Lemurs (Prosimians/Strepsirhini):
a.) Lemurs are forest
creatures, many species live in Madagascar’s tropical rainforests, but some
live in dry deciduous forests with dry brush and scrub, but can also be found
in closed canopy forest. Lemurs have the most restricted range of all
primates, being found exclusively on the island of Madagascar and the nearby
Comoro Islands, where they do not have to contend with competition from the more
advanced non-human primates. Ring-tailed lemurs spend a lot of time
on the ground, almost as much time on the ground as in the trees;
which is unusual among lemur species. They forage for fruit, which makes up the
greater part of their diet, but also eat leaves, flowers, tree bark, and sap.
The pygmy mouse lemur is the smallest primate in the world. Its head and body
are less than two and a half inches long, though its tail is a bit more than
twice that length. Unlike other lemur species it is found in open areas and
will walk along the ground as well as moving between the trees
b.) Ring-tailed
lemurs live in groups known as troops. These groups may include 6 to 30
animals, but average about 17. Both sexes live in the troops, but a dominant
female presides over the group. Lemurs are unusually sociable for
prosimians, this is especially true of the ring-tailed lemurs. Unlike most
other primate species, lemur females generally dominate males in their social
interactions. They communicate through powerful scent
glands and use their unique odor as an interaction tool. During mating season,
male lemurs battle for dominance by trying to out-stink each other. They cover
their long tails with their smelly secretions and wave them in the air to
determine which animal is most powerful. After successfully mating, some lemur species, such as the dwarf and mouse
lemurs, have litters of two or more young. Others, such as the sifakas and
ring-tailed lemurs, give birth to only one baby at a time.
c.) During
an evolution that lasted millions of years, different species developed. Lemurs’
behaviors and adaptations evolved differently from the primates
in other parts of the world. Lemurs have strong hands and fingers to help them
to climb trees easily and their muscular legs are adapted for jumping. They
have also formed troops for security, there’s safety in numbers. Hawks and
other predators are less likely to attack a group than a lone lemur.
Spider Monkey (New World
Monkey/Platyrrhini) :
a.) New
World monkeys, like the spider monkey, are limited to the tropical forest environments of southern
Mexico, Central, and South America. The tropical rainforest provides a comfortable and safe environment
for the monkeys to inhabit. Spider monkeys find food in the
treetops and feast on nuts, fruits, leaves, bird eggs, and spiders. Spider monkeys spend almost all of their time in the canopy and rarely descend to the forest floor.
b.) These
New World primates are social and gather in groups of up to two- or three-dozen
animals. At night, these groups split up into smaller sleeping parties of a
half dozen or fewer. Foraging also occurs in smaller groups, and is usually
takes place early in the day. Spider monkeys can be noisy animals (I’ve
experienced this myself) and often communicate with many calls, screeches,
barks, and other sounds. Mating between black spider monkeys first involves the
female approaching a potential male and presenting her genitals. If he shows
interest, the mating pair separate themselves from the group either briefly or
up to several days. If a female is ranging in a subgroup without males, she
will react to the calls of males from neighboring groups by leading her group
in the direction of the calls and will either choose to mate with one of the
males of this new subgroup or will continue on, looking for other potential
mates. Typically, females give birth to only a single baby every two to five
years.
c.) One characteristic that defines the New World
Monkeys is the presence of a prehensile tail.
A prehensile tail is characterized by having a patch of skin at the tip of the
tail enabling the animal to use it like a fifth hand. The hands of the Spider Monkey possess no
thumbs their tails allow them to grip and pick up objects. Also,
the presence of a central eye area is characteristic of this group. It can be
seen in the phylogenetic tree as a characteristic that differentiates the
spider monkeys from the lemurs.
Baboons(Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae):
a.) The
Old World monkeys occupy a wide variety of environments in South and East Asia,
the Middle East, Africa, and even Gibraltar at the southern tip of Spain.
Some species inhabit tropical forests, while others live on arid grasslands and
even mountainous areas with heavy winter snows. There are five
different species of baboons. All of them live in Africa or Arabia. Baboons
generally prefer savanna and other semi-arid habitats, though a few live in
tropical forests. They spend much of their time on the ground. Baboons are
opportunistic eaters and, fond of crops, become destructive pests to many
African farmers. They eat fruits, grasses, seeds, bark, and roots, but also
have a taste for meat and will eat birds, rodents, and even the young of larger
mammals, such as antelopes and sheep.
b.) Baboons
form large troops, composed of dozens or even hundreds of baboons, governed by
a complex hierarchy. Males use shows of physical power to dominate rivals, and
troop members spend endless hours carefully grooming one another to remove
insects and dead skin. Baboons are among the most social animals and their strong
social
bonds are fundamental to their lives. Baboons
are usually very sexually dimorphic. In these species, adult males are
often twice as large as females and much more aggressive. These are effective
weapons in defense against predators and competition with other males for
mates. Females develop prominent sexual skins around the time of
ovulation. This is a signal to males that they are sexually receptive.
c.) Although
they are affected by ecological variables in similar ways as other animals,
baboons are more adaptable than most and as a result have colonized a wide variety
of niches across Africa. As one outcome of their ecological flexibility, they
do quite well when living alongside humans.
