ANT 3514C – Extant Primates (Module 4)

Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, taxa, anatomical traits, and researchers from the Module 4 lecture on extant primates.

Primate

A member of the mammalian order Primates, characterized by traits such as grasping hands/feet, enlarged brains, and stereoscopic vision.

Eutherian Mammal

A placental mammal; primates are one of ~19 extant eutherian orders.

Sherwood ‘Sherry’ Washburn

Anthropologist who championed the Neo-Darwinian, comparative approach and founded the 'New Physical Anthropology' (1951).

Carolus Linnaeus

18th-century naturalist who coined Primates in Systema Naturae (1758), originally including bats and flying lemurs.

St. George Jackson Mivart

19th-century biologist who refined Linnaean primate definition (1873) and split Prosimii vs. Anthropoidea.

Mivart’s Primate Traits

List of 11 anatomical features (e.g., clavicles, orbital bone ring, opposable hallux) proposed to diagnose primates.

Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark

Anatomist who defined primates by evolutionary trends (arboreal adaptation, dietary plasticity, parental investment).

Pentadactyly

Having five digits on each limb; primitive condition retained by primates.

Hallux

The big toe; in most primates it is divergent and opposable for grasping.

Pollex

The thumb; opposable in most primates enhancing manual dexterity.

Petrous Bulla

Bony covering of the inner ear; a diagnostic feature of primates.

Primitive Dental Formula

3-1-4-3 per quadrant; ancestral eutherian pattern from which primates lost one incisor and premolar.

Derived Primate Formula

2-1-3-3 per quadrant; typical for most strepsirrhines and platyrrhines.

Catarrhine Dental Formula

2-1-2-3 per quadrant; characteristic of Old World monkeys, apes, and humans.

Neocortex

Expanded cerebral cortex region in primate brains responsible for higher cognitive functions.

Stereoscopic Vision

Depth perception produced by forward-facing eyes and binocular overlap; enhanced in primates.

Extended Gestation

Long prenatal development seen in primates, accompanied by small litters and prolonged dependency.

Grade

A taxonomic grouping based on overall similarity or adaptive level, not necessarily close ancestry.

Clade

A monophyletic group consisting of an ancestor and all its descendants.

Prosimians

Traditional (grade-based) suborder including lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers; now largely obsolete.

Anthropoids

Traditional grouping of monkeys, apes, and humans; corresponds to clade Haplorhini excluding tarsiers.

Strepsirrhini

Modern clade containing lemurs and lorises; defined by traits like dental comb and grooming claw.

Dental Comb

Forward-projecting lower incisors and canines of strepsirrhines used for grooming and feeding.

Grooming Claw

Specialized claw on the second toe of strepsirrhines for personal grooming.

Moist Rhinarium

Wet, naked nose tip retained in strepsirrhines but absent in haplorhines.

Tapetum Lucidum

Reflective eye layer enhancing night vision; present in strepsirrhines, absent in haplorhines.

Haplorhini

Clade containing tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans; characterized by dry nose and postorbital closure.

Postorbital Closure

Bony wall behind the eye socket; complete in anthropoids, partial (bar) in prosimians.

Vertical Clinging and Leaping (VCL)

Locomotor pattern using hind-limb thrusts on vertical supports; common in many lemurs, galagos, tarsiers.

Intermembral Index (IMI)

Ratio of fore-limb to hind-limb length; indicates locomotor adaptations.

Lemuroidea

Superfamily including all Malagasy lemurs (five living families).

Lemuridae

Family of medium-sized lemurs (e.g., Eulemur); mainly frugivore–folivore, female-dominant societies.

Indriidae

Family including indri and sifakas; large VCL specialist folivores, often monogamous.

Cheirogaleidae

Family of dwarf and mouse lemurs; small nocturnal omnivores with seasonal breeding and torpor.

Lepilemuridae

Sportive lemurs; nocturnal folivores that practice coprophagy and VCL.

Daubentoniidae

Aye-aye family; solitary nocturnal lemur with rodent-like incisors and elongated third finger.

Lorisoidea

Superfamily of lorises, pottos, and galagos (bushbabies).

Lorisidae

Family of lorises and pottos; slow, stealthy climbers with reduced index finger and toxic bite in slow loris.

Galagidae

Family of galagos; agile nocturnal leapers with large mobile ears and loud calls.

Tarsiiformes

Infraorder consisting solely of tarsiers; haplorhine primates of SE Asian islands.

