Chapter 6: The Living Primates

Question 0

What are cladistics?

Answer 0

Grouping things based on shared physically features.

Cladograms

Question 1

What is the aim of primatology?

Answer 1

How different primates have adapted anatomically and behaviourally to their environments. May help to understand evolution and behaviour of the human primates

Question 2

Explain phylogenetics

Answer 2

Changes in physical features.

Phylogenetic tree-like a cladogram but adds time and more detail

Question 3

What are the major primate divisions?

Answer 3

1) Prosimians: lemurs, lorse like and
tarsiers
*strepsirhines (wet noses and includes lemurs and lorse like)
*Haplorhines (single noses: tarsiers and anthropoids)
2) anthropoids: humans apes and monkeys
*NW: platyrrhines: single broad, flat noses
OW: catorrhini: single, narrow, down facing nostrils (
3) Hominoids: humans and apes
*hylobates: lesser apes (gibbons and siamangs)
* pongids: great apes ( Orangs, gorillas, chimps)
*hominoids : humans and ancestors

Question 4

What are the major primate characteristics?

Answer 4

• characterized by their lack of extreme specializations

- common traits such as skulls, hands and pelvis

Question 5

Explain the locomotor system with examples

Answer 5

Anatomical structures associated with posture and movement

1. ) vertical clinging and leaping (tarsiers and Sifika)
2. ) slow climbers (lorises)
3. ) branch runners (capuchins)
4. ) ground running and walking (mandrills, baboons)
5. ) brachiation: arms and limbs to swing in trees (gibbon, siamang)
6. ) knuckle walking (gorillas)
7. ) bipedalism (humans): change in centre of gravity where spinal cord enters head

Question 6

What are the 3 common primate habitats?

Answer 6

Tropical rainforests
Woodlands
Grasslands

Question 7

Explain tropical rain forests

Answer 7

• They are hot, humid and cloudy.
• rains during most months
• abundance of vegetation (year round growing seasons)
• unlimited food supply
• good available vertically

Question 8

Explain woodlands

Answer 8

Less continuous canopy
Less rain
Food more limited
*ground dwelling primates

Question 9

Explain savannahs (grasslands)

Answer 9

Unpredictable rain fall
Micro habitats
Move in between woodlands and grassland because it gives more food and shelter

Question 10

What are the 3 major trends of info processing?

Answer 10

1. ) vision: front facing eyes, stereoscopic vision, colour vision
2. ) specialization of hands: prehensile grasping hands * opposable thumb*
   - Arboreal: longer fingers and palms, shorter thumbs
   - semi arboreal: chips baboons
   - terrestrial-thumbs higher up
3. ) Info processing: larger and more sophisticated brain
   - human frontal lobes are larger
   * large brain relative to body size *

Question 11

Explain the 2 different types of communication

Answer 11

1) referential: vocalizations that refer to an object or event
2.) symbolic: needs to be learned
Unique to humans
Meaning couldn’t be guessed arbitrarily
*meaning even when whatever is referred to isn’t present

Question 12

Explain general primate social behaviour

Answer 12

Prolonged infant dependency
Social learning through play
Vocalization

Question 13

Explain the social behaviour or rangatangs, chimps, and gorillas

Answer 13

Orangatangs: males live alone, females with children
Chimps: females and children move to groups headed by a dominant male and all male born in an area
Gorillas : groups headed by a *silverback and females they defend. Females move between groups

Question 14

How are humans unique ?

Answer 14

1. Bipedalism: walk up right (hands free)
2. Large complex brains
3. ) female sexuality
4. ) tool making: invent and innovate
5. ) language capability (syntax)
6. ) possession of culture because we don’t have other things
7. ) technology to modify environment