Chapter 5: What It Means to Be a Primate Flashcards
mammalia
the class to which all mammals belong; this includes placental, egg-laying, and marsupial mammals
quadrupedal
walking on all four limbs
prehensile
grasping
opposable
the thumb or big toe can make contact with the tip of each of the other digits on the same hand/foot
stereoscopic vision
characterized by overlapping fields of view, allowing humans and other primates to see in three dimensions
postorbital bar
the bony ring that separates the eye orbit from the back of the skull; within Primates, this feature is found among the prosimians
nocturnal
active during the night
olfactory
relating to the sense of smell
neocortex
the outer part of the brain that is involved in higher functions such as reasoning, abstract thought, and language
diurnal
active during the day
trichromatic
a condition in which an animal possesses three light-sensitive pigments in the cones in the retina of the eye, making it possible to see blue, green, and red
dichromatic
a condition in which an animal possesses two light-sensitive pigments in the cones in the retina of the eye, making it possible to see blue and green
estrus
period of sexual receptivity in females, correlated with ovulation
petrosal bulla
a bony outgrowth on the base of the skull that houses the three bones of the middle ear
diphyodont
having two sets of teeth: permanent (adult) and deciduous (baby) teeth
heterodont
having different kinds of teeth, eg. molar,s premolars, incisors, canines
omnivorous
eating a variety of different foods, including both plants and animals
dental formula
the number of each type of tooth in one quadrant of the mouth
r-selection strategy
a reproductive strategy in which females have many offspring and invest little parental care in those offspring
K-selection strategy
a reproductive strategy in which females have few offspring and invest greater parental care in those offspring
arboreal hypothesis
the hypothesis that primate features evolved as adaptations to a life in the trees
visual predation hypothesis
the hypothesis ascribed to Matt Cartmill that primate features evolved as adaptations to insect predation
angiosperm radiation hypothesis
the hypothesis that primate features evolved as adaptations to flowering plants
narrow niche hypothesis
the hypothesis that the suite of characteristics seen in primates evolved not only from selection pressure for fine branch feeding, but also from the relaxation of previous selection pressures