Primates!
Specifically the
EXTANT primates, i.e.,
the ones who are still
alive today: these
include some
prosimians, some
monkeys, & some apes
(-next: fossil hominins,
who are extinct)
Taxonomy
What are primates?
Overview: What are primates?
•  Taxonomy of living
things
•  Distinguishing
primate
characteristics
•  Primate taxonomy:
distinguishing characteristics
within the Order Primate…
•  Prosimians (Strepsirhines)
–  Lorises
–  Lemurs
–  Tarsiers (?)
•  Anthropoids (Haplorhines)
–  Platyrrhines
•  Cebids
•  Atelines
•  Callitrichids
–  Catarrhines
•  Cercopithecoids
–  Cercopithecines
–  Colobines
•  Hominoids
–  Hylobatids
–  Pongids
–  Hominins
Taxonomy: Hierarchical and Linnean
(between Kingdoms and Species, but really not a totally accurate representation)
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Subspecies
Species
Genus
Family
Infraorder
Order
Class
Phylum
Kingdom
“Tree of life”
-based on traits we think we
observe
-Beware anthropocentrism,
the concept that humans may
regard themselves as the
central and most significant
entities in the universe, or
that they assess reality
through an exclusively
human perspective.
Dendrogram
(cladistics based on genes)
Taxonomy:
Kingdoms
(5 here)
Taxonomy:
Kingdoms (6 here)
Kingdom
Animalia
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Ingestive heterotrophs
Lack cell wall
Motile at at least some part of their lives
Embryos have a blastula stage (a hollow ball of cells)
Usually an internal digestive chamber
Phyla in Kingdom Animalia
Phylum
Meaning
Group
Phylum
Meaning
Group
Acanthocephala
Thorny head
Thorny-headed worms
Mesozoa
Middle animals
Mesozoans
Acoelomorpha
Without gut
Acoels
Micrognathozoa
Tiny jaw animals
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Annelida
Little ring
Segmented worms
Mollusca
Thin shell
Mollusks / molluscs
Arthropoda
Jointed foot
Arthropods
Myxozoa
Slime animals
Brachiopoda
Arm foot
Lamp shells
Nematoda
Thread like
Round worms
Bryozoa
Moss animals
Moss animals, sea mats
Nematomorpha
Thread form
Horsehair worms
Chaetognatha
Longhair jaw
Arrow worms
Nemertea
A sea nymph
Ribbon worms
Chordata
Cord
Chordates
Onychophora
Claw bearer
Velvet worms
Cnidaria
Stinging nettle
Coelenterates
Orthonectida
Straight swim
Ctenophora
Comb bearer
Comb jellies
Cycliophora
Wheel carrying
Symbion
Phoronida
Zeus' mistress
Echinodermata
Spiny skin
Sea Urchins
Placozoa
Tubular animals
Echiura
Spine tail
Spoon worms
Platyhelminthes
Flat worms
Flat worms
Entoprocta
Inside anus
Goblet worm
Porifera
Pore bearer
Sponges
Gastrotricha
Hair stomach
Meiofauna
Priapulida
Penis
Priapulid worms
Gnathostomulida
Jaw orifice
Jaw worms
Rhombozoa
Lozenge animal
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Hemichordata
Half cord
Acorn worms
Rotifera
Wheel bearer
Rotifers
Kinorhyncha
Motion snout
Mud dragons
Sipuncula
Small tube
Peanut worms
Loricifera
Corset bearer
Brush heads
Tardigrada
Slow step
Water bears
Xenoturbellida
Strange flatworm
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Horseshoe worms
Phylum Chordata
•  Hollow dorsal nerve cord
•  Trends
–  Increasing cephalization
–  Increased activity levels
–  Increased predatory lifestyle
Phylum Chordata
•  Subphylum Urochordata (Tunicates: filter-feeding sea
squirts)
•  Subphylum Cephalochordata (Lancelets)
•  Subphylum Vertebrata (chordates with backbones)
–  Infraphylum Agnatha (jawless vertebrates)
–  Infraphylum Gnathosomata (jawed vertebrates)
•  Superclass Osteichthytes (bony fishes)
•  Superclass Tetraposa (four-legged vertebrates)
Subphylum Vertebrata
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BACKBONES
Paired kidneys
Heart, aorta
Major transitions in some
ancestral vertebrates
–  Superclass: Tetrapoda (4 limbs to
locomote on land)
–  Amniotes
•  Shell, yolk, amnion, internal
fertilization
•  Amnion = a membrane building the
amniotic sac that surrounds and
protects an embryo. It is developed
in reptiles, birds, and mammals, but
not in amphibians and and fish
Class mammalia
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From synapsids…therapsids
Therapsids were transitional “mammal-like reptiles”
–  Nocturnal niche that dinosaurs didn’t dominate
–  Increased metabolism to keep warm (bugs)
–  Chewing (mastication); specialized teeth
–  Legs under body to turn more easily
–  Oligokyphus (but some cranial features make it not a mammal)
Mammals
–  Survived age of dinosaurs
–  First were tiny, nocturnal insectivores
–  Escaped predation
–  Survived global cooling
Adaptive Radiation(~ 0-65 mya)
Three groups:
Monotremes
Marsupials
Placental Eutherians
Mammals
•  What features distinguish mammals?
