ANTHROP 1AA3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Brain Size, Thermoregulation, Australopithecus
6 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
There are approximately 190 species of non-human primates - prosimians, monkeys and apes ( monkeys and apes are in the group called anthropoides) Monkeys have tailed, larger in terms of weight. Primates can"t be easily defined by a few traits. We can see evolutionary trends instead: limbs and locomotion - how they get around, dentition - patterns of teeth, sense and the brain, development, origins from arboreal life (living in trees) Knuckle walking - walking on your feet and knuckles. Five digits on hands and feet, but some show diminished thumb and second finger. Partially opposable thumb and most have fully divergent, partly opposable big toe. Nails instead of claws (except some new world monkeys) Tactile pads with nerves at ends of fingers to enhance touch sense. Colour vision - all diurnal has it, nocturnal do not. Stereoscopic vison allows to see in three dimensions. Binocular vision-both eyes set toward front of head.
