ANT Human Evolution Test #2 Primate Origins

Reasoning by analogy = through studying patterns of diversity in behavior & morphology in relation to environment, we can see how ecological pressures guide evolutionary adaptations → convergence and variation/diversity
Reasoning by homology = studying living primates can give us better insight into behavior of ancestors

Heterodontism = different types of teeth
Lactation
Internal gestation
Viviparity = gives birth to live young
Homeothermy = ability to generate and regulate internal body temperature

hind limb dominated behavior
prehensile hands and feet
opposability
nails instead of claws
5 fingers on each hand
4 limbs

1) larger brain
2) postorbital bar
3) decreased reliance on olfactory
4) increased reliance on vision
-color
-binocular = overlapping fields of vision
-stereoscopic = each eye sends visual info to each hemisphere → 3D vision

1) reduced number of offspring
2) delayed maturation
3) extension of life span

hominoid = any member of the superfamily Hominoidea, including humans, apes, ad their ancestors (includes families Hominidae and Hyplobatidae)
hominid = any member of the family Hominidae (includes genuses Pan, Gorilla, Pongo, and Homo)
hominin = humans and their ancestors

Prosimians = Strepsirrhini: Lemuriformes, Chiromyformes, & Loriformes + Tarsiiformes
New World Monkeys = Ceboidea, 3 premolars
Old World Monkeys = Cercopithecoidea, 2 premolars
Apes = Hominoidea: Hominidae & Hylobatidae

Strepsirrhini

1) monkeys have a tail, apes do not
2) monkeys have fleshy pads for sitting
3) apes swing from branch to branch (brachiation), while monkeys walk along the tops of them & leap
4) apes suspensory feeding
5) apes are larger
6) apes have relatively long arms, short legs, long fingers, & short, stiff lower back

Paleozoic (570-225 mya) - marine invertebrates, first vertebrates, amphibians, reptiles
Mesozoic (225-65 mya) - first mammals and dinosaurs, first birds, angiosperms

Cenozoic
Paleocene (65-54 mya) - appearance and adaptive radiation of primate-like mammals
Eocene (54-34 mya) - appearance of 1st true primates, potential haplorrhines
Oligocene (34-23 mya) - definitive haplorrhines and their diversification, appearance of hominoids
Miocene (23-5 mya) - diversification of hominoids and appearance of hominins
Pliocene (5-1.7 mya) - diversification of hominins and appearance of Homo
Pleistocene (1.7-0.01 mya) - diversification of Homo

they did not have converged eyes

1) omoymids: large eye orbits, nocturnal, variable dentition (frugivorous & insectivorous)
2) adapids: smaller eye orbits, diurnal, resemble lemurs in teeth, skull, nasal, & auditory regions
- appearance of stereoscopic vision, grasping hands, hindlimb dominated locomotion, & postorbital bar

oligopithecids: 2 premolars
parapithecids: 3 premolars, possible ancestor for New World Monkeys
propliopithecids: 2 premolars

1) Visual predation: grasping hands & feet; nails; orbital convergence → facilitated visual predation on insects in terminal branches → Carpoleste had grasping hands but no convergence
2) Leaping primates: grasping hands & feet; nails; orbital convergence → facilitated leaping locomotion → Carpoleste apparently didn’t leap
3) Plant resources: grasping hands & feet; nails; orbital convergence → facilitated foraging on fruit, flowers, nectar → Carpoleste ate fruit before convergence
4) Plant (then insect) resources: grasping hands & feet → facilitated foraging on fruit, flowers, nectar → then came orbital convergence → insect predation

1) Ceboideas originated in Africa from Fayum primates and rafted across the sea on islands of floating vegetation
2) Ceboideas descend from a prosimian ancestor from N. America (prosimian fossils are found there), and ceboid similarities to cercepithicoideas is from convergence
3) Ceboideas descend from an anthropoid ancestor from N. America, although anthropoid fossils have not been found there
4) Fayum primates are older than earliest known fossils, and so they could have made the journey to S. America when it would have been easier based upon continent location, possibly via Antarctica

Tarsiers 2.1.3.3/1.1.3.3

Lorises 2.1.3.3/2.1.3.3
Lemurs 2.1.3.3/2.1.3.3

Indris 2.1.2.3/2.0.3.3

Aye-Ayes 1.0.1.3/1.0.0.3

Most species 2.1.3.3/2.1.3.3

Old World Monkeys, apes, humans 2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3