ISS 220: EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE

Characteristics & members of the various taxonomic groups:

Order: primates
Suborders:
Strepsirhini: lemurs and lorises
-most primitive living primates, reliance on olfaction, have
rhinariums, eyes more on side of the face, dental comb, grooming
claw on second toe
Haplorhini: tarsiers, monkeys, apes, humans
Infraorders:
Anthropoidea: monkeys, apes, humans
-larger average body size, relatively larger brain, reduced reliance on
olfaction marked by absence of rhinarium, increased reliance on
vision, color vision, back of eye socket protected by bony plate, ,
generalized dentition, longer gestation and maturation, increased
parental care, more mutual grooming, other shit
Tarsiiformes: tarsiers
Parvorders:
Platyrrhini: New World monkeys
Catarrhini: Old World monkeys, apes, humans
Superfamilies:
Lemuroidea: lemurs
Lorisoidea: lorises
Cercopithecoidea: Old World monkeys
Hominoidea: apes, humans
Families:
Pitheciidae: sakis, titis, uakaris
Cebidae: squirrel monkeys, capuchins, owl monkey, marmosets
Atelidae: howlers, spider monkeys, muriquis
Hylobatidae: gibbons, siamangs
Hominoidea: great apes, humans
Subfamilies:
Cercopithecinae: baboons, macaques, guenons
Colobinae: African colobus monkeys and Asian langurs

Geographic range, diet, locomotion, social structure, & unique features
emphasized in class:
Ring-tailed lemur
-Madagascar
-Omnivorous
-vertical clinging and
leaping
-groups of 10-25 lemurs
compromising of males and
females of all ages
-tend to be more terrestrial
Sifaka
-Madagascar
-herbivores
-vertical clinging and
leaping
-same as ring-tailed lemur
Aye aye
-Madagascar
-omnivore
-vertical clinging and
leaping
-solitary, nocturnal, arboreal
Slow loris
-tropical forest and
woodland habitats in India,
Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia,
and Africa
-some are entirely
insectivorous, others also eat
fruits
-slow, cautious, climbing
form of quadrupedalism
-forage alone, but feeding
ranges may overlap, females
may feed and nest together,
females leave infants alone
when they forage for food
Galago
-forest and woodland areas
of sub-Saharan Africa
-omnivorous
-highly agile vertical
clingers and leapers
-one male mates with all
females in the area+same as
lorises
-bush baby
Tarsiers
-islands of Southeast Asia
-insectivores
-vertical clinging and
leaping to surprise prey
-stable pair bonds, basic
social unit is a mated pair
and their offspring
-nocturnal
-enormous immobile eyes
Howler monkey
-New World
-quadrepedal
-among largest of NW
monkeys
-prehensile tails used for
locomotion and to hang
from branches
Spider monkey
-New World
-semibrachiators
-use tails for locomotion and
for hanging from branches
-fission-fusion social
structure
-males stick together for
whole lives, females grow
and leave to other groups
Capuchin
-New World
-diurnal and arboreal
-group of 10-40 led by alpha
male
Owl Monkey
-New World
-only nocturnal monkey
species
Tamarin
-Central and South America
-insectivorous and eats fruits
-quadrupedal
-social groups composed of
mated pair or female and
two males and offspring
-claws instead of nails
-usually give birth to twins
-males extensively involved
in infant care
Savanna baboon
-omnivorous
-terrestrial quadrupedalism
-large social units
compromising several adults
of both sexes and offspring
off al ages
-monogamous
Desert baboon
-terrestrial quadrupedalism
Gelada
-Ethiopian highlands
-reproductive units run by
males
Patas
-Africa
-fastest runner
-one male in the group for
most of the year
Japanese macaque
-arboreal quadrupedalism
-females stay in troop for
life, males leave
Colobus monkey
-Central Africa
-herbivores
-semibrachiation and
acrobatic leaping
Hanuman langur
-India and Sri Lanka
-herbivores
-arboreal quadrupedalism
-several types of
groups/units
Gibbon
-Vietnam and China
-mostly eat fruits with some
leaves, flowers, and insects
-brachiation
-monogamous, very
involved in raising offspring
-highly territorial
Orangutan
-Borneo and Sumatra
-mainly frugivorous but will
eat leaves, insects, and
rarely meat
-slow, cautious climbing
form of locomotion using
four hands for grasping and
support
-pronounced sexual
dimorphism
almost completely arboreal
-largely solitary lives,
although females are
accompanies by dependent
offspring
Chimpanzee
-equatorial Africa
-Omnivorous
-quadrupedal knuckle walk
-large fluid communities
Gorilla
-forested areas of western
and eastern equatorial
Africa
-almost exclusively
vegetarian
-quadrupedal knuckle walk
-one or two males, variable
number of females, and
subadult offspring
-very terrestrial
-pronounced dimorphism


