图片所属网页.pptVIP

Primates have grasping hands, a method of navigation referred to as brachiation.Primates have nails, not claws or hooves.Primates have stereoscopic vision, wherein the two eyes scan an overlapping part of the visual field before them. This improves the precision of depth perception.When a monkey moves from branch to branch; reliable depth perception is crucial, to judge the distance and safely reach the next branch. Primates have relatively large brains. primates evolved about 65 million years ago, just as the last of the dinosaurs were flickering out. About 40 million years ago, these early primates split into two surviving groups-the prosimians and anthropoids. The prosimians (basal primates)large eyes serve them well in their mostly nocturnal lifestyles. Primates are divided into two subgroups. The Prosimii (prosimians), probably resemble early arboreal primates and include the lemurs of Madagascar and the lorises, pottos, and tarsiers of tropical Africa and southern Asia. The Anthropoidea (anthropoids) include moneys, apes, and humans. The anthropoids; platyrrhines -- about 30 million years ago, some early anthropoids made it to South America ( how is still not known).Another group of anthropoids, the catarrhines, is African in origin. Table 14.1 Classification of Primates FIGURE 14.5 Primate Relationships Primates divide traditionally into two major groups. The prosimians tend to be small and nocturnal, including bush babies of Africa, the lemurs of Madagascar, and lorises and tarsiers of Southeast Asia. The anthropoids are more derived, including monkeys plus gibbons, apes, and hominids. In addition to monkeys, the anthropoid suborder also includes four genera of apes: Hylobates (gibbons), Pongo (orangutans, Gorilla (gorillas), and Pan (chimpanzees and bonobos)--Modern apes are confined exclusively to the tropical regions of the Old World. Fossils, together with molecular structures, pointed to a hominid divergence from chimpanzees at around 7 mi