Primate Evolution
Primate Evolution
Common Ancestor
• A common ancestor is the ancestor of two or more species.
• Shared derived characteristics are traits that species inherited from a common ancestor.
Classification
Phylogenetics tries to trace the origins and ancestry of various type or organisms.
Family Tree of Mammals
Linnaean Classification
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus
• Species
Binomial Nomeclature
• All organisms are given a binomial (two-name) designation. This includes their genus and species.
• Homo sapiens = Humans
• Felis catus = House cat
Animals
• Animals are the Kingdom of organisms that:
• Are multi-cellular
• Are independently mobile
• Have sense organs
• Eat food (as apposed to photosynthesize).
Kingdom:AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: Mammalia
• Warm blooded (maintain constant body temperature)
• Have Hair at some point in their life cycle.• Have mammary glands (provide milk for
young)• Give birth to live young
Kingdom:AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass:MammaliaOrder: Primates
• Adapted to living in trees• Grasping Hands• Large Brains• Stereoscopic vision
Primates
Primates are a group of mammals that are adapted to living in trees through stereoscopic vision, grasping hands and large brains.
Evolution
• Evolution is change in allele frequencies in populations over time.
• Evolution occurs through mutation, natural selection, gene flow and genetic drift.
Primate Evolution
Primates emerged around 58 million years ago and can be divided into a number of families.
Darwinius masillae ~47 million years
Primate Evolution
Primate Families
• Prosimians
• New World Monkeys
• Old World Monkeys
• Hominoidea (Apes and Humans)
Prosimians
• Live in Africa, South and South-East Asia (many in Madagascar)
• Have moist noses (like dogs and cats).
• Large eyes
• Limited opposability in their thumbs.
• Least “human-looking” of the primates.
Ring-tailed Lemur
Slender Loris
New World Monkeys
• Live in the Americas (Mexico, Central and South America)
• Have widely spaced nostrils separated by a thick septum.
• Many have prehensile tails (they can use their tails like an arm to grab things)
Golden Lion Tamarin
Capuchin Monkey
Squirrel Monkey
Old World Monkeys
• Live in Africa and Asia
• Downward facing nostrils
• Tails that aren’t prehensile
Rhesus Macaque
Rhesus Macaque
Langur
Hominoidea
Hominoidea is a category that contains both humans and apes.
Hominoidea
• Both Apes and Humans are classified in this group
• Tail-less primates
• Largest, most complex brains of any primates
• Good suspensory climbers
Great Apes
There are four members of Hominidae that are commonly called the Great Apes.
Orangutans
Bonobo
Gorilla
Chimpanzee
Gibbon: a “lesser ape”
Siamang: a “lesser ape”
Chimpanzees
• Of all extant primates, we share the most similarities genetically with chimps.
• Our DNA sequences are more than 98% identical with those of chimps.