The Living Primates/ primate evolution

Question 1

Why do we study non human primates?

Answer 1

• understand physical and behavioural diversity
• living models for interpreting hominid fossil remains
• conservation

Question 2

What are the characteristics of chordata (vertebrate)

Answer 2

• has spinal cord, covered by vertebrae
• bilateral symmetry (left side same as right)
• share same skeletal design (arms, legs etc)

Question 3

What are some characteristics of mammalian (mammals)

Answer 3

• 200 mya was first
• viviparous (births live offspring)
• many are placental (famales connected to fetus through placenta) (limited offspring)
• females possess mammary glands which provide food for offspring
• homoiotherms: regulate body temperature (fur, fluctuation of blood cell size)
• dentition (2 sets of teeth, different types of teeth)
• skeletal structure ( limbs tucked under body)

Question 4

What is the dental formula for mammals

Answer 4

2 incisors
1 canine
2 premolars
3 molars

Question 5

What are primate characteristics

Answer 5

• hands/feet (opposable thumbs, nails no claws (most), lots of nerves in tips of fingers)
• forward facing eyes/ stereoscopic vision
• long period of infant dependency and learning
• mainly tropical, arboreal, vegetarian
• found 30 degrees above or below equator

Question 6

Describe prosimians

Answer 6

• found in Asia, Africa, Madagascar
• small medium sized
• nocturnal (mostly)
• vertical climbing and leaping
• quadrupedal

Question 7

What’s the difference between old world and new world monkeys

Answer 7

Old world nostrils are downward pointing, new world are broad and flat. Old world have 2 premolars new world have 3. New world all live in trees, old world is trees and ground

Question 8

Describe hominoids

Answer 8

• old world apes and humans
• absence of tails
• dentition
• differences in skeletal structure and shape

Question 9

What is “the fossil record”

Answer 9

• “bone that have turned to stone”

- impressions of ancient life forms (footprints, endocasts)

Question 10

Whats a holotype?

Answer 10

The best or most complete form of a fossil; standard for other fossil recoveries are compared

Question 11

What is an analogy?

Answer 11

Similarities organisms share due to similar adaptation to similar selective pressure (convergent evolution)

Question 12

What is homology

Answer 12

Similarities organisms share because of common ancestry; taxonomic significance

Question 13

What is a primitive trait

Answer 13

Trait that has not changed from ancestral state

Question 14

What is a derived trait

Answer 14

Trait that has changed from ancestral state

Question 15

Describe the Paleocene?

Answer 15

• 65-53 mya

- primate origins : plesiadapiformes

Question 16

Describe the Eocene

Answer 16

• 53-37 mya
• abundant fossil evidence for early primates (prosimians and possible anthropoids)
• fossils recovered in NA and Europe (closer to the equator at this time)

Question 17

Describe oligocene

Answer 17

• 37-22.5 mya

- definite anthropoid proliferation (unambiguous remains 36 mya)

Question 18

Describe the Miocene

Answer 18

• 22.5-5 mya

- abundance of fossil apes in old world; hominin split from apes in africa

Question 19

Describe the Pliocene

Answer 19

• 5-1.8 mya

- first hominin fossils, first artifacts

Question 20

Describe the Pleistocene

Answer 20

• 1.8mya-10000 ya

- hominin migration outside of Africa; appearance of modern humans, origins of socially complex societies

Question 21

Describe the Holocene

Answer 21

• 10000 ya- to present

- spread of agriculture, rise of large scale civilizations

Question 22

What is Pangea

Answer 22

Movement of continental land masses - implications for climate and evolution of living primates

Question 23

What did the continents separate?

Answer 23

End of the Mesozoic beginning of Cenozoic about 65 million years ago (early palaeocene)

Question 24

What are the two main super families of the of the Eocene primates?

Answer 24

• Omomyoidea (Eocene tarsiers)

- adapoidea (Eocene lemurs)

Question 25

Describe Oliocene primates

Answer 25

• first anthropoids
• temperature cooled -less rain forest
• anthropoids became prominent and completed with prosimians (nocturnal)

Question 26

What were the major adaptations that made anthropoids distinct?

Answer 26

• change in diet - larger stronger teeth, reinforced skulls and jaw bones for seeds instead of soft fruit

Question 27

What are Paleoanthropologists still looking for?

Answer 27

• common ancestor of monkeys apes and humans
• when platyrrhines and catarrhines diverged
• when catarrhines branched into owm and hominoids
• looking in the oligocene

Question 28

What is the datum depression in Egypt?

Answer 28

Fossils layer created by ancient rain forests, lots of anthropoid and prosimians fossils

Question 29

What is the Miocene characterized by?

Answer 29

• emergence of fossil apes and great morphological variation

- by late Miocene many apr species went extinct and monkeys dominated

Question 30

Describe proconsul

Answer 30

• mixture of ape and monkey like arributes
• relatively large (33-110 lbs)
• fruit eater
• limb proportion similar to quadruped monkey
• no tale

Question 31

Describe Kenyapithicus

Answer 31

-earliest definite hominoids fossil

Question 32

Describe sivapithecus

Answer 32

• from Europe and Asia

- ancestor to modern orangutan

Question 33

Describe gigantopithecus

Answer 33

-Largest known primate (10ft 600 lbs)

Became extinct 250000 ya

Question 34

Describe dryopithecus

Answer 34

• great ape
• European
• has y-5 molars
• capable of suspensory locomotion