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Chapter 5 An Overview the Primates. Primates as Mammals Characteristics of Primates Primate Adaptations Primate Taxonomy A Survey of the Living Primates Endangered Primates. Primates As Mammals. There are over 4,000 species of mammals. Primates are members of the placental subgroup.
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Chapter 5An Overview the Primates • Primates as Mammals • Characteristics of Primates • Primate Adaptations • Primate Taxonomy • A Survey of the Living Primates • Endangered Primates
Primates As Mammals • There are over 4,000 species of mammals. • Primates are members of the placental subgroup. • There are approximately 190 species of nonhuman primates (prosimians, monkeys, and apes)
Characteristics of Primates: Limbs and Locomotion • Tendency toward erect posture. • Flexible, generalized limb structure • Engage in a number of locomotor behaviors.
Characteristics of Primates:Hands and Feet • High degree of grasping ability. • 5 digits on hand and feet. • Opposable thumb and partially opposable great toe. • Tactile pads enriched with sensory nerve fibers at the ends of digits.
Characteristics of Primates: Diet and Teeth • Lack of dietary specialization and tend to eat a wide variety of foods. • Generalized dentition, teeth are not specialized for processing one type of food.
Characteristics of Primates: Senses and the Brain • Color vision (excerpt for nocturnal primates) • Depth perception • Decreased reliance on the sense of smell (olfaction) • Expansion and increased complexity of the brain
Characteristics of Primates: Maturation, Learning, and Behavior • Longer gestation, fewer offspring, delayed maturation, and longer life span. • Greater dependence on flexible, learned behavior. • Tendency to live in social groups. • Tendency for diurnal activity patterns.
Primate Adaptations: Habitats • Most are found in tropical or semitropical areas of the New and Old Worlds. • Most are arboreal, living in forest or woodland habitats. • Some Old World Monkeys have adapted to life on the ground. • Gorillas and chimpanzees spend considerable time on the ground.
Primate Adaptations: Diet and Teeth • Primates are generally omnivorous. • Most eat a combination of fruits, leaves, and insects. • Most have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars and molars.
Primate Adaptations: Locomotion • Most are quadrupedal, using all four limbs in their locomotion. • Brachiating (arm swinging) is found among the apes. • Prehensile tails, found only among the New World Monkeys, are used as an aid to locomotion.
Primate Taxonomy • Order: Primates • Suborders: Prosimii and Anthropoidea • At each succeeding level, finer distinctions are made until the species level is reached.
Prosimians: Lemurs, Lorises, Tarsiers Characteristics: • Rely on olfaction • Laterally placed eyes • Shorter gestation and maturation periods • Dental specialization - the "dental comb”
Anthropoids(Monkeys, Apes and Humans) Characteristics: • Larger brain and body size • Reduced reliance on the sense of smell • Greater degree of color vision • Bony plate at the back of the eye socket • Longer gestation and maturation periods • Fused mandible
Monkeys • 70% of all primate species. • Two groups separated by geographic area and several million years of evolutionary history. • New world monkeys • Old world monkeys
Hominoids (Apes and Humans) Characteristics: • Larger body size • Absence of a tail • Shortened trunk • Complex brain and enhanced cognitive abilities • Longer infant development and dependency
Humans (Homo Sapiens) • Only living species in the family Hominidae. • Primate heritage is evident in anatomy, genetic makeup and aspects of behavior. • Bipedal