Haplorrhini Primates

An overview of the suborder Haplorrhini. Not comprehensive, but just enough.

haplorrhini

a suborder of the order primates; lack of strepsirrhini traits; selection for derived traits instead of convergent traits for the purposes of nocturnality

tarsiiformes

an infraorder of the suborder haplorrhini

tarsiers

Family: Tarsiidae

• named b/c of the elongated tarsal bones in the feet

• large eyes w/o tapetum lucidum

• faunivore

• disproportionate gestation length of 6 months at 120g body weight means taxonomically closer to haplorrhini instead of strepsirrhini

• homoplasies:

  • hind limbs & sticky pads like tree frogs’

  • parabolic reflector ears and flexible 270 degree neck turn like owls’

simiiformes

an infraorder of the suborder haplorrhini

• large body & brain (EQ)

• complete stereoscopic vision

platyrrhini (“neotropical primates”)

a parvorder of the infraorder simiiformes

• located in Central & South America

• arrived 35 Ma by rafting on vegetation from Africa

• like lemuriformes, underwent adaptive radiation

• polychromatic color vision (males dichromatic, females trichromatic) for:

  • finding food

  • anti-predation in thick forests

  • species & mate recognition

Marmosets

Family: Callitrichidae

• procumbent incisors

• claw-like nails

• specialized insectivore & gummivore diet

• small body size due to phyletic dwarfism, which affects life history:

  • twinning

  • food sharing

  • communal care-taking w/ male care-taking

Tamarins

Family: Callitrichidae

• lack of procumbent incisors

• claw-like nails

• specialized insectivore & gummivore diet

• small body size due to phyletic dwarfism, which affects life history:

  • twinning

  • food sharing

  • communal care-taking w/ male care-taking

Night monkey

Family: Aotidae; Genus: Aotus

• return to nocturnality to reduce heterospecific competition

• monochromatic color vision

Howler monkey

Family: Atelidae; Genus: Alouatta

• semi-brachiation

• folivore

• enlarged hyoid bone for varied vocalizations

• sexual dimorphisms: body size & polychromatism

Spider monkey

Family: Atelidae; Genus: Ateles

• semi-brachiation

• loss of external thumb for semi-brachiation

• fission-fusion soc org

Woolly spider monkey (“Muriqui”)

Family: Atelidae; Genus: Brachyteles

• endangered, located in Brazilian rainforests

• bushy fur

• fission-fusion soc org

• sperm competition

• pre-adaptations: upright posture, prehensile tail, wide pelvis

• exaptation: comparable bipedal locomotion

Capuchin monkey

Family: Cebidae; Genus: Cebus

• largest EQ of all the platyrrhines

• prehensile tail

• omnivore

• referential tool use

Saki

Family: Pithiciidae

• dental adaptations for seed, nut, & unripe fruit diet

• varied soc org

Uakari

Family: Pithiciidae

• red face b/c facial skin is 60-70% thinner than most other primates, resulting in coloration from the blood vessels

• dental adaptations for seed, nut, & unripe fruit diet

• multi-male, multi-female soc org

The Diurnal Niche

Early mammals selected nocturnality to escape dinosaur predation. After dinosaur extinction, ancestral primates selected large eyes with stereoscopic vision. To compete with diurnal birds, ancestral primates ate foods not used by birds: large, hard, and colorful fruits, resulting in larger bodies and enhanced color vision.

catarrhini

a parvorder of the infraorder simiiformes:

• larger body sizes than platyrrhini

• basic arboreal & terrestrial quadrupedal locomotion (no VCL)

• all have trichromatic color vision

• less specialized behavior

• greater hand dexterity

cercopithecidae

a family in the parvorder catarrhini

cercopithecinae (“cheek pouch monkeys”)

a subfamily in the family cercopithecidae:

• ischial callosities

• cheek pouches

guenons

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

• arboreal

• anatomically similar limb proportions

• long tail

• quadrupedal locomotion

• reduced sexual dimorphism & varied body colorations due to sympatry w/ other species and territoriality

macaques

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

• semi-arboreal

• successful adaptive radiation

• Japanese macaques are able to survive cold winters

• homoplasy: varied and continuous eye colors due to…

  • vitamin D absorption like humans

  • sexual selection & species recognition like lemurs and spider monkeys

• pre-cultural behavior of washing sweet potatoes

Patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas)

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

• terrestrial

• large home ranges along equatorial savannas due to specialized gum and insect diets

• fastest primate at 35 mph

• sexual dimorphism: body size

Mandrills and drills

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

• terrestrial

• sexual dimorphism: body color & body size; testosterone in males is proportional to body color of males