•  Hair made of keratin
•  Active metabolism
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endothermic
hair and fat for insulation
closed circulatory system + 4-chambered heart
respiratory system
connected to circulatory system
diaphragm, a powerful muscle to enhance respiration
•  Reproductive characteristics
•  Amniote egg without shell retained in uterus
•  Viviparity
•  Lactation
•  Cephalization
•  Large Brains-key to human evolution
•  Complex, social behaviors including parental care
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Monotremes
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Marsupials
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Platypuses and Spiny Anteaters
Lay reptilian, yolked eggs!
But have hair and produce milk to nourish their
young
Clear that modern monotremes are the survivors
of an early branching of the mammal tree; a later
branching is thought to have led to the marsupial
and placental groups
the egg is retained for some time within the
mother, who actively provides the egg with
nutrients. Monotremes also lactate, but have no
defined nipples, excreting the milk from their
mammary glands via openings in their skin
Extant in Australia and New Guinea, but
widespread before that based on fossil data
Opossums, kangaroos, koalas, sugar gliders
Born early
Complete embryonic development in pouch
Nourished by milk (mammary glands)
Diversified in Australia, few left in the Americas
(e.g., the opossum)
Convergent Evolution with Placental (Eutherian)
Mammals
Eutherians (Placentals)
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Long pregnancy
Complete development in utero
Nourished by a placenta
fetal membranes (chorion) and maternal tissues
intimately associated for gas exchange, nutrient
supply, and waste removal!
Mammals
Mammals
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Milk/mammary glands
Hair
Fur
Specialized teeth
Neocortex
Warm-blooded, circulation, heart
About 5400 species around today
Particular jaw feature defines mammals to paleontologists
Vivipary in many (but not limited to mammals—some sharks,
etc.)
•  Most are placental
•  Most are terrestrial
Class Mammalia
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Subclass Prototheria (monotremes: platypuses and echidnas: lay eggs but have hair and produce
milk)
Subclass Theria - live-bearing mammals
–  Infraclass Metatheria - marsupials
–  Infraclass Eutheria - placentals
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Order Macroscelidea: elephant shrews (Africa)
Order Afrosoricida: tenrecs and golden moles (Africa)
Order Tubulidentata: aardvark (Africa south of the Sahara)
Order Hyracoidea: hyraxes or dassies (Africa, Arabia)
Order Proboscidea: elephants (Africa, Southeast Asia)
Order Sirenia: dugong and manatees (ctropical)
Order Pilosa: sloths and anteaters (Neotropical)
Order Cingulata: armadillos (Americas)
Order Scandentia: treeshrews (Southeast Asia)
Order Dermoptera: flying lemurs or colugos (Southeast Asia)
Order Primates: lemurs, bushbabies, monkeys, apes
Order Lagomorpha: pikas, rabbits, hares (Eurasia, Africa, Americas)
Order Rodentia: rodents
Order Erinaceomorpha: hedgehogs
Order Soricomorpha: moles, shrews, solenodons
Order Chiroptera: bats
Order Cetartiodactyla: whales, dolphins and porpoises, even-toed ungulates, including pigs,
hippopotamus, camels, giraffe, deer, antelope, cattle, sheep, goats
•  Order Perissodactyla: odd-toed ungulates, including horses, donkeys, zebras, tapirs, and
rhinoceroses
•  Order Pholidota: pangolins or scaly anteaters (Africa, South Asia)
•  Order Carnivora: carnivores
Primates
•  Mivart, 1873: "Unguiculate, claviculate placental
mammals, with orbits encircled by bone; three kinds
of teeth, at least at one time of life; brain always with
a posterior lobe and calcarine fissure; the innermost
digit of at least one pair of extremeties opposable;
hallux with a flat nail or none; a well-developed
caecum; penis pendulous, testes scrotal; always two
pectoral mammae."
