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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is a prosimian? |
Small 5 digits on each hand and foot Either claws or nails Large forwards facing eyes for night vision Most nocturnal |
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Give an example of a prosimian |
Ring tailed lemur |
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In what temperature do prosimians prefer to be? |
Tropical Only found in tropical regions (Asia, India, Africa, Madagascar) |
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What are primates? |
Difficult to characterise ad lack strong specialisations Trends include: - changes in skeleton - increase in brain size - grasping hand - opposable thumb - mode of locomotion (not all primates) |
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What is the relationship between humans and chimpanzees? |
Chimpanzees are our closest relatives. They are NOT our ancestors. |
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What are Anthropoids? |
Higher primates |
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What is the earliest anthropoid? |
Aegytopithecus - smal fruit eating arboreal primate 5kg |
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What does arboreal mean? |
Lives in trees |
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What factors drove anthropoid evolution? |
Climate change. 35 mya Tropical and sub tropical forests gave way to grassland Rainfall decreased |
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In what ways did apes adapt after climate change? |
There became less prosimians and monkeys Hominoids diversified in the new environments and became abundant Ape populations became reproductively isolated causing increased diversity among hominoids |
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What is a hominoid? |
Family that includes humans |
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In what year were discoveries made that pushed the age of hominids back to nearly 7 million years? |
2004 |
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What are Dryopithecines? |
A varied group of hominoids In size, skeletal features and life-style Evolved in Africa and spread to Eurasia |
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What are Proconsul? |
Best known dryopithecine Ape like fruit eating animal Limited activity on ground |
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What are Sivapithecids? |
Evolved in Africa then spread to Eurasia Few body limbs known so little about anatomy is known Powerful jaws and teeth - Ate harder foods Not leading to humans but to orangutans |
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What are the two lineages? |
- Dryophithecines, African Apes, hominids form one -Sivapithecids and orangutans form another (did not lead to humans) |
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What are Hominids? (family Hominidae) |
Humans and their extinct ancestors Primate family that includes present-day humans fossil record nearly 7 million years ago Bipedal - upright posture |
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Compare the locomotion in humans and gorillas |
Gorillas: - Quadrupedal - Ischium bone long - Pelvis tilted toward horizontal Humans - Bipedal -Ischium bone much shorter -Pelvis vertical |
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What is the oldest known hominid? |
Skull found in Chad in 2002 Sahelanthropus dates back to 7 mya Prominent brow ridges Small brain and most teeth chimp like |
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What's the second oldest hominid? |
Orrorin tugenensis 6 mya |
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What are Australopithecines? |
A collective term for all members of the genus Australopithecus. (5 species) |
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Who is Lucy? |
An adult female from 3.2 mya 40% of her skeleton was found She is a Australopithecus afarensis Biped |
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What was important about the hominid footprints? |
They proved that hominids were bipedal walkers at least 3.5 million years ago Footprints of two adults and possibly a child preserved in volcanic ash in Tanzania |
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What is the Homo habilis? |
"Handy man" Modern hands Existed 2.5 - 1.6 million years ago Larger brain than australopithicine ancestors but smaller teeth |
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What is the Homo erectus? |
"Java man" Tool maker/hunter gatherer Social groups Similar to humans |
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What are some of the dead ends of human evolution? |
Homo floresiensis (the hobbit) Homo neanderthalensis |
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What are Neanderthals? |
Very close to humans; differences include: Skull ling and low Heavy brow ridges, projecting mouth, weak chin Brain larger than our own |
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What were some of the behavioural features of Neanderthals that are similar to humans? |
Took care of injured Burial ceremony in a cave for dead |
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What are Cro-Magnons? |
300,000 years ago Name given to successors of Neanderthals in France Cave paintings |
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What is the Out of Africa view? |
Humans evolved from a single woman in africa Whose offspring migrated from Africa Populated Europe and Asia Some inbreeding with Neanderthals |
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What is the Multiregional view? |
Early modern humans established separate populations throughout Eurasia Occasional contact and interbreeding enabled species to maintain overall cohesiveness whilst still providing regional differences |
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When did the primates evolve? |
plaeocene |
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What 2 orders are primates divided into? |
Prosimians (lemurs) and anthropoids (new and old world monkeys, apes, hominoids(humans and their extinct ancestors)) |
