Module 15

Question 1

Describe the phylogenetic relationships among Primatomorpha (Primates + Dermoptera) and their sister group Scandentia.

Answer 1

Question 2

Explain the key traits that evolved in primates in response to an arboreal, frugivorous lifestyle, such as grasping extremities, binocular and colour vision, enhanced brain development, and locomotor adaptations like brachiation.

Question 3

Explain the evolutionary significance of early primate-like mammals, such as Purgatorius, Plesidapis, and Carpolestes, and reflect in instances of convergent evolution toward arboreal and frugivorous lifestyles encountered earlier in the course.

Question 4

Compare the morphological adaptations among strepsirrhine and major haplorhine primates. Consider the diversity across these major groups.

Question 5

Discuss the emergence of culture and tool use in non-human primates and consider how these behaviours inform our understanding of cognitive evolution in primates.

Question 6

Introduce the apes (Hominoidea) and outline their evolutionary relationships, with particular emphasis on great apes and their connection to the human lineages within the broader primate phylogeny.