1. Developing Primate Traits and the Primates that Exhibited them
Ancient Primates
Developing Primate Traits and the Primates that Exhibited them

2. Two Competing Theories: Setting the Stage
Early Paleocene: Climate change
Moving away from warm, damp, swampy Cretaceous period
Forests (complete with edible leaves and fruits), savannahs, flowering plants begin to flourish
New forest habitats provide for explosion in insect populations
Establishes an abundance of food for development of various insectivorous mammals

3. Theory 1: Arboreal Theory
Focuses on the insectivores that moved into the trees
G. Elliot Smith – searching trees for food favors vision over smell
Snout recedes bringing eyes forward-facing
Frederic “Trees are made of” Wood Jones– emphasizes changes in the hands and feet
Grasping useful for climbing trees
Treacher Collins – Vision emphasis
3-D binocular vision is useful to not die whilst jumping around in trees
Frederick Szalay – diet
Tree life exposes early mammals to new seeds, leaves and fruits as foodstuffs

4. Sadly, Mammal B would never evolve those traits as a large prehistoric crocodile-like thing ate him shortly after he hit the ground

5. Competing Theory: Visual Predation Theory
Matt Cartmill
Flaws with Arboreal Theory
Many living mammals do fine in trees w/o primate traits
Squirrels for example
Many non-primates exhibit primate traits
Owls and cats have forward-facing eyes
Chameleons, some marsupials have grasping hands/feet

6. VPT continued . . .
Grasping hands and feet advantageous for hunting insects
Holding on with feet while hands grabbed prey
3-D vision to gauge depth and distance
Can see how far away that bug is and nab ‘im up. GRAB’N’CHOMP!
Eyes on the front leave less room for snout structures
Nocturnal lifestyle also favors vision

8. Let’s check out those old primates
5.2 million years ago
55 mil.
24 mil.
Miocene
Paleocene
Eocene
Oligocene
Early
Middle
Late
65 million years ago
34 mil.
16 mil.
10 mil.

9. Paleocene (65-55 million years ago)
Plesiadapiforms
Possible primates
Some disagreement in Anthropological circles
Share a few traits with later definite primates
More differences, so no consensus

10. Eocene: 55-34 million years ago
Early Prosimian ancestors
First definite primate appearance
Adapids
Lemur-like features
Kitten to cat-sized
Omomyids
Tarsier-like features
Squirrel sized

11. Oligocene: 34-24 million years ago
First Anthropoid ancestors
Rainforest in Fayum region (Egypt, near Mediterranean
Parapithecids
Monkey-like
Propliopithecids
Ape-like

12. Miocene: 24-5.2 million years ago
Emergence of Hominoids
Early (24-16)
Proconsul – one of earliest definite hominoids
Middle (16-10)
Kenyapithecus
Late (10-5)
Sivapithecus – possible orangutan ancestor
Gigantopithecus giganteus – close relative
Dryopithecus – possible chimp ancestor

14. What about HominIDS??? Not yet, be patient dangit!
We’ll get them in the next unit, stop badgering me already!

15. Lets have us a little looky-see
Modern Primates
Lets have us a little looky-see

16. Prosimians: Lemurlike Forms
Lemurs
Prosimian Literally, “pre-monkey”
Mobile ears
Twinning is Common
Stereoscopic vision
Hind legs suggest aptitude for VCL
Snouts
Quadrupedal locomotion
Grasping hands

17. Prosimians: Lemurlike
Indris
Vertical Clinging in action!

18. Prosimians: Lemurlike
Aye-ayes

19. Prosimians: Lorislike
Lorises
Why such enormous eye sockets?

20. Prosimians: Lorislike
Bushbabies
Note the HUGE disparity in limb size – Textbook example of the proportions of a VCL’er

21. Prosimians: Tarsiers Tarsiers HUGE nocturnal eyeballs
So-named due to huge ankle bones, help it leap
Insectivorous. YUM!

22. Anthropoids: New World Monkeys
Marmosets
Flattened faces, non-mobile ears
Often birth twins
Males help raise young, carry them
Platyrrhines – flat-nosed; wide septum, nostrils point to side

23. Anthropoids: New World Monkeys
Tamarins

24. Anthropoids: New World Monkeys
Cebids
Generally larger than Marmosets and Tamarins
~12.5 in
1-2 lbs
Single-births more common
~3 ft
Up to 30 lbs
Wide variation in size, social habits, etc.

