• longer gestation periods

• longer inter-birth intervals

• longer life

• fewer offspring

What are some common primate diagnostic traits?

• forward facing – eyes with stereoscopic and binocular vision

• stereoscopic vision allows for 3d vision and great sense of depth

• binocular vison – overlapping visual fields

• reduced rostrum – primates do not emphasize olfaction

• petrosal bulla

• postorbital bar or postorbital closure – protects the eyes

• large brains relative to body size

• flattened nails (not claws)

• long dexterous hands and grasping digits

• opposable big toes (hallix)

What is the Taxonomic Classification of Humans?

(a good example of primate taxonomy)

• Kingdom     – Animalia

• Phylum       – Chordata

• Class          – Mammalia

• Order          – Primates

• Suborder      – Haplorrhini
• Superfamily  – Hominoidea

• Family         – Hominidae

• Subfamily    – Homininae

• Genus         – Homo (or) Homo

• Species       – Homo sapiens (or) Homo sapiens

• Subspecies  – Homo sapien sapiens (or) Homo sapien sapiens

Taxonomy among the suborders that reflects evolutionary relationships and is based on shared derived traits, This is the new school naming system that is divided into 2 suborders, tarsiers are grouped with humans

• Strepsirhini – (Lemurs and lorises)
• Haplorhini – (monkeys, Apes and humans, and Tarsiers)

Taxonomy among the suborders that reflects a suite of similarities in behaviors, ecology, and/or morphology to primitive traits (This is the Old School Classification)

The Gradistic Classification scheme is commonly divided into 2 suborders:

• Prosimi/Prosimian – (lemurs, lorises, Tarsiers)
• Anthropoidea – (New world monkeys, old world monkeys, apes and humans)

What is the clue that a taxonomic name is a Superfamily

• More primitive traits
• Wet nose primates (moist rhinarium); emphasized sense of smell and chemical olfaction
• Tooth comb on the lower jaw
• Grooming claw shaped nail (toilet claw) on the 2nd digit of foot
• Lack of post orbital closure
• Discrete reproductive periods
• Seasonal breeding
• Reflective tapetum (tapetum lucidum)

Potto

Strepsirrhini (So), Lorisiformes (Io), Lorisidae (F), Perodicticus (G)

• Nocturnal, reflective tapetum

• East fruits, gums, and insects (specializes in unpalatable insects)

• slow moving (stealthy)

• Able to freeze and remain motionless when threatened so predators dont notice them

• Quadrupedal and cantilevering

• strong hands (small index fingers and thumbs are set back almost 180 degrees to make a vice like grip on a branch)

• Spines on back

• Lives in tropical Africa, from Guinea to Kenya and Uganda into the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo

• impacted by deforestation

Loris

Strepsirrhini (So),  Lorisiformes (Io), Lorisidae (F), Loris (G)

• nocturnal, reflective tapetum

• quadrupedal, and cantilevering

• toxic saliva, venomous steroid alkaloids

• Females will lick their babies to give them a toxic salivia force field for protection from predators

• Able to freeze and remain motionless for hours (longer than the potto) when threatened so predators dont notice them

• small index fingers and thumbs are set back almost 180 degrees to make a vice like grip on a branch
• It is found in India and Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Galago/Bushbaby

Strepsirrhini (So), Lorisiformes (Io), Galagidae (F), Galago (G)

• Nocturnal, reflective tapetum
• Localize prey with independently moving ears
• Consume gums, insects, fruit, frogs, eggs
• Vertical clinging and leaping (fast and agile)
• Larger galagos are quadrupedal
• infant parking (females move and stashes babies in safe locations periodical, maybe 5 times in 1night)
• about 40 species
• researchers use Advertising calls to determine different species
• Distributed across sub-saharan Africa

• Can lower metabolic rate
• Are both nocturnal and diurnal
• Lemurs are Cathemeral
• Display Female Dominance
• Only found in madagascar (250 miles off the coast of eastern africa)
• Lemurs probably rafted over to madagascar either from africa or asia
• Genetics traces the founding population to two starting lemurs which then radiated out into all of the species that are there today (about 70 species)

Sportive Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lepilemuridae (F), Lepilemur (G)

• Nocturnal

• vertical clinger and leapers

• Highly folivorous

• one of the lowest metabolic rates of all mammals

• Cecotrophic (eats ones own feces)
• Lives in Madagascar

• Nocturnal
• quadrupedal
• eats: flowers, nectar, gums, fruits, insects
• Torpor: reduction of metabolic rates (BMR)
• Sleeping groups
• Very abundant in communities
• Extremely high rates of mortality
• Lives in Madagascar

Dwarf Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Cheirogaleoidea (Sf), Cheirogaleidae (F), Cheirogaleus (G) 

• Nocturnal

• Quadrupedal

• can go into torpor for very long times (days or weeks at a time)

  • Utilize fat reserves during the dry season

• Solitary but have sleep groups
• Lives in Madagascar

Aye-Aye

Strepsirrhini (So), Chiromyiformes (Io),Daubentoniidae (F), Daubentonia madagascariensis (G/S)

• nocturnal
• quadrupedal
• Large ears
• Incisors: large, ever-growing (like a rodent)
• no tooth comb
• 3rd digit is very slender, can rotate it 360 degrees
• Focus of wood boring larve
• Slow development – fine motor coordination and skill in extractive foraging. 
• Aye-ayes must learn how to use their fingers (normally from their mom)
• They are found in the eastern rain forests of Madagascar, as far south as the Andohahela Reserve near the south coast to the northern end of the island at Ankarana Special Reserve. Also found on the west coast of Madagasca as far south as the Bemaraha Nature Reserve

