10.2 Shared characteristics of mammals, primates hominoids and hominins

What are the distinct features of mammals?

Fur over the body's surface, mammary glands, and teeth differentiated into incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.

What are primates?

A group of mammals that possess flat nails, binocular vision, mammary glands, and fur.

What are the defining features of primates?

Binocular vision and large brains relative to their body size.

What are hominoids?

A superfamily of primates that lack a tail and have limbs adapted for prehensile grabbing, including all apes and humans.

What are the defining features of hominoids?

Absence of a tail, longer upper limbs, a wider chest, and larger, more complex brains.

What are hominins?

Modern human species and our extinct close relatives that are structurally characterized by walking on two feet via bipedal locomotion.

What specific skeletal structures are vital for bipedalism?

The position of the hole (foramen magnum) in the base of the skull, alongside the specific shape of the pelvis and spine.

What is the foramen magnum?

A hole located in the base of the skull through which the vertebral column attaches.

What is the cranium?

The parts of the skull containing the vertebrae minus the lower jaw.

What is the carrying angle?

The angle formed between the femur and the vertical plane, which is also known as the bicondylar angle.