ANTH 233 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Trichromacy, Prehensile Tail, Atelinae
Document Summary
To varying degrees have converged on suspensory hanging adaptation and brachiation. Routine trichromatic color vision, only ones in new world. Foraging ecology suggests convergent evolution of routine trichromacy as an adaptation for folivory. Inter- and intra-specific pelage variability and some sexual dichromatism. Male howling as spacing mechanism - dawn and evening chorus. Expanded hyoid bone forms large resonant chamber. Poorly differentiated thumb, therefore schizodactylus - ii and iii to hold. Slow arboreal quadrupeds with increased tail use. Can exploit unripe fruit and mature leaves. Combination of enlarged salivary glands and hindgut, slow throughput time. Low travel, high rest, especially when food is low quality. Ateles - spider monkeys, live in upper canopy. Large and graceful with a brain twice the size of howlers. Very similar looking sexes, even down to the genitalia, low sexual dimorphism. Have a variety of locomotor habits, arboreal quadruped, suspensory behaviors, brachiating, climbing, sometimes bipedal in trees, leap.
