Biological Anthropology Practical – Primate Species & Key Concepts

These flashcards cover vocabulary and key concepts related to primate classification, anatomy, evolution, and the history of racial classification as discussed in the Biological Anthropology Practical lecture.

Primate

Mammals with forward-facing eyes, grasping hands/feet, binocular vision, and nails instead of claws.

Binocular vision

Vision resulting from forward-facing eyes that provides depth perception, important for life in trees.

Prosimian

Primitive primates including lemurs, lorises, galagos, and tarsiers; often nocturnal with a strong sense of smell and smaller brains.

Anthropoids

Higher primates including monkeys, apes, and humans, characterized by larger brains, greater reliance on vision, and complex social behavior.

Strepsirrhines

A group of primates including lemurs, lorises, and galagos that possess a tooth comb, grooming claw, rhinarium (wet nose), and tapetum lucidum.

Haplorhines

A group of primates including tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans that possess a dry nose, larger brain, post-orbital closure, and a fused frontal bone.

Platyrrhines (New World Monkeys)

Monkeys found in Central and South America characterized by a broad nose, sideways nostrils, and in many cases, prehensile tails.

Spider monkey

A large-bodied New World monkey with a fully prehensile tail used for grasping branches.

Marmosets and tamarins

Small-bodied New World monkeys that may have claw-like nails.

Cercopithecoidea (Old World Monkeys)

Monkeys found in Africa and Asia characterized by narrow downward nostrils and bilophodont molars.

Bilophodont molars

Molars with four cusps arranged in two ridges for shearing leaves; characteristic of Old World monkeys.

Baboon

A large terrestrial Old World monkey with strong sexual dimorphism.

Macaque

Highly adaptable Old World monkeys found in many environments.

Hominoidea (Apes)

Primates defined by the absence of a tail, Y-5 molars, large brains, and flexible shoulders.

Hylobates

A genus representing gibbons and siamangs characterized by brachiation locomotion.

Pongo

A genus representing orangutans which are arboreal and highly sexually dimorphic.

Gorilla

The largest living primates; they are mostly terrestrial knuckle-walkers.

Pan

A genus representing chimpanzees and bonobos, known for tool use and complex social systems.

Homo

The human genus, characterized by obligate bipedalism.

Post-orbital bar

A bone surrounding the eye socket; a trait found in primates.

Post-orbital closure

A complete bony plate behind the eye socket found in haplorhines.

Prehensile tail

A tail capable of grasping branches; found in some New World monkeys.

Y-5 molars

Molars with five cusps and a Y-shaped groove; found in apes and humans.

Homoplasy

Similarity between species not inherited from a common ancestor, including convergent evolution, parallel evolution, and evolutionary reversal.

Convergent evolution

A type of homoplasy illustrated by similar traits in unrelated species, such as bird wings and bat wings.

Parallel evolution

A type of homoplasy illustrated by similar locomotion in closely related primates.

Carl Linnaeus

Individual who classified humans into racial categories in the 1700s.

Johann Blumenbach

Proposed five human races and emphasized skull variation in racial classification.

Samuel Morton

Measured skull sizes to argue for a racial hierarchy.

Franz Boas

Challenged biological race concepts and emphasized environmental influences.