Brown Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lemuridae (F), Eulemur (G)

• Diurnal
• Sexually dimorphic
• Cathemeral
• Ecological flexibility
• Diet: fruit, flowers, nectar
• Lives in Madagascar

Ring-tailed Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lemuridae (F), Lemur catta (G/S)

• Diurnal
• Large social groups
• Semi-terrestrial (mostly arboreal)
• Female Dominance (Matriline)
• High reproductive costs (pre and post natal) 
• Male Carpal Spurs (stink glands underneath)  
• Stink Fighting among males
• Females mark territory with anal glands 
• Sun bathe in the mornings to warm up (looks like meditation)
• Extremely seasonal habitat, prefers the Riverine and dry forests of Madagascar

Bamboo Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lemuridae (F), Prolemur (G)

• Diurnal
• feed on bamboo (bamboo is high in cyanide)
• Can change diet depending on availability of bamboo to other foods
• Smallest of the lemurids
• Vertical clingers and leapers
• Cathemeral
• Found primary and degraded eastern humid forests of Madagascar

The Lac Alaotra Bamboo Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lemuridae (F), Hapalemur alaotrensis (G/S)

[image]

They only live in the papyrus marshes that fringe Lac (Lake) Alaotra

Ruffed Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lemuridae (F), Varecia (G)

• Diurnal
• Frugivorous – plant pollinators
• Arboreal quadrupeds
• Male child care, alloparental child care
• Twins, triplets
• High Infant Mortality rate (64%)
• Strictly found in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar

Sifaka

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Indriidae (F), Propithecus (G)

• Diurnal (except one species, the nocturnal Avahi)
• Vertical clingers and leapers 
• Folivores
• Lives in Madagascar

Indri

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Indriidae (F), Indri (G)

• Diurnal
• Largest of the living lemurs
• Very short tail
• Monogamous, territorial, vocalizations (pair bond duets)
• Diet is manly leaves
• Relatively mellow activity patterns
• Thought to be the sprits of human ancestors by madagascar folk lore (rarely hunted)
• Found only in rainforest habitats in Madagascar

• Larger brain
• Trend towards diurnality
• Eye orbits face forward
• Complete stereoscopic vision
• complete postorbital closure
• color vision
• Dry nose and reduced olfactory sense
• Trend towards larger body size

• Trend towards larger body sizes
• • Focus more on foods not eaten by birds (leaves)
  • Eat fruits not used by birds such as
  • Larger fruits
  • Fruits with coverings
• Greater social structures which allowed for:
• • Much more advanced social behaviors
  • Greater altruism within communities
  • Better Childcare
  • Better food resources

Tarsier

Haplorrhini (So), Tarsiiformes (Io), Tarsiidae (F), Tarsius (G)

• Nocturnal (Possibly used to be diurnal primates before adapting to nocturnal life)
• Interesting social groups
• No reflective tapetum (Eyes are very large)
• Living fossils, date back to 45 MYA but show little change 
• Vertical clingers and leapers
• Elongated Tarsal Bone (ankle bone, allows them to jump up to 18 ft)
• Tactile pads
• 2 Grooming claws
• Faunivores – eats only animal resources (Rapacious – subsist by the capture of living prey)
• Lack of a tooth comb
• Partial post-orbital plate (partial closure)
• No rhinarium (dry, hairy nose)
• Complete stereoscopic vision
• Found in the Philipines, Borneo, and Sumatra

The Siau Island Tarsier

 Haplorrhini (So), Tarsiiformes (Io), Tarsiidae (F), Tarsius tumpara (G/S)

[image]

Only live on the small volcanic island of Siau

Describe the superfamily of Platyrrhini primates (New World/Neotropical Primates)

Haplorrhini (So), Simiiformes (Io), Platyrrhini (Sf)

• Located in central and south america 
• Evolved separately for 30 million years
• Long isolation has led to different locomotor patterns, social systems, feeding adaptations
• Small to medium sized – 100g to 10 kg
• Flat-nosed with wide nostrils
• All arboreal
• All but one is diurnal
• All limited to forests areas
• Some (the bigger ones) have prehensile tails
• Most lack an opposable thumb
• 2133 dentition (2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, 3 molars)

When a Primate has 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 3 molars (from front to back)

This is unique to New World Primates (Platyrrhini) as most Haplorrhini have 2 molars

[image]

Potto 

Strepsirrhini (So), Lorisiformes (Io), Lorisidae (F), Perodicticus (G)

[image]

Loris

Strepsirrhini (So),  Lorisiformes (Io), Lorisidae (F), Loris (G)

[image]

Loris

Strepsirrhini (So),  Lorisiformes (Io), Lorisidae (F), Loris (G)

[image]

Galago/Bushbaby

Strepsirrhini (So), Lorisiformes (Io), Galagidae (F), Galago (G)

[image]

Mouse Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Cheirogaleoidea (Sf), Cheirogaleidae (F), Microcebus (G)

[image]

Aye-Aye

Strepsirrhini (So), Chiromyiformes (Io),Daubentoniidae (F), Daubentonia madagascariensis (G/S)

[image]

Ring-tailed Lemur

Strepsirrhini (So), Lemuriformes (Io), Lemuroidea (Sf), Lemuridae (F), Lemur catta (G/S)

[image]

Tarsier

Haplorrhini (So), Tarsiiformes (Io), Tarsiidae (F), Tarsius (G)

[image]