1. Primates

2. PRIMATES
Taxonomy and Characteristics

3. Mammal Taxonomy Primates (330) Mammals Monotremes (5)
Marsupial mammals
Order Didelphimorphia: American opossums
Order Paucituberculata: shrew opossums
Order Microbiotheria: monito del monte
Order Notoryctemorphia: marsupial moles
Order Dasyuromophia: Tasmanian devil, Thylacine, numbats
Order Peramelemorphia: bandicoots and bilbies
Order: Diprotodontia: kangaroos, wallabies, koala, possums
Placental mammals
Pangolins (8)
Armadillos (21)
Anteaters, sloths, tamanduas (10)
Rabbits, hares (93)
Rodents (2,277)
Elephant shrews (15)
Primates (330)
Tree shrews (20)
Colugos (2)
Bats (1,116)
Otter shrews, golden moles, tenrecs (51)
Hedgehogs, moonrats, gymnures (24)
Shrews, moles (428)
Carnivores (287)
Even-toed ungulates (240)
Whales, dolphins, porpoises (84)
Aardvark (1)
Odd-toed ungulates (17)
Hyraxes (4)
Manatees, dugongs (5)
Elephants (3)
Mammals

4. Primate Distribution
Primates are found primarily in tropical regions in 92 countries around the world
Neotropics:
New World monkeys
Madagascar:
Lemurs (prosimian)
Asia:
Lorises (prosimian)
Tarsiers (prosimian)
Old World monkeys
Gibbons/siamangs (lesser apes)
Orangutans (great apes)
Africa:
Galagos (prosimian)
Pottos (prosimian)
Old World monkeys
Gorillas (great ape)
Chimps/bonobos (great ape)

5. Primates – evolutionary model
Early prosimians
30 million years ago
20 million years ago
15 million years ago
10 million years ago
5 million years ago
2 million years ago
Orangutans
Gorillas
Humans
Bonobos
Chimps
Order: Primates One possible evolutionary model
Gibbons
Monkeys

6. Primates – General Characteristics
The following apply to most primates:
Opposable first digit on hands and feet
Social animals
Arboreal part or all of the time
Color vision
Omnivorous
DeBrazza’s guenons

7. Primates – General Characteristics
Forward-facing eyes for stereoscopic vision (ability to judge distance)
Five digits on each limb, usually with nails
Longer gestation, reduced number of offspring
Increased complexity of brain
Drawings by Sue Cockrell

8. Prosimians
Apes
PRIMATES
New World monkeys
Old World monkeys

9. Prosimians (pro = before, simian = monkey/ape)
Includes: lemurs (Madagascar), lorises (Asia), tarsiers (Asia), pottos and bushbabies/galagos (Africa)
Primarily nocturnal
Excellent sense of smell
Smaller brains than other primates
Tarsiers
Pygmy loris
Red ruffed lemur
photo by Katie Remine
photo by Dana Payne

10. Monkeys
Includes (among others): marmosets, tamarins, macaques, howler monkeys, capuchins, baboons, colobus monkeys, mandrills, spider monkeys
Primarily diurnal
Have some form of tail
Fore and hindlegs similar in length
Japanese macaque
Pygmy marmoset

11. Old World & New World Monkeys
Inhabit neotropics in Mexico and South and Central America
Native to Africa and Asia
Do not have prehensile tails
Nostrils close together
Some have prehensile tails
Toughened rump patches
Wide, sideways-facing nostrils
Spider monkey
photo by Dana Payne
DeBrazza’s guenon

12. Black and white colobus monkey
Japanese macaque
Old World Monkeys
Lion-tailed macaque
Patas monkeys

13. New World Monkeys Spider monkey Goeldi’s monkey Pygmy marmoset
photo by Dana Payne
Goeldi’s monkey
New World Monkeys
Pygmy marmoset
photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ
Golden lion tamarin

