Primate Characteristics
Adam Lopez
November 3, 2016
Anthropology 300
Professor Katrina Worley
Essay 2: Primates
Primates are usually described as mammals that have locomotion, large brains, generalized teeth and diet, and occasionally complicated social organizations. The primate order is comprised of two suborders; the Strepsirrhini and the Haplorrhine. There are distinguishable characteristics between these two groups of primates. Some of the characteristics that define the Strepsirrhini are their rhinarium or wet nose, combo of nails and claws and toothcomb. The Strepsirrhini are the oldest living primates and an example of one is the lemur. While the Haplorhini are sexually dimorphic, have fewer teeth, don’t have a wet nose and can see in color. We can also see …show more content…
Quadrupeds and vertical clinging and leaping primates have had tails however we see that in apes the tail is no longer there. We also see an increase in arm length and a decrease in spinal movement. Suspension primates have a hand-over-hand grip and support themselves under the arms. A gibbon is a good example, they use both their arms and feet to move through trees. The foramen magnum is located in an intermediate location that is closer to where are foramen magnum is. The final method of locomotion is bipedalism. This is moving solely on your hind limbs (legs) which support all of your weight. The pelvis is usually wider to help distribute weight evenly. We have short toes that don’t allow much …show more content…
Living in these groups can be good or bad. The good part of living in a group is that it helps with food and protection from predators. Most predators are quite and sneaky and the more group members there are the better chance they have of detecting the predator and warning others by sometimes using an alarm call. Titi monkeys are a group that have successfully used this system of alerting their peers when a predator is near. The bad is that the more males that are in a group the more competition there is for resources such as mating and food. Some primates travel in small groups such as the ringed tailed lemurs. Traveling in small groups also has its good and bad, such as they are able to go undetected by predators in areas where the predators are hunting. As for the bad they gather a lot less food even though they worked together with other species during feeding time. These other species where able to help watch out for any potential danger to the vulnerable
November 3, 2016
Anthropology 300
Professor Katrina Worley
Essay 2: Primates
Primates are usually described as mammals that have locomotion, large brains, generalized teeth and diet, and occasionally complicated social organizations. The primate order is comprised of two suborders; the Strepsirrhini and the Haplorrhine. There are distinguishable characteristics between these two groups of primates. Some of the characteristics that define the Strepsirrhini are their rhinarium or wet nose, combo of nails and claws and toothcomb. The Strepsirrhini are the oldest living primates and an example of one is the lemur. While the Haplorhini are sexually dimorphic, have fewer teeth, don’t have a wet nose and can see in color. We can also see …show more content…
Quadrupeds and vertical clinging and leaping primates have had tails however we see that in apes the tail is no longer there. We also see an increase in arm length and a decrease in spinal movement. Suspension primates have a hand-over-hand grip and support themselves under the arms. A gibbon is a good example, they use both their arms and feet to move through trees. The foramen magnum is located in an intermediate location that is closer to where are foramen magnum is. The final method of locomotion is bipedalism. This is moving solely on your hind limbs (legs) which support all of your weight. The pelvis is usually wider to help distribute weight evenly. We have short toes that don’t allow much …show more content…
Living in these groups can be good or bad. The good part of living in a group is that it helps with food and protection from predators. Most predators are quite and sneaky and the more group members there are the better chance they have of detecting the predator and warning others by sometimes using an alarm call. Titi monkeys are a group that have successfully used this system of alerting their peers when a predator is near. The bad is that the more males that are in a group the more competition there is for resources such as mating and food. Some primates travel in small groups such as the ringed tailed lemurs. Traveling in small groups also has its good and bad, such as they are able to go undetected by predators in areas where the predators are hunting. As for the bad they gather a lot less food even though they worked together with other species during feeding time. These other species where able to help watch out for any potential danger to the vulnerable