Order: Primates
•  What is a primate?
•  Lots of diversity
Diversity
...200-300 species
Size
Lots of variation,
but there are trends…
Primates
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Motor adaptations
Large size variation across taxa
Five digits on hands and feet: pentadactylism
Mobile limbs
Nails instead of claws (on at least one digit)
Grasping digits with tactile pads (and fingerprints)
Erect posture with extensive head rotation
Rapid and precise muscle control
Opposable hallus (big toe) and thumb (pincer grip)
Prehensile hands and/or feet
Well-developed clavicles (collarbones)
Primates
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Sensory adaptations
Enlargement of eyes
Color vision
Binocular vision: overlapping fields of vision
Stereoscopic vision and forward facing eyes:
–  neural wiring: sensory information from each eye relayed to
both sides of brain
–  depth perception + accurate distance estimation
Primates
•  Cranial Adaptations
•  Reduced snout and olfaction
•  Dental characteristics
–  Heterodont dentition (canines, incisors, molars and
premolars)
–  In most groups, 32 or 36 adult teeth
Teeth
Primates
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Life history characteristics
Delayed maturation
Increased infant dependency
Long gestation (pregnancy)
Long lifespan
Low reproductive rate
Large, complex brain
Primates
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Gregarious (many permanently live in groups)
Male-female social associations
Singleton births (in most species)
Arboreal
Diurnal
Grooming (practical and social functions)
Primates
•  How many species? 200-300(academic debates,
hybrids…)
•  Future DNA sequencing may help sort it out, but
maybe not, as genes may or may not address issues
of human views on essentialism (c.f., Bloom’s book of
recent)
•  New primate species are found every few years or
so, in swampy areas that primatologists have to
slough through…this work is not easy and cute, as
we might think when we think about “cute monkeys”
•  Extinction: pets and bushmeat (the next slide is
rough)
Bushmeat and pets
Nonhuman (and undomesticated) animals
are NOT meant to be pets
•  These are animals with social lives that are
significant: primates tend to be social, are
NOT domesticated, and do not make good
“pets”
•  Food and “trophies”
•  (…a Western construct?)
•  Discussion?
Suborder
Infraorder
Superfamily
Family
Subfamily
Lemuridae
(true lemurs)
Lemuriformes
Indriidae
Daubentoniidae
Prosimii
(prosimians)
Loridae
Lorisiformes
Galagonidae
Tarsiformes
Tarsiidae
Callithricidae
Platyrrhini
(New World
monkeys)
Ceboidea
Cebidae
Atelidae
Anthropoidea
(anthropoids)
Catarrhini
(Old World
monkeys, apes
and humans)
Cercopithecoi
dea
(Old World
monkeys)
Cercopithecin
ae
Cercopithecida
e
Colobinae
Hylobatidae
Hominoidea
(apes and
humans)
Pongidae
Hominidae
Common
Names
Distribution
ring-tailed, ruffed, and
mouse lemurs, etc.
Madagascar and
Comoro Islands
indris, avahis, and
sifakas
Madagascar
aye-ayes
Madagascar
lorises, pottos, and
angwantibos
lorises--India and
Southeast Asia; others-Africa
galagos (or bush
babies)
sub-Saharan Africa and
Zanzibar
tarsiers
Philippines, Borneo,
Celebes Islands, and
Sumatra
marmosets and
tamarins
Panama and north and
eastern South America
squirrel and owl
monkeys, capuchins,
etc.
Central America and
north and eastern South
America
howler and spider
monkeys, etc.
Central America and
north and eastern South
America
guenons, vervets,
baboons, macaques,
etc.
guenons and baboons-Africa; macaques-northwest Africa,
Gibraltar, South and
East Asia
colobuses, langurs, and
proboscis monkeys
colobuses-- Central
Africa; langurs-- India
and Southeast Asia;
proboscis monkeys-Borneo
gibbons and siamangs
Southeast Asia
orangutans
Sumatra and Borneo
chimpanzees, bonobos,
and gorillas
Central and West Africa
humans
throughout the world
Taxonomy
Taxonomy: How do we classify animals?
