The Living Primates Anthropology 206
The Living Primates
Anthropology 206
Kim & Anthony Lakas
2010
Primate Characteristics
 Fused auditory ______
 Pentadactylism
 Forward-facing eyes for _________________ vision (allowing depth perception)
 Increased reliance on vision: reduced noses, snouts (smaller, flattened), loss of vibrissae
(whiskers), and relatively small, hairless ears
 __________ _____________ for power grip (holding on) and precision grip (picking up
small objects)
 ____________ fingers aid in power grip
 _______________ teeth for an opportunistic, omnivorous diet; loss of some primitive
mammalian dentition, humans have lost two premolars
 Progressive and increasingly efficient development of gestational processes
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The Living Primates Anthropology 206
 Prolongation of postnatal life periods
 Reduced litter size—usually just _______ (allowing mobility with clinging young and
more individual attention to young)
Sub Order ______________ (also called Stepsirrhini)

PROSIMIAN CHARACTERISTICS
 1. More Primitive; Similar to the ___________ primate ancestors.
 2. Greater reliance on the sense of smell – Large _______________ bulbs
 3. Elongated snout
 4. Bare Rhinarium (______)
 5. Small body size.
 6. Often lacking some typical primate characteristics such as color vision, bony eye cups,
and claws instead of nails on some digits.
 7. Usual mode of locomotion is vertical clinging and leaping (VCL).
 8. Usually nocturnal.
 9. Tapetum lucidum – producing “______ __________”
 10. Often solitary.
 11. Unfused frontal and mandibular symphesis
 12. Lower incisors are ______________-forming a tooth comb. Helps with ___________
– eating gums and saps.
Super Family _____________________
Family Lemuridae
All creatures in family Lemuroidae Live on Island of ___________________
 Multiple species of “true lemurs”
 Social
 _______________ – active at dawn and dusk
 Females are dominant
 Use scent marking
 Males and females involved in ‘stink fights’
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 ______-like faces
 Omnivorous
Super family LEMUROIDEA
Family ______________________
 These prosimians seem to be the most evolved, in the sense that they
resemble____________ the most.
 _________ faced
 Indri: Largest lemur, ______’
 Sifakas: meduium sized, locomotion usually leaping from tree to tree, running on ground
 Avahi smaller sized
Super family LEMUROIDEA
Family ______________________
 the only species left in this family is the aye-aye, a solitary and nocturnal creature with
unique features for a primate.
 Fills the _______________niche
 They have a _______on the third digit.
Super family LORISOIDEA
Family – __________________
 Include _______ and ___________ lorises of Asia
 Potto and __________of Africa
 Most ‘primitive’ and widespread prosimians
 fore and hind limbs of equal length and very short tails
 feed on fruits and gum and slow-moving prey
 practice ‘________ ___________by moving extremely slowly through thick vegetation
which hides them from predators
Super family LORISOIDEA
Family – ____________________
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 In Superfamily Lorisoidea due to circulatory pattern in their brains
 Mouse and dwarf ‘lemurs’ of Madagascar
 4 ________________ glands
 Frequent twin births
 Some species have bold markings on their faces, such as eye rings or nose stripes. The fur
is often thick and woolly.
 Characterized by unusually long_____, large, thin, and membranous ears; They have
large, forward-facing eyes, reflecting their nocturnal lifestyle, compact bodies, and long,
delicate fingers with rounded tips.
 all ______________ and __________________. They generally forage on their own, but
roost during the day in small social groups.
Superfamily – taxonomic level debated. Mayr kept them separate
Family - __________________
 Like prosimians, they have a simple digestive tract, are nocturnal insectivores, have legs
built for leaping (_______ _________), use grooming claws, and have an _______
________.
 Like anthropoids, they have a complete________ ___________, a more advanced
placenta, have a simple dry nose, and lack both a dental comb and the tapetum lucidum in
their eyes. They also show a relatively larger brain than prosimians (mostly_______
_________).
 Unique fused ____________________ with expanded tarsus and calcanius.
 Molars with sharp pointy cusps.
_____________________ also called Haplorhini
 The rhinarium is dry and hairy; nostrils are more rounded
 The upper lip is continuous and ___ attached to the gum; allows for more expressive face
 Eyes lack ______________ _________________ and do not reflect light
 Larger brain
 Reduced snout and less reliant on sense of smell
 Binocular and _____________________ vision
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 Color vision
 Trend towards longer arms than legs
 ___________ frontal and mandible
Infraorder Platyrrhini – ________ World Monkey
 Outward facing, broad nostrils, flat, dry nose
 All but one genus, the owl monkeys, are diurnal
 _______a bony tube between eardrum and outer ear
 Large brains and highly developed vision
 Many exhibit complex social structures and family groups
 Some have special scent glands
 _______ ischial callosities (bare patches of skin on rump)
 Imperfect opposability of thumb and poorly developed finger grip
 The _____toe is large and strongly opposable
 Long, well developed tail, _____________________in some groups
 Some groups are fantastically arboreal, _________________________________
 Auditory meatus is a ring
 Dental formula _____________ or _____________________.