Gibbon(Lesser ape/Hylobatidae)
:
a.) These
acrobatic mammals, are prevalent in the dense forests of southern Asia, are
perfectly adapted to life in the trees and rarely descend to the ground.. There
are 15 recognized species of gibbons ranging from northeastern India to
southern China to Borneo. They are all tailless, and their long coats vary from
cream to brown to black. Gibbons thrive on the abundant fruit trees in their
tropical range, and are especially fond of figs. They will occasionally
supplement their diet with leaves and insects.
b.) Gibbons
are monogamous (a rare trait among primates) and live in family groups
consisting of an adult pair and their young offspring. Adults
regularly defend their territory against others of their species with
piercingly loud whooping and hooting vocalizations. Also, the
family will stake out a territory and defend it using loud, haunting calls that
can echo for miles throughout the forest. Mated pairs, and even whole families,
will sing long, complex songs together.
c.) Some
species of gibbon have even adapted large throat pouches to amplify their
calls. Gibbons have long arms with sturdy rotary cup shoulder joints,
comparatively short legs, permanently curved fingers, and light weight
bodies. These traits allow them to swing long distances with little
effort. Their shoulder joints are even
specially adapted to allow greater range of motion when swinging. They have
strong, hook-shaped hands for grasping branches, comically outsized arms for
reaching faraway limbs, and long, powerful legs for propelling and gasping.
When gibbons walk, whether along branches or in the rare instances when they
descend to the ground, they often do so on two feet, throwing their arms above
their head for balance.
Chimpanzee(Great ape/Hominidae)
a.)
Chimpanzees
habituate themselves to African rain forests, woodlands, and grasslands. The
chimpanzee diet is usually at least 90% vegetarian. Males are more likely
to eat meat than are females, although chimp-hunting skills are relatively
poor. Chimpanzees usually sleep in the trees as well, employing
nests of leaves. Chimps are generally fruit and plant eaters, but they also
consume insects, eggs, and meat, including carrion. They have a tremendously
varied diet that includes hundreds of known foods.
b.) Chimps
are intelligent animals with generally pleasant personalities. However,
the males are less peaceful than the smaller females. Chimpanzees live in fluid
societies of 10-50 individuals without monogamous mating bonds.
Membership changes through time as females move from one community to another
seeking new mates. In contrast, males usually stay together in their
natal community throughout their lives and act as a group in defending the food
resources of their territory against incursions by other chimpanzee
communities. These interactions can be quite noisy, violent, and
sometimes fatal. Chimpanzees live in social communities
of several dozen animals, Females can give birth at any time of
year, typically to a single infant that clings to its mother's fur and later
rides on her back until the age of two. Females reach reproductive age at 13,
while males are not considered adults until they are 16 years old.
c.)
Chimpanzees are comfortable walking quadrupedally
on the ground in addition to climbing in trees. Chimpanzees are our
closest living relatives, sharing more than 98 percent of our genetic
blueprint. Humans and chimps are also thought to share a common ancestor who
lived some four to eight million years ago. Although they normally walk on all
fours (knuckle-walking), chimpanzees can stand and walk upright. By swinging
from branch to branch they can also move quite efficiently in the trees, where
they do most of their eating. Chimpanzees are one of the few animal species
that employ tools. They shape and use sticks to retrieve insects from their
nests or dig grubs out of logs. They also use stones to smash open tasty nuts
and employ leaves as sponges to soak up drinking water. Chimpanzees can even be
taught to use some basic human sign language.
Summary:
All
species of primates have adapted very well to the environment in which that
inhabit. Primates that primarily inhabit the canopy of forests have evolved
physically to suit their environment some with prehensile tails others with
rotary joints and permanently curved finger joints to enable them to swing
through trees. Primates have also adapted socially, often living in large
troops or families to improve their chance for survival, forever proving that there
is power in numbers. Socializing within these troops and families is also a
very significant aspect to the life of a primate as well. It’s interesting that
the different species of primates are so scattered throughout the world and are
often isolated from other types of primates, its an interesting aspect to their
evolution that the different types of species with all of their physical and behavioral traits are so different from each other. This idea is proven through the fact that the environment that these primates live in drastically influences their expression of physical and behavioral traits.
Below are images that my boyfriend and I took in Costa Rica, we were on a random hike and to our surprise, these monkeys surrounded us!! One of the coolest experiences we've ever had!!