• sexual swellings

• social organization hordes of up to 100 specimens

baboons

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

• terrestrial, savanna habitat

• sexual dimorphism

• sexual swellings

• omnivore diet

• sectorial premolar for honing

gelada baboons

Subfamily: Cercopithecinae

• terrestrial

• grass seed specialized diet

• male puberty

• female chest swellings along with sexual swellings

• male bachelor groups due to ¿extreme sexual selection?

colobinae (“Leaf-eating monkeys”)

a subfamily in the family cercopithecidae:

• ischial callosities

• sacculated stomachs to digest leaves

• leaf specialized diet

  • advantages: abundant, accessible, high in fiber and energy

  • disadvantage: requires high number of probiotics in the gut for digestion, since leaf diet is not typical for mammals

gray langurs (Semnopithecus)

Subfamily: Colobinae

• a.k.a. “Hanuman”

• located in India

• sympatric w/ humans

• sacred in Hindu/Indian worldview

Proboscis monkey (Nasalis lavartus)

Subfamily: Colobinae

• located in mangrove forests of Borneo, Indonesia

• sexual dimorphism: male body size and nose size > females’

snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus)

Subfamily: Colobinae

• located in China, temperate habitats

• varied diet: bark and lichen

• sexual dimorphism: male body size > females’

• single-male, multi-female soc org

Black and white colobus monkeys

Subfamily: Colobinae

• located in Africa

• thumb buttons instead of full external thumbs

• poached for luxury fur fashion from 1900-1940, now endangered

Red colobus monkey

Subfamily: Colobinae

• located on Zanzibar Kirk Island, Uganda

• human toxic foods diet: e.g. charcoal for digestion

hylobatidae (“the Asian Apes”)

a family in the parvorder catarrhini

gibbons and siamangs

Family: Hylobatidae

• located in Asian rainforests

• sm body size

• sexual dimorphism: dichromatic coat color

• diet: ripe fruits and some leaves

• locomotion: arboreal brachiation

  • homoplasy: limb anatomy for specialized brachiation like spider monkeys

• social organization: monogamous family groups

• behavior: highly territorial, duet performances

• reproduction: female puberty at age 8; interbirth interval = 3 yrs; only 5 surviving offspring during 20-30 yr life span

• conservation status: due to human-caused deforestation and arboreal locomotion, they’re unable to eat many ripe fruits like before

orangutans (Bornean, Sumatran, Tapanuli)

Family: Hominidae; Genus: Pongo

• located in tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, Indonesia

• Lg body size

• extreme sexual dimorphism: body size

• diet: frugivore using bunodonts

• locomotion: arboreal quadrumanous, bridging behavior

• social organization: often solitary, but sometimes fusion during abundant fruit season

• reproduction: female sexually mature at age 7; interbirth interval = 8 yrs; 4-5 offspring during life span; long infant and juvenile dependency; mating w/ adult males is preferred, but forced young male mating can sometimes occur

• conservation status = critically endangered

hominidae (“the African and Asian apes”)

a family in the parvorder catarrhini:

• climbing and suspensory locomotion, a pre-adaptation for bipedal exaptation

• orthograde instead of pronograde

• no tail

• broad chest

• short stable spine

• broad pelvis

• larger brains than most monkeys

• slower life histories than monkeys

gorillas (Gorilla gorilla and Gorilla beringei)

Family: Hominidae; Genus: Gorilla

• located in limited rain/seasonal forests in Africa

• Lg body size

• sexual dimorphism: body size, appeara

• diet: G. beringei is folivore, G. gorilla is folivore and frugivore

  • specialized geophagia for digesting high fiber

  • sagittal crest for masticatory muscles and sexual

• locomotion: arboreal climbing, semi-terrestrial knuckle-walking

• social organization: single-male, multi-female

• reproduction: silverbacks are dominant in mating; female puberty at age 10; interbirth interval = 8 yrs; gestation = 8.5 months; sexual selection

chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Family: Hominidae; Genus: Pan

• location: chimps located in rainforests and savannas; bonobos located only in the rainforests of the DRC

• diet: ripe fruit

• locomotion: chimps do arboreal climbing and semi-terrestrial knuckle-walking; bonobos are more slender, allowing for some bipedalism

• social organization: multi-male, multi-female with fission-fusion, depending on fruit availability

  • chimps exhibit male dominance

  • bonobos exhibit female dominance or egalitarianism

• behavior: tool use to gather hard-to-acquire foods, hunting animal prey; sexual behavior to diffuse aggression

• reproduction: female puberty at age 12; sexual swellings; interbirth interval = 5-6 yrs; maternal dependency = 8 yrs