14. Apes Lesser apes include: gibbons and siamangs
Great apes include: orangutans (Asia), chimpanzees (common and bonobos) and gorillas (Africa)
Found in Africa and southeast Asia
Tails are absent
Long arms relative to body length
Siamang
Mountain gorilla

15. Lesser Apes (family Hylobatidae)
Siamangs

16. Great Apes (family Pongidae)
Chimpanzees
Lowland gorilla
Orangutans

17. Apes—Locomotion Species Primary Locomotion Patterns
Bonobo knuckle-walking
Chimpanzee knuckle-walking
Gibbons brachiation, bipedal walk
Gorilla knuckle-walking
Orangutans fist-walking, suspensory climbing
Siamangs
Orangutans
Gorilla

18. PRIMATES
Social Structure and Behavior

19. Social Behavior of Primates
Primates are social animals
Only a few species are more solitary (orangutans, tarsiers, galagos)
Galago
Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ
Orangutan

20. Social Behavior of Primates
Strong mother-infant bond throughout the slow maturation period, during which significant learning occurs
Golden lion tamarins
Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ
Western lowland gorilla
Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ
Gorillas

21. Social Strategies of Primates
Social organization is complex and dynamic, influenced by:
age, gender, kinship, dominance ranking
short- and long-term alliances
Troop of Guinea baboons in West Africa
Photo by Katie Remine

22. Social Strategies of Primates
Social strategies of prosimian and monkey species at Woodland Park Zoo:
Prosimians
Red ruffed lemurs
social structure variable: ♀+♂, or multi♀+multi♂, 5 to 16 in group
diurnal, little sexual dimorphism, ♂ dominant over ♀♀groups
nocturnal lemurs are more solitary than diurnal lemurs
Monkeys
Tamarins: only dominant ♀ breeds, ♂ dominant to ♀, 5 to 8 in group
Macaques: ♂+multi♀ or ♂♂+multi♀, 4 to 30 in group
Patas monkeys: ♂+multi♀, 5 to 34 in group, ♀♀ engage in boundary disputes but ♂ do not join in, ♀remain with group but ♂ disperse, allomothering
Colobus monkeys: ♂+multi♀ (males have short tenure – 2 years), 7 to 11 in group, allomothering common

23. Social Strategies of Apes
Gorillas
Photo by Ryan Hawk/WPZ

24. Primates – Communication
Social interactions require a variety of modes of communication:
Olfactory – scent marking, pheromones for sexual interaction
Tactile – grooming, touching
Visual – facial expression, tail position, body posture, piloerection, hand gestures
Auditory – calls and vocalizations
Red ruffed lemurs
Patas monkeys

25. Primates – Tool Use
A tool is an object that can be manipulated to complete a task
Apes are capable of altering objects to facilitate a task (tool making)
All of the great apes have been observed using tools in the wild; bonobos, chimpanzees and orangutans have been observed making tools
Gorilla
Photo by Dennis Dow/WPZ

26. Primates – Culture
Culture is considered to be a set of behavioral traits passed on through learning
Culture in apes is reflected through variations between populations of apes in:
Hunting behaviors
Tool-making and tool use
Juveniles often learn behaviors from adults, observing and practicing over a long period of time
Chimpanzees at Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania
Gorilla
Photo by Katie Remine

27. Primates – Culture: Chimpanzee cultural variation across long-term study sites
Gorilla

28. Threats to Primates Deforestation Hunted for meat and skins
Captured for pet trade
Killed in retribution for raiding crops
Susceptible to human diseases
Parts used in traditional medicine
Gorilla
Forest understory, West Africa
Photo by Katie Remine
Photo by Katie Remine

29. More to learn!
New species are being discovered and new information is uncovered about primate behavior every year.
This understanding can inspire deeper appreciation and protection for the world’s primates.
Gorilla
Photo by Katie Remine

30. Woodland Park Zoo 2013 www.zoo.org
All photos by
K. Remine/M. White/J. Mears unless otherwise noted.
All WPZ photos property of Woodland Park Zoo. All rights reserved.