ARCL-1006EL Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Foramen Magnum, Visual Communication, Depth Perception
16 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
ARCL 1006
Jan 29, 2018
Primate Characteristics
ā¢Reasons why we study primates
ā¢with a broad understanding of primates, we can hypothesize abut why all primates evolved
as they did.
ā¢to determine how each primate species evolved to adapt over time to certain conditions
ā¢To understand why particular adaptations occur to humans we need to examine other
organisms
ā¢Primate characteristics
ā¢upper body tends to an upright position- relation to the foramen magnum, and spinal cord
ā¢relatively generalized diet and dentition- molars, pre molars, incisors, etc.
ā¢Bunadonte form- bears, raccoons, primates
ā¢Prehensile (grapsing) hands and feet.
ā¢5 digits- pentadactyl.
ā¢Opposable is helpful for grasping
ā¢Focus on vision
ā¢Stereoscopic vision
ā¢all primates have forward facing eyes// each eye overlaps and sends messages to
the brain
ā¢depth perception
ā¢derived characteristic
ā¢Colour vision in diurnal primates
ā¢Found in old world primates
ā¢reduced dependency on sense of smell
ā¢Expansion of brain, larger brain to body ratio
ā¢Diurnal
ā¢MOST primates are active during the day
ā¢ones who arenāt active during the day are the ones who eat insects
ā¢being active during the day is good for visual foraging
ā¢Visual communication can only be done during daylight
ā¢gregarious- tendency to live in groups
ā¢Composition of groups vary from species to species