25. Anthropoids: Old World Monkeys
Colobine Monkeys
Catarrhines – “hook nose” – narrow septum, downward pointing nostrils

26. Anthropoids: Old World Monkeys
Cercopithecines - Mandrills
Terrestrial
Sexual dimorphism
Up to ~60 lbs

27. Anthropoids: Old World Monkeys
Cercopithecines cont’d
Ischial callosities

28. Hominoids: Hylobates
Gibbons/Siamangs
Excellent Brachiators!

29. Hominoids: Orangutans
Note the striking sexual dimorphism!

30. Hominoids: Gorillas
Led by a dominant male
Knuckle-walking

31. Hominoids: Chimpanzees
Bonobos

32. Hominoids: Chimpanzees
Chimps
Knuckle- walking
Expressive faces

34. Charles Darwin:
The Man, the Ideas, and the Other Stuff

35. The Original “Chuck D” Darwin studied plants and animals
Specifically, interested in changes in species
Pointed to evolution via natural selection
1859 – The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
Helped popularize the notion that humans descended from nonhuman forms
Espoused the idea officially in 1871 book – The Descent of Man

36. EVER WONDER WHY SOME FLORIDIANS TRY SO HARD TO SAVE THE MANATEES?

37. These relatively dim-witted buggers need our help, at least in the heavily populated coastal areas, that’s why!
It’s all about Natural Selection!*
*PS, I realize that man’s developments jeopardizing the manatee is somewhat less than “natural” selection

38. Natural Selection
Darwin: not the first to view creation of new species in evolutionary terms. He just explained it better.
Natural selection
Survival of the Fittest
The process that increases frequency of adaptive traits over time
Three key characteristics:
Variation
Heritability
Differential Reproductive Success

39. I. Variation
Each species has variety with some characteristics better adapted to the environment
Some more adapted; some less
Without variation, there is no way for natural selection to operate – no selection!
Dendrobates auratus

40. II. Heritability Acquired Traits vs. Inherited Traits
Acquired Traits: Pierced ears, feet binding, stretching your neck with rings, earning a Ph.D., working out at the gym
Inherited Traits: Giraffes with long necks
Inherited Traits are inherited from parental units (right?)
Anyone in here resemble their parents?

41. III. Differential Reproductive Success
Frequency of ADAPTIVE traits increases over time
More adaptive members of a species are more likely to reproduce successfully (and more often). In this way, less adapted members, along with their poorly adapted traits, are phased out
Note the following examples . . .

42. Some examples of Camoflauge…

43. The Graceful Rhinoceros
Check out the enormous horns on this guy. 
Like this fine philly
Excellent for attracting foxy rhino ladies!!!

44. The Elegant Hippopotamus
Pictured here, two Bulls battle over territory or mating privilege
Check the Vid, YO!
Tough hide, huge teeth (which can weigh upwards of 7 pounds and grow to the approximate size of a human forearm) and enormous bite power PLUS they can open their mouths up to 4 feet wide. . . YIKES!

45. The Cuddly Alligator Several nifty adaptations here.
A clear extra eyelid for safe underwater vision and special muscles that close the nose and throat to keep water from getting in
Several nifty adaptations here.
Another vid (of a Nile Croc, but close enough for me)
One more vid, FF to about 1:40 or so

46. The Majestic Beaver
They also can close lips behind their ever-growing incisors to gnaw and carry branches underwater
Like ‘Gators, Beavers have valves in their noses (and ears) to keep out water

47. The Stunning Camel
Extra eyelashes and closeable nostrils to keep out sand
Fat stored in the hump for long stretches w/o food and water
Thick insulating fur – keep out some heat in the day and cold in the night
Leathery knee-pads for kneeling on hot sand
Wide foot pads to stay on (not in) the sand while walking

48. The Giraffe: When food is scarce for nature’s vegetarians, giraffe says “no biggie.” Greater Kudus may be large herbivores, but no Greater Kudu I know can eat the tops of the trees

49. (He may look mad, but deep down he knows I’m right)
-grumble grumble. . .

50. Maladaptive Traits Traits that diminish chances of survival
Some of the world’s oddities exhibit a lack of adaptation
They look sweet at first, but when we examine closer, they exhibit some very maladaptive traits – traits that diminish chances of survival
Have a look at . . .

51. Deb: What are you drawing. Napoleon Dynamite: A liger
Deb: What are you drawing? Napoleon Dynamite: A liger. Deb: What's a liger? Napoleon Dynamite: It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.
The Liger??? HARDLY . . .