A. Example of classifying the dusky titi monkey, Callicebus moloch: (suffixes
noted in parentheses)
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder (-formes or -rhini): Platyrrhini
Superfamily (-oidea): Ceboidea
Family: (-idae): Cebidae
Subfamily (-inae): Aotinae
Genus: Callicebus
Species: moloch
[always underline or italicize genus & species names]
To see one taxonomy of the living primates, click here
IV. The 6 Main Primate Groups
A. Lemurs (Madagascar)
B. Loris group (Africa, South Asia, & Southeast Asia)
C. Tarsiers (Indonesia and the Philippines)
D. New World Monkeys (South and Central America)
E. Old World Monkeys (Africa, Asia)
F. Apes (Africa, Asia)
Order Primates
•  Prosimians (Strepsirhines)
–  Loris group
–  Lemur group
–  Tarsiers (?)
•  Anthropoids (Haplorhines)
–  Platyrrhines
•  Cebids
•  Atelines
•  Callitrichids
–  Catarrhines
•  Cercopithecoids
–  Cercopithecines
–  Colobines
•  Hominoids
–  Hylobatids
–  Pongids
–  Hominids
Order Primates
•  Prosimians (Strepsirhines)
–  Loris group
–  Lemur group
–  Tarsiers (?)
•  Anthropoids (Haplorhines)
–  Platyrrhines
•  Cebids
•  Atelines
•  Callitrichids
–  Catarrhines
•  Cercopithecoids
–  Cercopithecines
–  Colobines
•  Hominoids
–  Hylobatids
–  Pongids
–  Hominids
Rhinarium = nose
wet, connected to upper lip
strepsirhine
Dry, not connected to lip
haplorhine
Primates
•  The order Primates consists of two major suborders:
the Prosimians and the Anthropoidea. The
prosimians were the first of the suborders to evolve;
they are often called the "lower primates" The word
prosimian literally means "pre-monkey."
•  Strepsirhines = prosimians
•  Haplorhines = anthropoids (monkeys and apes)
Primates
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Prosimians
Dental comb
Postorbital opening
Smaller brain
Grooming claw
Many nocturnal species
More seasonal breeding
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Anthropoids
Dental comb absent
Postorbital closure
Larger brain
Nails on all digits
Few nocturnal species
Less seasonal breeding
Prosimians
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Nose
–  Moist, naked rhinarium with the upper lip attached internally; greater reliance on
olfaction than Haplorhine
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Facial expression: less range possible (than for Haplorhini), partially because of
attached upper lip
Grooming "claw" on pedal digit (2nd digit)
Teeth
–  dental formula (with some exceptions): 2133/2133
–  dental comb: elongated incisors used for grooming
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Reproduction is generally seasonal
Activity Period
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often (but not always) nocturnal (or cathemeral)
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Many diurnal prosimians on Madagascar (where no diurnal monkeys or apes occur)
nocturnal species have large eyes possessing tapetum lucidum
–  occasionally large & diurnal
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Infant care
–  nocturnal species "park" their infants or cache them in nests while foraging
–  cathemeral & diurnal species usually carry them
Prosimians
•  Lemuriformes
–  Lemuridae (lemurs)
–  Indriidae (indris, avahis, sifakas)
–  Daubentoniidae (aye-ayes)
•  Lorisiformes
–  Loridae (lorises, pottos, angwantibos)
–  Galagonidae (galagos)
•  Tarsiformes (tarsiers)?
