Lecture 4 Flashcards
Indris
- Diurnal
- The largest prosimians
- The most similar to “higher” monkeys
- Good jumpers
Aye-aye
- Nightly, solidarity
- The largest nightly lemur
- Long middle finger for searching under the bark
Lorises, pottos
- Slow
- The size of a cat
- Hands very adapted for grasping
- Saliva slightly poisonous and bad tasting
Galagos
- Fast
- The most abundant African primates
- They jump 30x as long as their size
Strepsirrhini
- Snout
- Open orbits
- Lateral position of eyes
- No macula of retina
- Seasonal mating
Haplorrhini
- Nose
- Closed orbits
- Frontal position of eyes
- Macula of retina present
- Monthly cycle
Capuchin
- Defence against moschitos - they place a substance on their fur, which contains moschito repellent
- Bigger than marmosets
- Nails
- They are only primates with grasping tail
- Capuchins: use of tools
Subspecies of gorilla
- Western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla)
- Cross river gorilla (gorilla gorilla diekli)
- Eastern lowland (G. Beringei graueri)
- Mountain gorilla (G. beringei berubgei)
Chimpanzee (pan troglodytes)
- The most successful human-like monkeys
- A 100 years ago: millions; today; 200 000
Bonobo (pan paniscus)
- Darker color
- Longer extremities
- More slender
- Less aggressive
- Mating with faces together: reduction of tension
- Today app. 6 000
Lemurs (lemuroidea)
Living area: Madagascar and Comoro islands
- app. 100 species left, they became extinct everywhere else
- here, survival is possible, as there is no competition from other primates
- they live in very different ecological niches
“Lemures” = night ghosts of the dead
- the majority of species are active at night and solitary, larger species are also diurnal
- Voices at night: alarm calls
- a good sense of smell
- marking of territory, mating
Herbivores: fruit, flowers
Long, bushy tail: arboreal animals - balance
Females are dominant
Low basal metabolism
- They sleep in groups
- Even small, otherwise solitary species
- They use sunbathing as a source of heat
- Particularly larger, diurnal species
Wide-nosed monkeys (platyrrhini)
New world monkeys - they live in Central and South America
- Their nostrils are turned toward the sides
- The majority is herbivorous, some species also eat insects
Highly cooperative species
- Large groups
- Very inventive
Marmosets (callithricidae)
- Small
- Most promotive “higher” monkeys
- Claws (nail on the thumb on foot)
- Thumb is not yet opposable
- Tail is not grasping
- They cannot change the face expression
Omnivore monkeys with tail of the old world (cercopithecinae)
All are African monkeys
- Exception: macaque (Gribraltar, Asia)
Most species
- Sleep on the trees or in inaccessible rock walls
- During the day they feed in bigger groups on the ground
- Partly terrestrial species
Significant sexual dimorphism
- Males almost two times bigger than females
- Males are much more aggressive
- They hunt for food: other monkeys, flamingos, other animals
Typical anatomical features of omnivorous monkeys with tail of the old world
- Ischial callosities
- “Cheek-pockets”
- Temporary storage of food
- Competition for suitable food
- They don’t share food with other individuals
- Genital swelling
- Sign of ovulation
Typical anatomical features of the herbivorous monkeys with tail - of the old world
Without cheek pockets
Adaptation to low-protein food, rich in fibers
- Baggy stomach
- Stomach is partitioned into sections
- Different combinations of bacteria and enzymes decompose cellulose
- More acidic stomachs contents compared to other monkeys
- Faster digestion
- Sensitive stomachs
- The long intestine
