ANTHROP 2FF3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Canine Tooth, Darwinius, Aegyptopithecus
2 Aug 2016
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Not our direct ancestors: north america and europe, probably not the ancestors of primates, too specialized in their dentition. Same ecological niche as rodents: closely related to the ancestors of primates. Dental formula 3. 1 incisor. 4 premolars. 3 molars later or reduced. Procubent incisors, with diastema between canines and incisors. Many arboreal quadrupeds, with hallux (big toe) in most cases not opposable. Arboreal life (szalay 1973: herbivore, acrobatic jumping and climbing. Visual predation (cartmill 1992: stereoscopic vision, flat nails, identify prey visually, grip it with forelimbs. Rise of the angiosperms (sussman 1991: coincides with flowering plants, reaching flowers, fruits nectar, reach think branches. Locomotion (cromption 1995: primary selection pressure was locomotion, stereoscopic vision for jumping on small branches. Distributed almost worldwide: except in austronesia, south america, antarctica. Disappear almost completely at end of eocene. North america: less frequent in europe. Molars: pointy cusps, long shearing crests. One of the most contested question in primate evolution. First remains from north america now disputed.