Lemuriformes (the ‘lemur family’)
•  All only on Madagascar’s perimeter
(extinct on mainland)
•  Lots of nocturnal species
•  22 or so mostly arboreal species
Madagascar
Taxonomy: Prosimians
(lemur group)
Family
Cheirogaleidae
Mouse & dwarf lemurs
Lepilemuridae
Sportive lemurs
Body size*
Activity Period
General
Social
Pattern
"Special" Features
Tiny
Nocturnal
Solitary
- give birth to twins & cache
them in nests
- hibernate & accumulate fat
seasonally (in tails)
Small
Nocturnal
Solitary
- coprophagy
- sluggish
Lemuridae
"True" lemurs
Medium
Nocturnal
Diurnal
Cathemeral
Solitary
Social monogamy
Large multi-male, multifemale groups
Indriidae
Indri & sifaka & avahi
Small
(avahi )
Nocturnal
(avahi)
Solitary
(avahi)
Medium
(sifaka)
Dirunal
(indri, sifaka)
Multi-male, multi-female
groups
(sifaka)
Large
(indri )
Social monogamy
(indri)
- the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur
catta) = only significantly
terrestrial prosimian
- female dominance over
males sometimes
- female dominance over
males sometimes
Lemur
(lemur group)
Body size
Activity
Period
General
Social
Pattern
"Special"
Features
Medium
Nocturnal
Diurnal
Cathemeral
Solitary
Social
monogamy
Large multimale, multifemale groups
- the ring-tailed
lemur (Lemur
catta) = only
significantly
terrestrial
prosimian
- female
dominance
over males
sometimes
Lepilemur (“sportive” lemur; lemur group)
Body size
Activity
Period
General
Social
Pattern
"Special"
Features
Small
Nocturnal
Solitary
Coprophagy,
sluggish
Mouse lemur (lemur group)
Body size
Activity Period
General
Social
Pattern
Tiny
Nocturnal
Solitary
"Special"
Features
- give birth to
twins & cache
them in nests
- hibernate &
accumulate fat
seasonally (in
tails)
Body size
Aye Aye
(lemur group)
Medium
Activity Period
General
Social
Pattern
"Special"
Features
Nocturnal
Solitary
- continuously
growing incisors
(rodent-like)
- thin spindly
middle finger
= largest
nocturnal
primate
Others in the lemur group
Indri
Avahi (“wooly lemur”)
Others in the lemur group
Sifaka (hoppers because of long,
springy legs that let them jump 30
feet in trees)
Others in the lemur group
Body size
Activity Period
General
Social
Pattern
Small
(avahi )
Nocturnal
(avahi)
Solitary
(avahi)
Medium
(sifaka)
Dirunal
(indri, sifaka)
Multi-male, multifemale groups
(sifaka)
Large
(indri )
Social monogamy
(indri)
"Special"
Features
- female
dominance over
males sometimes
Lorisiformes (loris group)
Distribution (Africa and Asia)
Loris
Bushbaby (galago: loris-group prosimian)
Potto
Tarsier
Tarsier map
Tarsier issue in classification: prosimians or anthropoids?
order:
Primates
suborder:
Prosimii
infraorder
:
Lemuriformes
Anthropoidea
Lorisiformes
Tarsiformes
family:
Lemuridae
Indriidae
Daubentoniidae
Loridae
Galagonidae
Tarsiidae
species:
lemurs
indris
avahis
sifakas
aye-ayes
lorises
pottos
angwantibos
galagos
tarsiers
Tarsiformes
monkeys
apes
humans
?
Anthropoids
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Haplorhines
Dry, unconnected noses
Africa, Asia, South America
Monkeys, apes and humans
–  ***prosimians are NOT “monkeys”
•  Two groups
–  Catarhines
–  Platyrhines
Rhine = nose
Catarrhine: Old World Primate
Platyrrhine: New World Primate
Old/New World
Differences Between
Platyrrhines and Catarrhines
Platyrrhini
Catarrhini
Nostrils
Large, separated by wide
septum
Small, separated by
narrow septum
Premolars
Three (2133 or 2132)
Two (2123)
Arboreal only
Habitat U s e
(only capuchin monkey
terrestrial at times)
Both arboreal &
terrestrial forms
Diurnal only
Diurnal & Nocturnal forms
Carry Infants
Dorsally
Ventrally
Infant Care by
Adult Ma l e s
Sometimes
Very Rarely
Platyrrhine vs. Catarrhine Dentition:
2133 vs. 2123
(usually)
New World Monkeys
Ceboidea
Family
Subfamily
Cebidae
Common Names
Body size
General Social
Pattern
Squirrel monkey
Small
Large, multi-male,
multi-female groups
Some Special Features
- strictly seasonal breeding
_______________________
_______________
Capuchin monkey
- large brain
_________
- tool use
Medium
-adaptable & resourceful (like
Old World macaques)
- weakly prehensile tail
Callitrichidae
small
polyandry
tamarins,
twins, high paternal investment,
reproductive suppression
marmosets
Atelidae
Pithecinae
Uakaris & Sakis
Medium
Socially monogamous
Other?
Alouattinae
Atelinae
Howler monkeys
Spider monkey,
wooly monkey,
woolly spider
monkey
Large
Very large
One-male, multifemale groups
("harems")
Large fusion-fission
communities
red-faced uakari:sexual
selection?
Swamp dwellers (hard to study)
- LOUD howling
- prehensile tail (strong!)
- prehensile tails (strong &
dextrous!)
