Primate
hideA primate (pronounced /ˈprаɪmeɪt/, us dict: prī′·māt) is a member of the biological order Primates (/prаɪˈmeɪtiːz/ prī·mā′·tēz; Latin: "prime, first rank"), the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth,[a] most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia. Primates range in size from the Pygmy Mouse Lemur weighing only 30 grams (1.1 oz) to the Mountain Gorilla weighing 200 kilograms (440 lb). According to fossil evidence, the primitive ancestors of primates may have existed in the late Cretaceous period around 65 million years ago, and the oldest known primate is the Late Paleocene Plesiadapis, c. 55–58 million years ago. Molecular clock studies suggest that the primate branch may be even older, originating in the mid-Cretaceous period around 85 mya.
The Primates order has traditionally been divided into two main groupings: prosimians and simians. Prosimians have characteristics most like those of the earliest primates, and included the lemurs of Madagascar, lorisiforms, Aye-aye and tarsiers. Simians included the monkeys and apes. More recently, taxonomists have created the suborder Strepsirrhini, or "curly-nosed" primates, to include non-tarsier prosimians and the suborder Haplorrhini, or "dry-nosed" primates, to include tarsiers and the simians. Simians are divided into two groups: the platyrrhines ("flat nosed") or New World monkeys of South and Central America and the catarrhine ("narrow nosed") monkeys of Africa and southeastern Asia. The New World monkeys include the capuchin, howler and squirrel monkeys, and the catarrhines include the Old World monkeys (such as baboons and macaques) and the apes. Humans are the only catarrhines that have spread outside of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia, although fossil evidence shows many species once existed in Europe as well.
Considered generalist mammals, primates exhibit a wide range of characteristics. Some primates (including some great apes and baboons) do not live primarily in trees, but all species possess adaptations for climbing trees. Locomotion techniques used include leaping from tree to tree, walking on two or four limbs, knuckle-walking, and swinging between branches of trees (known as brachiation). Primates are characterized by their large brains, relative to other mammals, as well as an increased reliance on stereoscopic vision at the expense of smell, the dominant sensory system in most mammals. These features are most significant in monkeys and apes, and noticeably less so in lorises and lemurs. Three-color vision has developed in some primates. Most also have opposable thumbs and some have prehensile tails. Many species are sexually dimorphic, which means males and females have different physical traits, including body mass, canine tooth size, and coloration. Primates have slower rates of development than other similarly sized mammals, and reach maturity later but have longer lifespans. Some species live in solitude, others live in male–female pairs, and others live in groups of up to hundreds of members.
For more information about Primate, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with primate
Why can't chimps speak? Study links evolution of single gene to human capacity for language
Nov 11, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (15) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- If humans are genetically related to chimps, why did our brains develop the innate ability for language and speech while theirs did not?
Ancient Lemurs Take Bite Out of Evolutionary Tree (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 21, 2009 |
3.2 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- About 40 miles outside Cairo, Egypt, National Science Foundation-supported paleontologists from three American universities are revealing features of a newly discovered African primate and ...
Rare African Golden Cat Captured on Camera
Sep 16, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Yale anthropologist has captured photographic images of a rare, cougar-like cat ranging at night in an endangered Ugandan forest.
Gorilla King Titus dies in Rwanda
Sep 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Titus the Gorilla King, who became the world's most famous mountain gorilla after starring in Dian Fossey's "Gorillas in the Mist" and a BBC documentary, has died in Rwanda at the ripe old age of 35.
The African origin of anthropoid primates called into question
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Sep 15, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
2
Well-preserved craniodental fossil remains from two primate species have been discovered during excavations at an Algerian site. They reveal that the small primate Algeripithecus, which is 50 million years ...
Stone tools, rare animal bones discovered -- clues to Caribbean's earliest inhabitants
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 18, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (11) |
0
A prehistoric water-filled cave in the Dominican Republic has become a "treasure trove" with the announcement by Indiana University archaeologists of the discovery of stone tools, a small primate skull in ...
Bipedal humans came down from the trees, not up from the ground (w/ Video)
Aug 10, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
9
A detailed examination of the wrist bones of several primate species challenges the notion that humans evolved their two-legged upright walking style from a knuckle-walking ancestor.
Primate archaeology, proposal of a new research field
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 16, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
The use of tools by hominins - the primate group which includes humans (Homo) and chimpanzees and bonobos (Pan) - has been extensively researched by archaeologists and primatologists, both of who manifest the relevance of ...
The common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes may have originated in Asia
Jul 15, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (11) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- The discovery of a new primate fossil in Myanmar (formerly Burma) lends weight to the hypothesis that the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes (anthropoid primates) originated in Asia, and not in Africa. ...
Primate archaeology sheds light on human origins
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 15, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
1
A University of Calgary archaeologist who is one of the few researchers in the world studying the material culture of human beings' closest living relatives - the great apes - is joining his colleagues in ...
54-million-year-old skull reveals early evolution of primate brains
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 22, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (14) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Winnipeg have developed the first detailed images of a primitive primate brain, unexpectedly revealing that cousins of our earliest ...
Harvard scientist says we are what we eat -- and what we cook
Jun 01, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
0
"You are what you eat." Can these pithy words explain the evolution of the human species?
Why can we talk? 'Humanized' mice speak volumes
May 28, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (6) |
9
Mice carrying a "humanized version" of a gene believed to influence speech and language may not actually talk, but they nonetheless do have a lot to say about our evolutionary past, according to a report in the May 29th issue ...
Owners struggle to find sanctuaries for chimps
May 14, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Russ Cochran fondly recalls the fun he had with his chimpanzee when the animal was younger, taking him for rides in the car and to his cabin on the river. Boaters would stop to see Sammy, who would ...
Snakes and how they helped our big brains evolve
May 01, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (9) |
2
The threat of snakes gave primates superior vision and large brains -- and fueled a critical aspect of human evolution, UC Davis anthropology professor Lynne Isbell argues in a new book.
