Lecture 7: The Primates Flashcards
Why do we study Non-Human Primates?
- they provide the standard to asses human uniqueness
- we are closely related (90% of our DNA)
- many of our behavioral adaptations are found among other primates: helps us make sense of behaviors thought to be distinctly human
Did we evolve from monkeys?
- NO; not the species that exists today
* we share a common ancestor (50-60 mil yrs ago)
What are chimpanzees?
- apes
* not monkeys
Linnaeus’s Regnum Animale
- worked within a creationist worldview
* classified species of animals
Taxonomies*
• assign and organize organisms to categories according to relatedness and resemblance
phylogeny
• genetic relatedness based on common ancestry
homologies*
• similarities used to assign organisms to the same taxon
analogies*
- similar responses to similar environmental pressures
- convergent evolution* (is the result)
- dolphins are mammals, but share traits with fish
- bats are mammals, but share traits with birds
Primate Family Tree
see screenshot
Primate Tendencies (6)
- grasping ability
- reliance on sight over smell
- reliance on hand over nose
- brain complexity
- parental investment
- sociality
Strepsirrhines (compared to Haplorrhines)
• nostrils tend to be rounder
• smaller
• smaller brains
• nocturnal
• tapetum: reflective film in the eye that helps to see
at night
• solitaryHaplorrhines
- diurnal
* gregarious
new world monkeys
- arboreal (hand over hand)
* prehensile tails** test Q
old world monkeys
- more terrestrial
- sexual dimorphism
- differences b/w male female species(baboons)
humans and apes (Fig 5.3)
see screenshot
ape species
- larger bodies
- longer lifespans
- longer birth intervals and period of infant dependency
- tendency towards upright posture(knuckle walk)
- larger brains
- flat, short faces
- no tails
gibbons
- asiatic
- humans are more closely related to gibbons than any other ape
- long arms
orangutans
-Diet: varied diet of fruit, insects, bark, leaves
-Locomotion: more arboreal and climbs trees
-Social arrangements: Males forage alone, females and young stay together, also marked sexual dimorphism
•most difficult ape to study
•sexual dimorphism
gorillas
-Diet: vegetation rich diet in bulk
-Locomotion: terrestrial (do not spend time in trees)
-Social arrangement: groups of around 20, lives in
Africa, marked sexual dimorphism
chimpanzees
- Diet: prefers fruit, omnivorous
- Locomotion: lighter weight so more arboreal
- Social arrangement: smaller degree of sexual dimorphism, communities of up to 50 chimps
things we consider uniquely human, yet exist among our primate cousins
- learning (young chimps cracking coconuts in 15 min)
- tool use ( “fish” out termites using sticks)
- hunting/patrolling
- symbolic communication (ASL)
the chosen primate (distinctly human)
- share food wisely and routinely
- cooperate in planning and carrying out complex tasks
- use spoken language
- classify others as kin of various types
Primate Tool Use
Termite fishing by Chimpanzees
Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees
Discovered that Chimps make tools, eat and hunt for meat, and have similar social behavior to humans. Completely transformed our understanding of chimps
bonobos
Diet: omnivorous, like chimps
- Locomotion: arboreal
- Social arrangement: the community is centered around females