Interesting social patterns (kind
of like chimps and bonobos)
Cebids vs. Callitrichids
Callitrichids
juvenile golden lion tamarin
Pygmy marmoset (smallest primate)
Callitrichids
Golden
Lion
Tamarins
Emperor Tamarin
Moustached
Tamarin
Cotton Top
Tamarin
Common Marmoset
Callitrichids: New Discovery
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Wied’s marmoset (Callithrix kuhlii)
Usually born as twins
Chimerism: an exchange of cells
between twins early during
embryonic development; result is
that most of these monkeys have
tissues grown from their twin's cells
Germ line too: marmoset fathers
can sire their own children and their
nephews
Atelines
Red-faced uakari
Howler monkey
Atelines: prehensile tails
Spider monkeys
Cebids
Squirrel monkey
Capuchin monkey
Catarrhines
•  Cercopithecoids: the Old World monkeys
–  Cercopithecines
–  Colobinae
•  Hominoidea: the apes
Old World Monkeys
Cercopithecoidea
Cercopithecinae
Colobina e
"cheek pouch" monkeys leaf monkeys / langurs
Buccal pouches
Yes
No
Diet
Fruits & other
Leaves & other
Body Size
Medium to Large
Large to Very Large
Ta i l s
Shortish
Longish
Natal Coat
Same as adult or "drab"
colors
(e.g., black)
Often bright,
conspicuous colors
Continent of Highest
Diversity
Africa
Asia
Temperament
Active, socially dynamic
Couch potatoes?
Cercopithecines
Gelada
baboon
Hamadryas
baboon
Japanese
macaque
Cercopithecines: female-bonded
Celebes macaque
Colobines
Black and white colobus
Snub-nosed langur
Colobines
Proboscis monkey
Colobines eat a lot of leaves
Hominoidea: the Apes
Hylobatidae
Hominidae
Category
The “lesser”
apes
The “great” apes
The
“human”
apes
Common
names
Gibbons and
siamangs
Orangutans
Gorillas
Chimpanzees
Bonobos
humans
Distribution
Southeast
Asia
Borneo,
Sumatra
-Lowland gorilla in
West Central Africa
-Mountain gorilla in
volcanic mountains
bordering Rwanda,
Uganda, and Congo
Tropical
rainforests and
tropical forests of
West, East, and
North-central
Africa
Central African
Rainforests
South of the big
bend of the
Congo River
Global
(plus?)
Size
Large
(5-11 kg)
Huge
(35-70 kg)
Huge
(90-150 kg)
Huge
(30-45 kg)
Huge
(30-45 kg)
Huge
Grouping
Pattern
Socially
monogamous
Solitary
Group (1 alpha male,
his ‘harem,’ and their
kids)
Large fissionfusion
communities
Large fissionfusion
communities
Large
multimal/
multifemae
communitie
s
Ape Distribution
Brachiation
gibbon
siamang
Duetting (territoriality)
Monogamy
Orangutan
Orangutan
Gorilla
Gorilla: mountain vs. lowland
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Bonobo
Human
Primates
•  Lots of morphological variation
–  Size, colors, dentition
•  Lots of variation in social group structure (many males and
many females in a group vs. monogamous pairs, etc.)
•  Lots of variance in social activity (solitary aye aye vs. the highly
gregarious capuchins and cercopithecines)
•  Lots of variance in locomotion
•  Lots of variance in diets
•  Lots of variance in susceptibility to predation (e.g., large vs.
small animals)
•  What accounts for this variance?
Primate Behavioral Ecologists
•  Primatologists who try to figure out
relationships between ecology, morphology,
behavior, and sociality
•  Includes social variables (e.g., dominance
and subordinance, fighting, mating, genetic
relatedness), ecological variables (e.g.,
seasonal foods, the presence of predators),
morphological variables (e.g., a very long
gut), etc.
Some Examples
•  Colobines (OWM) and howler monkeys
(NWM) eating leaves, but having very
different energy levels
•  Male gorillas having proportionately larger
teeth than females, even though they eat
leaves, not meat
•  When newly joining a group, male langurs will
selectively kill most or all infants who are still
nursing, then immediately mate with the
mothers (who agree to it!)
Goodall Films
•  Four classic films from the
1960s of Goodall’s early
work with Gombe (Tanzania
—East Africa) chimpanzees
•  “Introduction to Chimpanzee
Behavior”
•  “Infant Development”
•  “Feeding and Food Sharing”
•  “Tool Using”