Superfamily:Ceboidea
Families: Cebidae and ___________________
Genus: owl monkeys, organ grinder, spider monekys, howling monkeys and sakis
Genus: __________________ and ________________.
Callitrichida – tamarinds and marmosets
 Callitrichidae have claws, modified nails, that aid in climbing tree trunks
 Three ___________ and two ___________ (________)
 Pygmy marmoset is _______________monkey
 Some are polyandrous
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Cebidae - capuchins,organ grinders, spider and howling monkeys, squirrel
monkeys and sakis
 Cebidae have fingernails instead of claws, which aid in gripping
 Three __________ and three __________ (2-1-__-__)
 Owl monkey is only nocturnal monkey
 ________ do not have prehensile tails
Infraorder: Catarrhini – _______ World Monkeys, Apes and
___________
 Downward facing, narrow nostrils, short, _________nose
 Lack prominent whiskers (sensory vibrissae)
 ______ ________ between eardrum and outer ear present
 Large brain
 Diurnal
 Prominent sexual dimorphism in some: large canines, size, and coloration
 Complicated social structure
 Dental formulas __________ - sometimes _________________________, meaning that
it sharpens the upper canine
 Well-developed ________ and _________thumb and/or big toe
 Short or no tail
 Many semi-terrestrial species
 Bracchiators
 Superfamily:Ceropithecoidea
Family: Cercopithidae
Subfamily: Cercopithicinae, _____________
Genus: baboons, vervets, macaques, gebralta Genus: __________, __________
Super family :Cercopithecoidea
(_______ World Monkeys)
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 All have bilophodont molars (____ ________)
 Narrow thorax
 Non-prehensile tails
Family: Cercopithidae
Subfamily: ___________________
 ___________ old world monkeys
 Macques in Asia
 Baboons, Gebralta in Arabia to South Africa
 Vervets in ___________
 Some semi-terrestrial
Subfamily: _________________
 ____________ stomachs
 Extended intestinal tract for digesting low calorie leaves
 Colobus in _______
 Languers in Asia
Superfamily Hominoidea
This superfamily contains humans and their close relatives, the apes. The first hominoids
first appeared about 25 million years ago. Present-day hominoids are characterized by the
absence of _______ and by rather ___________ rounded molars. This means that
hominoid molars are less specialized than other primates.
 Bipedal
 Large brain
 Large size
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 Long arms
 Long curved fingers
 Very stable elbow joint
 Relatively spherical head of________ and open _______ allows for wide
shoulder rotation
 High limb mobility
 Long and robust ________
 Bony broad sternum
 Broad pelvis
 No tail
 __________ ____________molars
Family Hylobatidae - This family contains the gibbons and siamangs. They are the
smallest and most numerous of the apes, (______ _________).
Because of their size hylobatids are sometimes referred to as lesser apes.
 Long forearms and arms, relative to body size
 __________ _____________, or bare skin on rumps
 The only hominoid that does not build ________ ________/
 Omnivorous, but eats mostly fruit
 Territorial
 Live in monogamous pairs
 Some have enlarged throat sacs used when calling
 Largest canines of the apes
 Found only in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia
 Large brain and eye orbits
 Arm and shoulder girdle built for _________
 Highly arboreal
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 _____ Chromosomes
 Minimal dimorphism
 Adolescents driven out
Genus: Hylobates
 10 + species (gibbons)
 Multi colored
 48 chromosomes
Genus: Symphalangus
 Larger
 Black
 46 chromosomes
 Siamangs
SuperFamily Hominidea
 Larger brain
 Complex social behaviors, including complex ______________
 Larger body size
 Mostly terrestrial, only ______________ are fully arboreal
 Sexual dimorphism
 Opposable ________ and big______, except in humans, whose big toes
are not opposable
 All digits have ________________ nails
 Lack ischial callosities
 Skeletal differences from other primates related to their upright/semiupright posture
 Birth of a single young
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Family: Pongo
Species: ____________________
 Solitary
 _________ __________ (males approx 150 pounds and females
approx 80 pounds)
 Single male, multiple females
 Overlapping territories
 Completion of males adolescence inhibited by adult male
 Diurnal
 Frugivorous
 _________________ clambering, bimanual suspension, fist walking
 Found in Asia on the islands of __________ and ________
Family: Panidae
African apes 48 chromosomes
Gorilla gorilla: males approx 300 pounds, females approx 150 pounds;
________ living ape
 Single male,_________ female bands
 Omnivorous: fruit, leaves, insects incidentally
Pan troglodytes: common chimp
 Diet: fruit, leaves, some hunting
 Multiple male/multiple female bands
 Territorial
 Dominance hierarchies/aggression
Pan paniscus: bonobo (pygmy chimp)
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 Multiple male/multiple female bands
 Affection/sexuality
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