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Ancient Primates

Ancient Primates. Developing Primate Traits and the Primates that Exhibited them. Two Competing Theories. 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

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Ancient Primates

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

  2. Two Competing Theories • 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

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

  8. 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

  9. 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

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

  11. 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

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

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