Chapter 2: Primates

Question 1

Primate belong to what class?

Answer 1

Mammalia

Question 2

11 Characteristics of primates

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Prehensile

Answer 3

ability to grasp things with digits of hands or feet

Question 4

Diurnal

Answer 4

active during the day

Question 5

Arboreal

Answer 5

spend most of the time in trees

Question 6

Taxa

Answer 6

taxonomic group of any rank

Question 7

Brachiate

Answer 7

Swing from arm to arm

Question 8

6 Suborders of primates

Answer 8

Strepsirhini, Haplorhini, Platyrrhini, Catarrhini, Cercopithecoidea (old world monkeys), Hominoidea

Question 9

Strepsirhini characteristics

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Rhinarium

Answer 10

hairless nose “nose leather”

Question 11

Haplorhini

Answer 11

no rhinarium, worse olfaction, better vision
ex-monkeys, apes, humans
has 2 infraorders: Platyrrhini & caterrhini

Question 12

Platyrrhini

Answer 12

“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

Question 13

Catarrhini

Answer 13

“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

Question 14

Cercopithecoidea

Answer 14

old world monkeys
tend to be larger than new world monkeys
more sexual dimorphism

Question 15

Hominoidea

Answer 15

Tailless
larger than cercopithecoidea
have extended ontogeny
larger and more developed brains and shoulders, enabling brachiation
Three families: Hylobatidae, Pongidae (has 3 genera), Hominidae

Question 16

Ontogeny

Answer 16

increased length of dependency

Question 17

Dental Formula

Answer 17

kind and number of teeth in mouth

Question 18

Adaptive radiation

Answer 18

evolutionary process by which many species originate from one species in an area and radiate to different species

Question 19

5 Principal research interests in Primatology

Answer 19

communication, social structure, aggressive and affiliative behaviours, subsistence and diet, tool use

Question 20

Communication in Primatology

Answer 20

studying vocalizations, gestures, expressions and language

Question 21

Social structure in Primatology

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Aggressive and Affiliative behaviours in Primatology

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Subsistence and diet in Primatology

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Examples of Tool use in Primatology

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

Egalitarian

Answer 25

principle that all people or beings are equal and deserve equal opportunities

Question 26

Affiliative

Answer 26

actions that are likely to be understood as pleasing or appealing

Question 27

Branches of Hominoidea

Answer 27

Hylobatidae, Pongidae, Hominidae

Question 28

Hylobatidae

Answer 28

includes gibbons, siamangs

Question 29

Genera of Pongidae

Answer 29

Pongo- orangutans
Gorilla
Pan- 2 species: pan troglodytes (chimpanzees) and pan paniscus (bonobos)

Question 30

Hominidae

Answer 30

bipedal primates

Question 31

analogous traits

Answer 31

similar in function but not due to common ancestry

Question 32

homologies

Answer 32

similarities that are due to common ancestry, a principal factor in determining how organisms are assigned to taxonomic categories

Question 33

primitive trait

Answer 33

inherited from a common ancestor

Question 34

derived trait

Answer 34

newly evolved trait

Question 35

taxonomy orders

Answer 35

order - suborder - infraorder - parvorder - superfamily - family

Question 36

quadrupedalism

Answer 36

animals that use four limbs for movement

Question 37

folivore

Answer 37

herbivore that specializes in eating leaves

Question 38

frugivore

Answer 38

animal that thrives eating raw fruits, roots, shoots, nuts, seeds

Question 39

mosaic evolution

Answer 39

mainly from palaeontology, evolutionary change takes place in some body parts or systems without simultaneous change in others