Tarsiidae

Family of tarsiers; small nocturnal insectivores with enormous eyes and elongated tarsal bones.

Noyau

Social system in which solitary males’ ranges overlap those of several solitary females.

Platyrrhini

New World monkey parvorder; 2-1-3-3 dentition, lateral nostrils, some with prehensile tails.

Catarrhini

Old World monkeys, apes, and humans; 2-1-2-3 dentition, downward nostrils, tympanic tube present.

Prehensile Tail

Grasping tail used as a fifth limb; present in some platyrrhines (e.g., atelines) but absent in catarrhines.

Auditory Bulla Types

Annular ectotympanic in platyrrhines (no bony tube) vs. tubular ectotympanic in catarrhines.

Ischial Callosities

Hairless pads on the rump of many catarrhines enabling comfortable sitting.

Pitheciidae

New World monkey family containing sakis, uakaris, and titis; many are seed predators.

Callicebinae

Subfamily of titi monkeys; monogamous pairs with male infant care.

Atelidae

Family including howler, spider, woolly, and woolly-spider monkeys; prehensile tails common.

Schizodactyly

Split-hook hand posture of spider monkeys due to reduced thumb for suspensory locomotion.

Howler Monkey

Alouatta genus; large folivorous atelines with enlarged hyoid bone for loud vocalizations.

Cebidae

Family containing capuchins, squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys, marmosets, and tamarins.

Capuchin Monkey

Cebus/Sapajus genus; tool-using omnivore with high intelligence and prehensile tail.

Callithrichinae

Marmosets and tamarins; tiny clawed platyrrhines with twin births and cooperative polyandry.

Aotinae (Owl Monkeys)

Only nocturnal haplorhines; large eyes, monochromatic vision, small family groups.

Cercopithecoidea

Superfamily of Old World monkeys; divided into Cercopithecinae and Colobinae subfamilies.

Cercopithecinae

Cheek-pouch monkeys (e.g., macaques, baboons); generally frugivorous omnivores with broad incisors.

Papionini

Tribe including baboons and macaques; large terrestrial groups, marked sexual dimorphism.

Colobinae

Leaf-eating monkeys with sacculated stomachs and high-cusp molars (e.g., colobus, langurs, proboscis).

Hominoidea

Superfamily of apes and humans; no tail, broad thorax, dorsal scapula, Y-5 molars.

Hylobatidae

Lesser apes (gibbons & siamangs); true brachiators in SE Asia, monogamous duetting pairs.

Ponginae

Orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra; arboreal fist-walkers, extreme sexual dimorphism, bimaturism.

Bimaturism

Male orangutan developmental strategy producing flanged (dominant) and unflanged (subadult) morphs.

Gorillinae

Gorillas; largest primates, folivorous, knuckle-walking unimale groups led by silverback males.

Knuckle-Walking

Quadrupedal gait using dorsal finger joints; seen in gorillas and chimpanzees.

Homininae

Subfamily including chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans.

Common Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

West-central African ape with fission-fusion communities, tool use, and cooperative hunting.

Bonobo (Pan paniscus)

Congo Basin ape with more gracile build, female-centered sociality, frequent sociosexual behavior.

Fission–Fusion

Flexible social system where group size and composition change as subgroups split and merge.

Tool Use in Chimpanzees

Behavioral adaptation such as termite fishing, nut cracking, and spear hunting.

‘Trimates’

Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birutė Galdikas—Leakey’s three pioneering great-ape field researchers.

Vertical Clinger & Leaper IMI

Low intermembral index (~50–70) reflecting long hind limbs relative to forelimbs.

Brachiation IMI

High intermembral index (>120) exemplified by gibbons for arm-swinging locomotion.

Seed Predator

Dietary niche of sakis and uakaris that crack hard seeds with robust jaws.

Cheek-Pouch

Expandable oral sac in cercopithecines for temporary food storage.

Sacculated Stomach

Multi-chamber gut of colobines for fermenting leafy diet.

Prehensile Hallux Loss

Human big toe aligned with other digits, unlike divergent grasping hallux of most primates.

Calcarine Fissure

Brain sulcus in occipital lobe present in primates, linked to advanced vision.

Parental Investment

Extended care of offspring, a key Le Gros Clark primate trend.

Archonta

Superorder containing primates, dermopterans, scandentians, and chiropterans (in some schemes).

Systema Naturae

Linnaeus’s seminal 1758 work establishing binomial nomenclature.

Opposability

Ability of a digit to touch the tips of other digits, enabling grasping.