Week 3 Lecture 3 - Primate evolution

Question 1

What order are humans a part of?

Answer 1

the primates

Question 2

What percentage of our genes do we share with chimpanzees?

Answer 2

98%

Question 3

What happened 65 mya?

Answer 3

primates evolved
dinosaurs went extinct

Question 4

What are anthropoids?

Answer 4

primates that look like modern monkeys
abundant 34-23 mya

Question 5

When did monkeys replace apes?

Answer 5

during the Miocene

Question 6

When was the Miocene?

Answer 6

23-5 mya

Question 7

Primate is a diverse taxa, how many species are listed in it?

Answer 7

424

Question 8

What are some characteristics of primates?

Answer 8

• opposable big toe and thumbs
• flat nails, not claws
• locomotion is hind-limb dominated
• dry nose
• forward facing eyes
• binocular vision
• generalised dentition

Question 9

Do all primates have the same characteristics?

Answer 9

no

Question 10

Who is Carl Von Linne?

Answer 10

father of modern taxonomy

Question 11

Who developed the binomial nomenclature?

Answer 11

Carl Von Linne

Question 12

What family are humans a part of?

Answer 12

Hominidae

Question 13

What subfamily are humans?

Answer 13

Homininae (Homo, Pan and Gorilla)

Question 14

What are some characteristics of apes?

Answer 14

• all apes have more flexible shoulders for brachiation and more upright posture
• apes lack tails

Question 15

Are humans great apes?

Answer 15

yes

Question 16

Are monkeys and apes the same?

Answer 16

No

Question 17

What happened 6 mya?

Answer 17

we shared a common ancestor with bonobos and chimpanzees

Question 18

What are the 5 types of great apes?

Answer 18

orangutans
gorilla
humans
chimpanzees
bonbons

Question 19

What is the name for humans?

Answer 19

Homo sapiens

Question 20

Why don’t we have hairier faces?

Answer 20

phylogenetic history - our ancestors had reduced facial hair
adaptive value? - could bald faces improve signalling effectiveness e.g., emotions
- decrease parasites

Question 21

What is socioecology?

Answer 21

study of how ecological forces shape the size and structure of social groups

Question 22

What are some common socioecology of primates?

Answer 22

• most primates are arboreal
• primates have adapted to other habitats
• primates have a slower life history than similarly sized mammals
• most primates live in groups (usually small ones)

Question 23

what is the best living model for the phylogeny of human behaviour and cognition?

Answer 23

chimpanzees and bonobos

Question 24

What are chimpanzees go at and what do they struggle with?

Answer 24

very good at solving physical problems

not so good in the social domain (e.g., social learning

Question 25

Do chimpanzees have TOM?

Answer 25

this is up for debate
one study suggests apes have an implicit TOM