction, better vision
ex-monkeys, apes, humans
has 2 infraorders: Platyrrhini & caterrhini
Platyrrhini
“new world monkeys”
Monkeys of central and south America
Flat nose with outwardly flared nostrils
Habitats: Tropical and subtropical forests
Tail is often prehensile
Primarily arboreal
Little sexual dimorphism
Ex- spider monkeys, squirrel monkeys, howler monkeys, capuchins
Catarrhini
“old world monkeys”
Monkeys of Africa, Asia, Europe
Apes and humans
Mostly arboreal
Habitat: mostly forests sometimes grassland
Narrow nose, downward facing nostrils
All have the same dental formula including humans: 2-1-2-3 (32 teeth total)
Have 2 superfamilies : Cercopithecoidea, Hominoidea
Cercopithecoidea
old world monkeys
tend to be larger than new world monkeys
more sexual dimorphism
Hominoidea
Tailless
larger than cercopithecoidea
have extended ontogeny
larger and more developed brains and shoulders, enabling brachiation
Three families: Hylobatidae, Pongidae (has 3 genera), Hominidae
Ontogeny
increased length of dependency
Dental Formula
kind and number of teeth in mouth
Adaptive radiation
evolutionary process by which many species originate from one species in an area and radiate to different species
5 Principal research interests in Primatology
communication, social structure, aggressive and affiliative behaviours, subsistence and diet, tool use
Communication in Primatology
studying vocalizations, gestures, expressions and language
Social structure in Primatology
the ways in which groups form (ex- whether the males, females or both leave the home community to find or form a new group to keep the gene pool diverse), how dominance is achieved
Aggressive and Affiliative behaviours in Primatology
grooming- often a sign of social and political activity, reaffirming alliances, relationships and group cohesion. Bonobos have sexual relations as a way to bond and sex is viewed as affiliative behaviour, they are very egalitarian. Chimpanzees are an alpha male dominant species and their behaviours are often aggressive.
Subsistence and diet in Primatology
primate groups are characterized as frugivorous, folivorous, insectivorous. Most primates have very diverse diets with few instances of meat eating and more insect eating. Chimpanzees are often seen hunting but only opportunistically, hardly planned.
Examples of Tool use in Primatology
E.g. Chimps use sticks and grass to obtain termites in mounds, monkeys and apes use rocks to crack open nuts, gorillas use sticks for walking and testing the depth of water, etc.
Egalitarian
principle that all people or beings are equal and deserve equal opportunities
Affiliative
actions that are likely to be understood as pleasing or appealing
Branches of Hominoidea
Hylobatidae, Pongidae, Hominidae
Hylobatidae
includes gibbons, siamangs
Genera of Pongidae
Pongo- orangutans
Gorilla
Pan- 2 species: pan troglodytes (chimpanzees) and pan paniscus (bonobos)
Hominidae
bipedal primates
analogous traits
similar in function but not due to common ancestry
homologies
similarities that are due to common ancestry, a principal factor in determining how organisms are assigned to taxonomic categories
primitive trait
inherited from a common ancestor
derived trait
newly evolved trait
taxonomy orders
order - suborder - infraorder - parvorder - superfamily - family
quadrupedalism
animals that use four limbs for movement
folivore
herbivore that specializes in eating leaves
frugivore
animal that thrives eating raw fruits, roots, shoots, nuts, seeds
mosaic evolution
mainly from palaeontology, evolutionary change takes place in some body parts or systems without simultaneous change in others
