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The Living Primates
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Outline Common primate traits Classification of primates
The various primates Distinctive hominid traits Explanations of variable primate adaptations
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Why Study Primates? Adaptation to environment Anatomical & behavioral
Chimpanzee, Bonobo, Gorilla
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Common Primate Traits Primate traits share all of the traits of mammals covered with hair, warm-blooded, and give birth to live young who are dependent upon parent(s) Physical features Social features
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Common Primate Traits – Physical Features
Rotating forearms Clavicle Omnivorous Grasping hands & opposable thumbs No claws Visual developments Large brain relative to body size Aspects of the reproductive system (single births, development of fetus at birth) Skeletal attributes that correspond to an arboreal existence
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Some Common Primate Traits
Figure 4-1
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Common Primate Traits – Social Features
Diurnal Long dependency Group care & father involvement Importance of play primates learn physical and social skills useful as adults Learning from others imitation versus independent learning Harlow’s monkeys primates learn physical and social skills useful as adults
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Dependency Periods of Primate Offspring
Figure 4-2
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Classification of Primates
There are two suborders in the order Primates Prosimians lemurs, tarsiers, and lorises Anthropoids New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, lesser apes, great apes, and humans
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Simplified Classification of the Living Primates
Figure 4-3
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The Various Primates Prosimians Anthropoids
Greater reliance on smell than anthropoids (and thus longer snout), mobile ears, whiskers, fixed facial expressions Anthropoids Rounded braincase; nonmobile outer ears; smaller, flat faces; dexterous hands. Anthropoids are divided into groups based on characteristics of their noses: platyrrhines (New World monkeys) and catarrhines (Old World monkeys, apes and humans)
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Prosimians Lemurlike forms Lorislike forms Tarsiers
Madagascar and the Comoro Islands give birth to a single offspring, are quadrupeds (though some are vertical clingers and leapers), and are nocturnal Lorislike forms Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa arboreal, nocturnal, and generally give birth to a single offspring Tarsiers The Philippines and Indonesia nocturnal and are insectivores and carnivores controversy as to whether tarsiers should be classified into prosimians or anthropoids
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Anthropoids New World monkeys Old World monkeys The Hominoids
Platyrrhines, some have prehensile tails, and all are arboreal Old World monkeys Catarrhines, and vary in habitat from being arboreal to terrestrial depending upon the species The Hominoids Apes and humans Large brains; long arms; short broad trunks; no tail; wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints with a greater range of movement
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Features of Platyrrhines and Catarrhines
Figure 4-4
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Distinctive Hominid Traits
Physical traits Behavioral abilities
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Physical Traits of Hominids
Bipedalism Large and complex brain Opposable thumb Good hand-eye co-ordination Chin
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Behavioral Abilities Toolmaking Language Other Hominid traits
only hominids are habitual toolmakers and create tools to make other tools Language Symbolic, spoken language Other Hominid traits hunt very large animals completely terrestrial longest dependency period of any other primate division of labor
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Explanations of Variable Primate Adaptations
Body size Determined by three factors time of day a species is active where it is active (arboreal or terrestrial) kind of food eaten Relative brain size ratio of brain size to body size Group size nocturnal (single or pairs) or diurnal (larger groups) large groups can offer protection the amount and density of food resources
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Reflection How could you infer that a fossil primate lived in the trees? Why are primates so smart? Under what conditions would the ability to communicate be adaptive? Why are humans immature for so long?
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