Theme 5

Question 1

When did primates first arrive?

Answer 1

The early Palaeocene

Question 2

What are the phenotypes of primates?

Answer 2

Nails (not claws), separated radius and ulna, upright posture.

Question 3

What are the sensory adaptations of primates?

Answer 3

Reliance on vision, forward facing eyes, stereoscopic vision, eyes enclosed in socket, some colour vision. Less reliance on smell=reduced snout. Increased brain size means higher cognitive functions.

Question 4

What are the dietary adaptations of primates?

Answer 4

Omnivorous diet, diphyodont (2 sets of teeth, baby and adult), heterodont (4 different types of teeth).

Question 5

What are the dental formulas for primates and humans?

Answer 5

Primates: 2133 Humans: 2123

Question 6

Arboreal Evolution Hypothesis

Answer 6

Monkeys live in trees and need hands to grasp

Question 7

Visual Predation Evolution Hypothesis

Answer 7

Hunt prey easier

Question 8

Angiosperm Radiation Evolution Hypothesis

Answer 8

Adapted due to rapid angiosperm evolution

Question 9

Narrow Niche Evolution Hypothesis

Answer 9

Less pressure for monkeys to be on the ground

Question 10

What is the intermembral index and what does it have to be for something to be quadrupedal?

Answer 10

Length of forelimbs/length of hindlimbs. Must be greater than 70.

Question 11

What characteristics are in individuals with low intermembral index?

Answer 11

Vertical clinging and leaping, bipedalism

Question 12

Folivores diet and foraging

Answer 12

Have high, sharp molar cusps; eat leaves

Question 13

Frugivores diet and foraging

Answer 13

Low, rounded molar cusps; fruit stored in cheek pouches

Question 14

Insectivores diet and foraging

Answer 14

Sharp, pointed cusps; eat insects

Question 15

Gummivores diet and foraging

Answer 15

Eat gum, sap, resin

Question 16

Graminivores diet and foraging

Answer 16

Eat grass

Question 17

Strepsirhini characteristics

Answer 17

Small body size, nocturnal, tooth comb, grooming claw, well-developed sense of smell, elongated snout, rhinarium (wet nose)

Question 18

Strepsirhini: Lemuriformes

Answer 18

Five families, 112 species, only on Madagascar. Varous ecological niches, wide range of behaviours and diets.

Question 19

Strepsirhini: Lorisiformes

Answer 19

2 families, 11 species. Found in Africa and South East Asia. Solitary, quadrupedal.

Question 20

Haplorhini characteristics

Answer 20

Larger body size, diurnal, tail, nails on all digits, no rhinarium, decreased smell reliance, increased vision reliance, complete closure of back orbits, trichromatic vision, large brain relative to body size.

Question 21

Haplorhini: Tarsiers

Answer 21

5 species found in south east asia, nocturnal and solitary, grooming claw, vertical clinging and leaping, elongated tarsal bones, eat insects, can rotate head 180 degrees, eyes same size as brain.

Question 22

Platyrrhini Characteristics

Answer 22

70+ species, tropical and subtropical forests, central and south america, broad flat nose, outward facing nostrils, diurnal and arboreal, prehensile tail, 2133 dental formula.

Question 23

Catarrhini Characteristics

Answer 23

Old world monkeys, apes and humans. Tropical and subtropical forests and savannah, Africa and Asia, narrow noses and downward facing nostrils, ischial callosities, greater size range and sexual dimorphism, dental formula: 2123

Question 24

Catarrhini: Cercopithecoids

Answer 24

Macaques, baboons, mandarins.

Question 25

Catarrhini: Colobinae

Answer 25

Langurs, Colobus, and Probiscis monkeys, specialized stomachs, reduced thumbs.

Question 26

Hominoidae

Answer 26

Largest, diurnal, no tails, nails on all digits, more complex behaviour, brain, and cognitive abilities. Increased period of infant development and dependency.

Question 27

Hylobatidae

Answer 27

8 species, rainforests and South East Asia. Brachiation, reduced thumbs, frugivores, monogamous, little sexul dimorphism.

Question 28

Orangutan

Answer 28

Found in Borneo and Sumatra, largest of Asian apes, arboreal, knuckle-walkers, solitary, sexual dimorphism, large cheek pads and laryngeal sacs, less than 30000 in the wild.

Question 29

Gorilla

Answer 29

2 species, largest primate, Western and Central Africa. Terrestrial knuckle walkers, vegetation, silver backs.

Question 30

Chimpanzees

Answer 30

Found in Africa, omnivores, males dominant over females.

Question 31

Bonobos

Answer 31

Slightly built, Democratic Republic of Congo, females dominant over males, non-reproductive sex.

Question 32

Northarctus

Answer 32

Estimated to be 50 million years old-defining features being human like hands (first time seen)

Question 33

When did colour vision develop and why?

Answer 33

23 million years ago. Spot differences between food.

Question 34

What is opsin?

Answer 34

Proteins that allow us to perceive colour. We started with 2 and developed a 3rd, created due to duplication in genes and mutations.

Question 35

Where were the first bipedal fossils found?

Answer 35

Ethiopia (Lucy).

Question 36

What are the consequences of bipedalism?

Answer 36

Back problems. Spine has weird curve to help us stand upright, but this is unnatural. Creates wedge fractures.

Question 37

What do our brains share with primates?

Answer 37

Hand eye coordination and visual area

Question 38

Differences in our brains

Answer 38

Baby monkeys understand object permanence, human babies don't, which is largely due to longer childhood, which helps us learn more but slower. Our cortex contains more neurons (16 million)

Question 39

Amphioxus

Answer 39

No brain, but have DNA that could have created a human brain.