Primates BIO 2215 Oklahoma City Community College Dennis Anderson

2 Order Primates Opposable thumb Binocular vision Fingernails usually Mammary glands reduced to one thoracic pair

3 Prosimians Large ears and eyes Wet nose

4 Tarsier Big eyes Elongated tarsal bones

5 Lemur Long fury tail Claws on some digits Elongated cranium

6 Anthropoids or Simians Fully binocular vision Reduced olfactory organs

7 New World Monkey Prehensile tail

8 Old World Monkey Tail not prehensile

9 Hominoid Apes and Man No tail

10 Orangutan

11 Gorilla

12 Chimpanzee

13 Hominid Bipedal Weight bearing pelvis Loss of opposable toe Flattened face Enlarged frontal lob

14 Australopithecus

15 Homo

16 Primates ProsimiansAnthropoids TarsiersLemursNew World Monkeys Old World Monkeys Hominoids

17 Hominoids Hominids Apes GorillaChimp Australopithecus Homo Orangutan

18 Animal Connection Humans share many traits with animals We are most similar to apes –Same 206 bones –All but 3 of 650 muscles the same –DNA is 98% the same –Same blood types Albino Gorilla

19 Why are we so similar to apes? Modern apes and modern man share a common ancestor who lived about 7 million years ago

20 Sequence of Human Evolution Hundreds of fossils have been found Some of the major fossils will be discussed in this presentation

21 Australopithecus afarensis 3.5 million years ago Nicknamed Lucy Walked upright Small brain Skeleton human like –Feet –Pelvis –Upright stance

22 Comparative Anatomy Gorilla pelvis adapted for knuckle walking Human pelvis adapted for upright walking Lucy’s pelvis very similar to human pelvis Lucy Human Gorilla

23 Knuckle Walking Requires an elongated pelvis and long arms

24 Lucy’s pelvis allowed her to walk like a human instead of an ape.

25 Fossilized Footprints Footprints left when a a pair of Australopithecines walked in the ash of a recently erupted volcano

26 Skull Anatomy Thick brow ridges like a chimpanzee Cranial capacity 400 cc. Chimp 350 cc. Teeth similar to human teeth Chimp Lucy

27 Lucy: A Transitional Fossil Transitional fossil shows characteristics of two kinds of animals –Represent the transition from one organism to another Ape characteristics –Skull –Cranial capacity Human characteristics –Walked upright –Feet –Pelvis

28 Australopithecus africanus 2.8 million years ago Cranial capacity 460 cc

29 Homo habilis Cranial capacity 630 cc Flatter face than Australopithecines Used tools –Nicknamed handy man

30 Homo erectus 1.8 million to 35,000 years ago 1,000 cc cranial capacity Large brow ridges Sloping forehead More advanced tools than H. habilis

31 Homo erectus Skeleton very similar to modern man Used fire Traveled –Fossils found in Africa, Europe, China, Indonesia

32 Homo neanderthalensis 200,000 to 25,000 years ago Cranial capacity up to 1750 cc –Larger than modern man No chin Sloping forehead Buried dead with tools and flowers

33 Neanderthal Man Mitochondrial DNA studies indicate he was not a direct human ancestor Contemporary species with early Homo sapiens H. sapiens out competed H. neaderthalensis

34 Homo sapiens 200,000 years ago to present –Photo is a skull 35,000 years old 1400 cc cranial capacity Vertical forehead Pronounced chin

35 Modern Homo sapiens Small front teeth Small brow ridges Rounded cranium

36 Sequence of Human Evolution One of several possibilities Common ancestor Homo sapiens Modern apes Australopithecus afarensis Australopithecus africanus Homo habilis Homo erectus Homo neanderthalensis

37 Evolution of Skull Cranial capacity increases for a larger brain Face become flatter Brow ridges become smaller Forehead becomes higher Chin develops

38 Sahelanthropus tchadensis 6 to 7 million years ago Flat face like Homo Cranial capacity about the same as a chimp Walked upright

39 The End