Lecture XV - Primates (Exam 3)

Question 1

What is a Primate?

Answer 1

-Prosimians and Anthropoidea
-Most are arboreal- live in trees
-Hands and feet that are efficient at grasping
-Flattened nails instead of claws

Question 2

What is a Prosimian?

Answer 2

-Paraphyletic group
-Mostly small-bodied
-Arboreal
-Mostly nocturnal

Question 3

What is a Lemur?

Answer 3

-Lemurs live on Madagascar
-Nocturnal and diurnal species
-Most are omnivorous

Question 4

What is a Lorises?

Answer 4

-Native to Southeast Asia
-Nocturnal
-Some insectivores- primarily eat insects
-Some frugivores- primarily eat fruit

Question 5

What is a Tarsiers?

Answer 5

-Native to Southeast Asian Islands
-Nocturnal
-Only extant entirely carnivorous primates

Question 6

What is a Pottos?

Answer 6

-Native to Africa
-Nocturnal
-Eat fruits and insects
-vestigial index finger- helps them grab onto tree branches

Question 7

Which of these statements is true, regarding the prosimians?

Answer 7

a.) They are all nocturnal-No, lemurs are diurnal
b.) They all live in Southeast Asia -No, Pottos live in Africa, and Lemurs live in Madagascar
c.) They do not include any carnivores- No, Tarsiers are carnivourous
d.) They are a paraphyletic group- correct answer

Question 8

What is an Anthropoid?

Answer 8

-New world monkeys
-Old world monkeys
-Gibbons
-Hominidae

Question 9

What is a New World Monkey?

Answer 9

-Native to Central and South America (denser forests in South America)
-Have prehensile tails- a synapomorphy of new world monkeys
-Lineage moved to South America from Africa about 40 million years ago
-Gliders, Anteaters, and Opposssum are found in Africa

Question 10

What is an Old World Monkey?

Answer 10

-native to Africa and Asia

-do not have prehensile tails

-more closely related to the apes than to the New World monkeys

Question 11

What is a Gibbon?

Answer 11

-Known as the lesser Apes

-Lack tails

-Native to Southeast Asia

Question 12

What is a Hominid?

Answer 12

hominids include:
orangutans
gorillas
bonobos
chimps
humans
-all lack tails

Question 13

What is an Orangutan?

Answer 13

includes two species

-native to Borneo and Sumatra (Southeast Asian islands)

-quadrupedal locomotion

Question 14

What is a Gorilla?

Answer 14

-western and eastern gorilla

-native to tropical Africa

-largest extant hominids

-quadrupedal locomotion

Question 15

What is a Chimpanzee?

Answer 15

common chimpanzee and bonobo

-native to tropical Africa

-the closest living relatives of humans

-quadrupedal locomotion

Question 16

What is a Hominin?

Answer 16

Homo sapiens and more than 20 extinct, bipedal relatives

Hominins diverged from chimpanzees in Africa between 6 and 7 million years ago.

Bipedalism is a synapomorphy of hominins.

Question 17

Hominin genera

Answer 17

Homo
Paranthropus
Australopithecus
Ardipithecus
Orronin
Sahelanthropus
-messy taxonomy
-Australopithecus is the ancestor of Homo
-Australopithecus is paraphyletic

Question 18

Characteristics of ancient hominins

Answer 18

-sloped faces
-prominent brow ridge
-robust jaws
-large teeth
-relatively small brains

Question 19

Characteristics of Homo

Answer 19

-flatter faces
-reduced brow ridge
-less robust jaws
-smaller teeth
-large brain

Question 20

Hominin lineages

Answer 20

Hominins evolved in Africa.
-Brain size greatly increased in the lineage leading to humans.
-Body size also increased in the lineage leading to humans.
The human culture evolved.

Question 21

Evolution of Homo sapiens

Answer 21

-evolved in Africa ~200,000 years ago
-some left Africa about 60,000 years ago
-H. neanderthalensis and H. erectus were still present in Europe and Asia, respectfully at this time
-Our species may have driven the other species to extinction

Question 22

Evolution of primates

Answer 22

1.) nocturnal lifestyle
2.) eyes in front of face; grasping hands and feet; arboreal lifestyle; finger and toe nails
3.) diurnal lifestyle
4.) loss of tail
5.) bipedal locomotion; foot for walking, not grasping; reduced hair

Question 23

Conclusions

Answer 23

-Prosimians form a paraphyletic group
-Old-world monkeys are more closely related to hominids (apes and humans) than new world monkeys
-Hominids include great apes (orangutans, gorillas, chimps) and humans
-Chimps are the closest extant relatives of humans
-Humans are the only extant hominin species