Lecture 7: The Primates

Question 1

Why do we study Non-Human Primates?

Answer 1

• 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

Question 2

Did we evolve from monkeys?

Answer 2

• NO; not the species that exists today

* we share a common ancestor (50-60 mil yrs ago)

Question 3

What are chimpanzees?

Answer 3

• apes

* not monkeys

Question 4

Linnaeus’s Regnum Animale

Answer 4

• worked within a creationist worldview

* classified species of animals

Question 5

Taxonomies*

Answer 5

• assign and organize organisms to categories according to relatedness and resemblance

Question 6

phylogeny

Answer 6

• genetic relatedness based on common ancestry

Question 7

homologies*

Answer 7

• similarities used to assign organisms to the same taxon

Question 8

analogies*

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

Primate Family Tree

Answer 9

see screenshot

Question 10

Primate Tendencies (6)

Answer 10

• grasping ability
• reliance on sight over smell
• reliance on hand over nose
• brain complexity
• parental investment
• sociality

Question 11

Strepsirrhines (compared to Haplorrhines)

Answer 11

• nostrils tend to be rounder
• smaller
• smaller brains
• nocturnal
   • tapetum: reflective film in the eye that helps to see 
     at night
• solitary

Question 12

Haplorrhines

Answer 12

• diurnal

* gregarious

Question 13

new world monkeys

Answer 13

• arboreal (hand over hand)

* prehensile tails** test Q

Question 14

old world monkeys

Answer 14

• more terrestrial
• sexual dimorphism
  
  • differences b/w male female species(baboons)

Question 15

humans and apes (Fig 5.3)

Answer 15

see screenshot

Question 16

ape species

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

gibbons

Answer 17

• asiatic
• humans are more closely related to gibbons than any other ape
• long arms

Question 18

orangutans

Answer 18

-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

Question 19

gorillas

Answer 19

-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

Question 20

chimpanzees

Answer 20

• Diet: prefers fruit, omnivorous
• Locomotion: lighter weight so more arboreal
• Social arrangement: smaller degree of sexual dimorphism, communities of up to 50 chimps

Question 21

things we consider uniquely human, yet exist among our primate cousins

Answer 21

• learning (young chimps cracking coconuts in 15 min)
• tool use ( “fish” out termites using sticks)
• hunting/patrolling
• symbolic communication (ASL)

Question 22

the chosen primate (distinctly human)

Answer 22

• share food wisely and routinely
• cooperate in planning and carrying out complex tasks
• use spoken language
• classify others as kin of various types

Question 23

Primate Tool Use

Answer 23

Termite fishing by Chimpanzees

Question 24

Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees

Answer 24

Discovered that Chimps make tools, eat and hunt for meat, and have similar social behavior to humans. Completely transformed our understanding of chimps

Question 25

bonobos

Answer 25

Diet: omnivorous, like chimps

• Locomotion: arboreal
• Social arrangement: the community is centered around females