1: Introduction to Primates
Ancestral traits-generalized limb structure, 5 digits on hands and feet,
lack of dietary specialization, generalized dentition
Shared/Derived traits-erect posture in upper body, prehensile
hands/feet, opposable thumb, nails instead of claws, tactile pads with
sensory nerve fibers at the ends of digits, color vision, depth
perception, decreased reliance on olfaction, expansion and increased
complexity of the brain, longer gestation and fewer offspring, greater
dependence on flexible learned behavior, social groups and permanent
association of adult males with the group, tendency toward diurnal
activity patterns
Primate features-
Arboreal Hypothesis-primates increasingly found food in trees rather
than on the ground. Generalized dentition and increased reliance on
vision helped them achieve this.
Visual Predator Hypothesis-forward facing eyes, grasping hands and
feet, and nails may have been the hallmark of an arboreal visual
predator
Angiosperm Hypothesis-flowering plants led to the need for forward
facing eyes and grasping limbs, color vision helped for fine visual
discrimination of such plants
Dental formula
o Old World Monkey-2.1.2.3.
o New World Monkey-2.1.3.3.
Binocular/stereoscopic vision-superimposing visual images to view
the external environment in 3D, essential to depth perception
Modes of locomotion
o Quadrupedal-using all 4 limbs for support
o Vertical clinging & leaping-lemurs and tarsiers do this by
forcefully extending their long hind limbs
o Brachiation-arm swinging, monkey bars
o Semi-brachiation-spider monkeys and muriquis do this by
combining arm swinging with leaping
Diurnal/nocturnal-day activity vs night activity
Arboreal/terrestrial-tree living is arboreal, terrestrial is land, all
primates do some combination of both
2: Strepsirhines: Lemurs & Lorises
Strepsirhine features
o Tapetum lucidum-reflective layer in the eye to help see better at
night
o Rhinarium-moist, hairless pad at the end of the nose seen in
most mammals, enhances an animals olfactory abilities
o Grooming claw-claw on second tow of lemurs and lorises
o Dental comb-forward-projecting lower incisors and canines,
used for grooming and feeding
Lemurs-only found on Madagascar and on adjacent islands off of east
coast of Africa, 103 known species, larger lemurs tend to be diurnal
and eat variety of foods, smaller lemurs tend to be nocturnal and
insectivores,
Adaptive Radiation-happened on Madagascar with lemurs, diversified
into many and varied ecological niches without competition from
monkeys and apes
Lorises-resemble lemurs, became nocturnal to avoid competition with
diurnal monkeys, slow movement
Galagos-agile vertical clingers and leapers
3: Haplorhini: Tarsiers
Haplorhini Characteristics
Tarsiers (unique features)-large, immobile eyes that allow for
nocturnal behavior, similar to owls
o Why theyre difficult to classify-closely related to anthropoids
but also has characteristics like its eyes that dont fit in
4: Anthopoidea
Anthropoidea Characteristics-already wrote somewhere above so go
find it
Platyrrhine Characteristics-New World monkeys, spread throughout
the Americas, broad noses with outward-facing noses
Prehensile tail-used for locomotion and for hanging from branches
Character divergence-wut
Territory-Central and South Americas
Communal parenting-mixed-sex groups of all age categories
5: Old World Monkeys
Catarrhine characteristics-downward-facing nose
Cercopithecoidea-includes all Old World monkeys
o Characteristics-quadrupedal and primarily arboreal, but some
like baboons spend a great deal of time on the ground and
return to the trees at night
Ischial callosities-rough, nerveless spots on baboon butts that allow
for comfortable sitting
Sexual dimorphism-differences in physical characteristics between
males and females of the same species, pronounced in baboons
Subfamily cercopithecinae
o Characteristics-more generalized that colobines, more
omnivorous, majority are found in Africa but some are in India
and southern Asia
Subfamily Colobinae
o Characteristics-narrower range of food preferences, mainly eat
mature leaves, leaf-eating monkeys, found mainly in Asia but
some are exclusively found in Africa
6: Apes & Humans
Hominoidea characteristics-larger body except for gibbons and
siamangs, no tail, shorter and more stable lower back, arms longer
than legs only in apes, anatomically different shoulder joint, more
complex behavior and brain, increased period of infant development
and dependency
Hylobatidae
o Adaptations for brachiation-feed while brachiating, long arms,
long curved fingers, powerful shoulders, short thumbs
Hominidae
o Suspensory locomotion-hanging in the trees
7: Primate Behavior
Behavioral ecology-study of evolution of behavior, emphasizing role
of ecological factors as agents of natural selection
Social groups advantages/disadvantages
Advantages-predator defense
Disadvantage-competition for resources
Types of primate social groups
Factors influencing social structure-BMR, diet, distribution of
resources, predation, dispersal, life history traits, strategies
Hierarchies-dominance hierarchy
Communication-autonomic responses, facial expressions,
vocalizations, grooming
Reproductive strategies
o K-selected/R-selected
-K-few offspring that are heavily invested in
-r-many offspring with little or not investment
Sexual selection-type of natural selection that only operates on one
sex in a species, can lead to dimorphism with regard to one or more
traits
Infanticide-male kills females offspring so she can be ready to mate
again
Parenting
Alloparenting-older primates in captivity will take newer, younger
ones under their wing

Movies:
Life in the Trees
In the Wild: Lemurs with John Cleese

Articles:
Dance of the Sexes
Close Encounters
Chimps in the Wild Show Stirrings of Culture
Why Were Different
Tracking Ebolas Deadly March Among Wild Apes