The Primates
Key Questions
•
Where do humans fit in the world of
living things?
•
What are the characteristics of
primates?
•
How are humans like the other
primates? How are we unique?
Taxonomy
•
•
•
A classification system based on
similarities and differences
Phenetic Taxonomy = Following
Linnaeus, based on existing
phenotypic features and adaptive
behaviors
Cladistics = Classification system
based on order of evolutionary
branching
Taxonomy of Humans & Chimps
Human
Chimpanzee
Kingdom
Animalia
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Mammalia
Order
Primates
Primates
Family
Hominidae
Pongidae
Genus
Homo
Pan
Species
Sapiens
Troglodytes
Class Mammalia
•
Today, 19 Orders & over 4000 Species!
•
3 major subgroups:
1. Egg-laying (duck-billed platypus)
2. Pouched (kangaroo, opossum)
3. Placental
Exs. of Placental Orders other than Primates:
Rodents (rats, squirrels, beavers)
Carnivores (bears, dogs, cats)
Insectivores (shrews, moles)
Grazing-browsing (cows, hippos, deer, horses,
sheep, goats)
Characteristics of
Placental Mammals
1. Body hair
2. Relatively long gestation period
followed by live birth
3. Ability to maintain constant
internal body temperature =
“warm-blooded”
Characteristics of
Placental Mammals (cont.)
4.
5.
6.
7.
Increased brain size
Mammary glands = origin of the
term “Mammal”
Different types of teeth = incisors,
canines, premolars, molars
Considerable capacity for learning
and behavioral flexibility
Primate Taxonomy
PRIMATES (order)
PROSIMIANS
ANTHROPOIDEA (suborder)
Platyrrhini
(flat nose)
Catarrhini
(downward nose)
Cercopithecoidea
HOMINOIDEA
Lesser Apes Great Apes HOMINIDAE
(family)
Prosimians
New World Old World Gibbons Orangutan HUMAN
Monkeys
Monkeys Siamangs Gorilla
(species)
Chimpanzee
Bonobo
Prosimians
a. Fat-tailed galago
(mainland Africa)
b. Ruffed lemur
(Madagascar)
c. Sifaka (Madagascar)
d. Ring-tailed lemur
(Madagascar)
e. Mouse lemur
(Madagascar)
f. Slow loris (South
Asia)
g. Aye-aye (Islands off
Madagascar)
Anthropoids
a. Spider monkey (NW
monkey)
b. Saki monkey (NW
monkey)
c. Drill (OW terrestrial
monkey)
d. Tamarin (NW
marmoset)
e. Colobus (OW arboreal
monkey)
f. Gibbon (OW lesser
ape)
g. Gorilla (OW great ape)
Primate Characteristics:
Hands & Feet



Enhancement of free mobility of the digits,
especially of the thumb (opposability) and big toe
Both used for grasping = Prehensile
Replacement of sharp, compressed claws by flat
nails; development of very sensitive tactile pads on
the digits
Gripping Tool Use
Prehensile Tail
Primate Characteristics:
Brain size & Smell
* Progressive shortening of the snout
and reduction in the sense of smell
* Progressive expansion and elaboration
of the brain, especially of the cerebral cortex
Primate Characteristics:
Vision



Elaboration of the
visual apparatus
Development of
Stereoscopic Vision
(3-D)
Bony sockets
enclose eye nerves
and muscles
Primate Characteristics:
Dentition
* Retention of all
tooth types
* Old World
Anthropoid
Dental Formula
=
2.1.2.3 x 2=32
2.1.2.3
Primate Characteristics:
Extended Gestation & Maturation
1. Primates are born at earlier
stages of development
than many other animals
2. Prolongation of postnatal
life periods
3. Humans are born at a
particularly early stage
because of their larger
brain; if born later, the
baby’s head would be too
large for the mother’s
pelvis
Primate Characteristics:
Body Stance
Progressive development of upright
body stance leading to bipedalism
Primate Characteristics: Summary

Large brains

3-D vision, Reduced Sense of Smell

Flexible shoulder joints, Vertical Positioning
of Trunk

Hands and feet with five digits

Grasping thumb
Primate Characteristics:
Summary (cont.)

Flat fingernails instead of claws

Generalized dentition

Extended Gestation and Maturation

Strong Maternal-Offspring Bond

High Degree of Socialization
Primate Species

166 species currently identified

Most are tree dwellers

Most are herbivores (eat fruit or
leaves)

Some are omnivores (eat anything)
Primate Distribution
Primate Classification
Primates are divided into two
main Suborders:
1. Prosimians:
Lemurs, Lorises,Tarsiers
2. Anthropoids:
NW & OW Monkeys, Apes,
Humans
Primate Taxonomy
PRIMATES (order)
PROSIMIANS
ANTHROPOIDEA (suborder)
Platyrrhini
(flat nose)
Catarrhini
(downward nose)
Cercopithecoidea
HOMINOIDEA
Lesser Apes Great Apes HOMINIDAE
(family)
Prosimians
New World Old World Gibbons Orangutan HUMAN
Monkeys
Monkeys Siamangs Gorilla
(species)
Chimpanzee
Bonobo
Lemurs, Tarsiers, Aye-Ayes, Lori
Lemurs
Ringtail Lemurs
Lori
Aye-Aye
Aye-Aye

The aye-aye shown here
lives on the island of
Madagascar. It is a very
specialized insect-eater.

Large eyes & good climbing
abilities. The aye-aye, and
most other prosimians,
differ from monkeys and
apes in having a moist area
of skin on the nose.
Tarsier
Tarsier



Large eyes, active at
night
Like most of the
prosimians, good
grasping ability & nails
Nails on all fingers and
most toes, but there are
specialized claws on
the feet used for
grooming called "toilet
claws"
Tarsier
Platyrrhine Monkeys
Platyrrhines




Flat noses
Nostrils point
sideways
Many have
prehensile tails
Live in South
and Central
America
Platyrrhine Noses
Platyrrhine Monkeys:
Red-Howler & Spider Monkeys
Platyrrhine Monkeys:
Capuchin Monkey
Platyrrhine Monkeys: Tamarins
Catarrhine Monkeys

Downwardpointing
nostrils

Evolved and
found in Africa
and Asia
Catarrhine Nose
Catarrhines
Divided into two Superfamilies:
1.
2.
Old World Monkeys
Hominoids


Lack tails, have larger skulls, & walk
partially upright
Include Gibbons, Gorillas, Orangutans,
Humans, & Chimpanzees
Catarrhine Monkeys:
Mandrill and Diana
Terrestrial Old World Monkeys:
Baboon
Hominoid Taxonomy
Range of Hominoids
Lesser Ape: Gibbon
Great Ape: Orangutan
Great Ape: Gorilla
Gorillas: Knuckle Walking
Great Ape: Chimpanzee
Dettwyler, Chs. 9 & 10

In the United States or in your culture, why are some
activities designated as “feminine” and others “masculine”?
Cross-culturally, are there some activities that are always
performed by women? By men? Do you think this
gendered division of labor is based on biological differences
or on cultural belief systems, or both? Give an example.

Why would the death of a mother in child birth be so much
more disruptive to a family than the death of an infant of
young child? If you had to set priorities for spending money
on improving health care in Dogo, would you put maternal
or infant health care first? Why?