Chapter 6: An Overview Of The Primates

Front 1

Adaptive niche

Back 1

The entire way of life of an organism: where it lives, what it eats, how it gets food, how it avoids predators, etc.

Front 2

Anthropoids

Back 2

Members of a suborder of Primates, the suborder Anthropoidea. Traditionally, the suborder includes monkeys, apes, and humans.

Front 3

Binocular vision

Back 3

Vision characterized by overlapping visual fields provided for by forward-facing eyes. Binocular vision is essential to depth perception.

Front 4

Brachiation

Back 4

A form of locomotion in which the body is suspended beneath the hands and support is alternated from one forelimb to the other; arm swinging.

Front 5

Cercopithecines

Back 5

The subfamily of Old World monkeys that includes baboons, macaques, and guenons.

Front 6

Coding DNA sequences

Back 6

DNA sequences DNA sequences that code for the production of a detectable protein product.

Front 7

Colobines

Back 7

The subfamily of Old World monkeys that includes the African colobus monkeys and Asian langurs.

Front 8

Cusps

Back 8

The elevated portions (bumps) on the chewing surfaces of premolar and molar teeth.

Front 9

Diurnal

Back 9

Active during the day.

Front 10

Estrus

Back 10

Period of sexual receptivity in female mammals (except humans), correlated with ovulation. When used as an adjective, the word is spelled estrous.

Front 11

Frugivorous

Back 11

Having a diet composed primarily of fruits.

Front 12

Hemispheres

Back 12

Two halves of the cerebrum that are connected by a dense mass of fibers. (The cerebrum is the large rounded outer portion of the brain.)

Front 13

Intelligence

Back 13

Mental capacity; ability to learn, reason, or comprehend and interpret information, facts, relationships, and meanings; the capacity to solve problems, whether through the appplication of previously acquired knowledge or through insight.

Front 14

Ischial callosities

Back 14

Patches of tough, hard skin on the buttocks of Old World monkeys and chimpanzees.

Front 15

Macaques

Back 15

A group of Old World monkeys comprising several species, including rhesus monkeys. Most macaque species live in India, other parts of Asia, and nearby islands.

Front 16

Midline

Back 16

An anatomical term referring to a hypothetical line that divides the body into right and left halves.

Front 17

Morphology

Back 17

The form (shape, size) of anatomical structures; can also refer to the entire organism.

Front 18

Natal group

Back 18

The group in which animals are born and raised. (Natal pertains to birth.)

Front 19

Neocortex

Back 19

The more recently evolved portions of the brain's cortex that are involved with higher mental functions and composed of areas that integrate incoming information from different sensory modalities.

Front 20

Nocturnal

Back 20

Active during the night.

Front 21

Noncoding DNA sequences

Back 21

Sequences that do not code for identifiable proteins but in many cases influence the actions of coding sequences.

Front 22

Omnivorous

Back 22

Having a diet consisting of many kinds of foods, such as plant materials (seeds, fruits, leaves), meat, and insects.

Front 23

Prehensitlity

Back 23

Grasping, as by the hands and feet of primates.

Front 24

Primatologists

Back 24

Scientists who study the evolution, anatomy, and behavior of nonhuman primates. Those who study behavior in noncaptive animals are usually trained as physical anthropologists.

Front 25

Prosimians

Back 25

Members of a suborder of Primates, the suborder Prosimii. Traditionally, the suborder includes lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers.

Front 26

Quadrupedal

Back 26

Using all four limbs to support the body during locomotion; the basic mammalian (and primate) form of locomotion.

Front 27

Reproductive strategies

Back 27

The complex of behavioral patterns that contributes to individual reproductive success. The behaviors need not be deliberate, and they often vary considerably between males and females.

Front 28

Rhinarium

Back 28

The moist, hairless pad at the end of the nose seen in most mammals. The rhinarium enhances an animal's ability to smell.

Front 29

Sensory modalities

Back 29

Different forms of sensation (e.g., touch, pain, pressure, heat, cold, vision, taste, hearing, and smell).

Front 30

Sexual dimorphism

Back 30

Differences in physical characteristics between males and females of the same species. For example, humans are slightly sexually dimorphic for body size, with males being taller, on average, than females of the same population.

Front 31

Specialized

Back 31

Evolved for a particular function; usually refers to a specific trait (e.g., incisor teeth), but may also refer to the entire way of life of an organism.

Front 32

Stereoscopic vision

Back 32

The condition whereby visual images are, to varying degrees, superimposed on one another. This provides for depth perception, or the perception of the external environment in three dimensions. Stereoscopic vision is partly a function of structures in the brain.