Download Chapter 5 Overview of Living Primates

Chapter 5
An Overview the Primates
Key Terms

prosimians
Members of a suborder of primates (lemurs,
lorises and tarsiers).

anthropoids
Members of a suborder of primates (monkey’s,
apes and humans).

primitive
Referring to a trait or a combination of traits
present in an ancestral form.

specialized
Evolved for a particular function; usually refers
to a specific trait.

primatologists
Scientists who study the evolution, anatomy,
and behavior of nonhuman primates.

morphology
The form of anatomical structures; can also
refer to the entire organism.

omnivorous
Having a diet consisting of many food times
(plants, meat and insects).

nocturnal
Active at night.

diurnal
Active during the day.

stereoscopic vision
Visual images are, to varying degrees,
superimposed on one another. Provides for
depth perception or the perception of three
dimensions.

binocular vision
Vision characterized by overlapping visual
fields provided by forward facing eyes.

arboreal
tree living

arboreal hypothesis
View that primate characteristics can be
explained as a consequence of primate
diversification in arboreal habitats.

visual predation hypothesis
Primates may have first adapted to shrubby
forest undergrowth and the lowest tiers of the
forest canopy, where they captured insects and
other small prey primarily through stealth.

adaptive niche
The entire way of life of one organism: where it
lives, what it eats, how it gets food, how it
avoids predators, etc.

intelligence
The ability to learn, reason, or comprehend
and interpret information, facts, relationships,
meanings, etc.

arboreal hypothesis
The traditional view that primate characteristics
can be explained as a consequence of primate
diversification into arboreal habitats.

cusps
The elevated portions on the chewing surfaces
of premolar and molar teeth.

quadrupedal
Using all four limbs to support the body
during locomotion.

brachiation
A form of locomotion in which the body is
suspended beneath the hands and support is
alternated from one limb to the other; arm
swinging.

hominoids
Members of the superfamily Hominoidea
includes apes (chimpanzees, bonobos,
gorillas, orangutans, gibbons, and siamangs)
and humans.

sexual dimorphism
Differences in physical characteristics between
males and females of the same species.

estrus
Period of sexual receptivity in female mammals
correlated with ovulation.

homoplasy
The separate evolutionary development of
similar characteristics in different groups of
organisms.

hominoids
The formal description for the superfamily of
anthropoids that includes apes and humans.

frugivorous
Having a diet composed primarily of fruit.