52. Ligers and Tigons and Bears, Oh My!!!
(well not Bears)
Note the Striping!
The Liger – occurs exclusively in captivity. Offspring of Male Lion and female Tiger. Larger than either species (typical to hybrids), grow as large as 12’ tall standing and around ½ ton in weight. Like BattleCat, only real. Zounds!
Click here, dude
Leopons – Leopard/Lion hybrid. Note the mane, and the spots. Cool, eh?

53. Why don’t Giant Ligers dominate the world?
Cross-breeding very uncommon in wild
Territories of lions and tigers don’t really overlap
Interspecies breeding just doesn’t happen commonly among these large, undomesticated felines. Only in captivity
However, it may happen by accident in captivity
Like many cross-bred hybrids, mostly infertile.
Numbers are so small that they can’t establish themselves as a species even if they were fertile.

54. Some exceptions to the rules (a. k. a
Some exceptions to the rules (a.k.a. poor adaptations in humanity) [with multimedia linked]
Poor Depth Perception
Clearly, man wasn’t built to fly
Sometimes the easiest solution ISN’T the best
What happens when you don’t follow the common sense rules of the road?

55. The Australopithecines
Early Attempts at Man
The Australopithecines

56. Other than bipedalism . . . Other trends in hominid evolution
Expansion of the brain – see skulls
Absolute and relative
Link to tool production – nature favors the clever
Reduction of teeth, face, jaws
Changing food sources/processing make oversized jaws unnecessary
Extended period of infant dependency
Brain is larger, skull is unformed to accommodate birth of said brain
Eating large game
Hunted or scavenged, certainly butchered – marks on bones
Division of labor

57. Australopithecus – “Southern Ape”
Predominantly found in Eastern Africa
3.6 million year old fossilized footprints suggest bipedal movement
Spacing, arch, lack of knuckle marks, forward-facing first digit
Though bipedal, other fossils show ability to climb/swing

58. Australopithecus Ramidus (in text)
After more research, commonly given genus “Ardipithecus”
4.5 million years old
Pelvis suggests bipedalism, foot retains opposed first digit
Shares some skeletal traits with chimp ancestors, dentition with Australopithecus
Smaller relative brain size than australopithecines (similar to modern bonobos)

59. A. afarensis 4-3 million years old Ape-like teeth
Larger incisors/canines
Tooth rows converge at back
Small brains - ~415 cc
’ tall
Lucy – very complete skeleton – 40%
Suggestive of bipedalism, but also climbing characteristics

60. A. africanus 3-2 million years old Brain size – 428-485 cc
Broad incisors, short canines
Pelvis, spine, foramen magnum all suggest bipedal life
Taung Child – 3.5 year old at death – first pre-human found

61. A. robustus and A. boisei So-called “robust” species
More commonly now designated Paranthropus – “beside humans”
Robustus – Southern Africa
1.8-1 million years old
Boisei – Eastern Africa
million years old
Similar body size to other australopithecines
MUCH larger skull/jaw characteristics
Teeth, cheeks, muscle attachment points

62. Some Brief Homo Genus Traits
Progression to Modern Man

63. Recall Australopithecus . . .
Arising in Africa
Beginnings of bipedalism
Some tool use: probably not “production”
Some ape-like and human-like characteristics
Progression toward humanism

64. Homo genus species
We will compare/discuss three basic species of early homo genus
Homo habilis
Homo erectus
Homo sapiens

65. Construct in notes . . . The Legendary TRIPLE DECKER VENN DIAGRAM!
Choose one bubble for each of the three species

66. Homo habilis “able man,” “handy man,” or “skillful man”
Up to ~2.5 million years old
cc brain case
Found in Eastern Africa
Probable tool producers
Wooden weapons?
May have hunted or scavenged for meat
Most believe NOT directly in modern human lineage

67. Homo erectus “upright man” Up to ~1.8 million years old
Brain ~ cc
Found in Africa, Asia, and Europe
Made more specialized tools
Also may have been hunters or scavengers, but def. had some meat
Believed to be directly in modern human lineage

68. Homo sapiens “wise man” or “knowing man” Emerge ~200,000 years ago
~1300 cc brain (Neanderthals actually larger at ~1450 cc)
Highly specialized tools
Funerary rites
Art

69. “All-Three” piece Bipedal
Large brains relative to other primates and early hominids
Omnivorous
Tool use

70. “Erectus-Sapiens” piece
Control of fire
Refining tool production
Hunting of small game
~5-6’ tall as adults