Anthropology Zoo Assignment(BIOANTHROPOLOGY)

Primates

Animal

Vervet Monkey

Dwarf Lemur

Western Lowland Gorilla

Tarsier

Red Kangaroo

Locomotion

Terrestrial Quadruped

Arboreal Quadruped

Knuckle Walker

Leaper

Biped

A form of terrestrial locomotion of animals using four limbs or legs.

Primates that use all four limbs to move through trees.

A form of quadrupedal walking in which the body weight presses down on the ground through the knuckles.

When primates use their long legs and arms to leap from tree to tree.

A form of locomotion that allows you to move by its two rear limbs or legs.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Animalia

Animalia

Animalia

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Chordata

Chordata

Chordata

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Mammalia

Mammalia

Mammalia

Mammalia

Order

Primates

Primates

Primates

Primates

Diprotodontia

Family

Cercopithecidae

Cheirogaleidae

Great Apes

Tarsiidae

Macropodidae

Genus

Chlorocebus

Cheirogaleus

Gorilla

Carlito

Macropus

Species

Chlorocebus pygerythrus

Cheirogaleus major

Gorilla gorilla

Carlito syrichta

Macropodidae

Locomotor Patterns & Features

- Moves quadrupedally both on the ground and in the trees.

- Only occasionally leaps from tree to tree.

- This species descends trees in a head first manner.

- The fastest mode of locomotion is a gallop on all of its limbs.

- Often found in open areas of grasslands near lakes and rivers.

- Allows them to move around and interact with one another.

- It moves along the horizontal branches with a regular gait pattern involving all four limbs.

- They are not agile leapers.

- They utilize a diagonal gait and they tend to bend their elbows and knees as they move along branches.

- All of these characteristics help maintain balance along a curved surface.

- They are specialized for life in the trees.

- Postures such as vertical clinging, tail suspension, or foot hanging are associated with often linked to obtaining food.

- Often found in dry forests.

- The gorilla is active during the day and usually walks on all four limbs with part of its weight supported on the knuckles of its hands.

- Knuckle walking is shared with chimpanzees. Occasionally gorillas stand up directly, mainly when displaying.

- The main reason is because the vegetation cannot support the weight of males versus females.

- They spend the majority of their lives on the ground.

- Adult gorillas must climb near the main trunk of a tree or on large branches while juveniles and adolescents are more agile.

- Usually are around lowland areas of tropical forests.

- The tarsier body is well adapted for leaping.

- They have a unique heel, the legs and their muscles comprise around a quarter of the weight of the entire body.

- Due to their morphology, tarsiers are capable of leaping quite far.

- They have elongated ankle bones, which helps them leap.

-The legs are much longer than their arms.

- Displayed a preference for landing on medium-sized supports when leaping long distances, suggesting a preference for balancing the need for stability.

- Found in low mountain forests.

- The tail is responsible for as much force as the front and hind legs combined.

- During bipedal locomotion the tail is placed on the ground in sequence with the kangaroo's arms and hind legs.

- While the forelimbs and the hindlimbs of the kangaroo generated some forward thrust, the tail generated more thrust than both pairs of limbs combined.

- While the huge hindlimbs and small forelimbs of the kangaroo are an asset for bipedal hopping, they give the kangaroo a very uneven distribution of weight.

- If not for the propulsive tail, this weight distribution might make the kangaroo fall backwards during slow locomotion.

- Can be found in wooded forests/grassy plains, etc.

Primary Behavior Patterns & Features/Social Interaction

- The vervet monkey has a multimale-multifemale social system.

- Males move freely in and out of these groups while adult females are the center of a small family network.

- Grooming is important, they spend several hours a day removing parasites, dirt or other material from one another’s fur.

- In the primates’ hierarchy, dominant individuals get the most grooming. The hierarchical system also controls feeding, mating, fighting, friendships and even survival.

- Facial expressions and body postures are used to communicate threats or aggressive behaviour.

- Dwarf lemurs look for food in solitude at night.

- During the day they congregate, in packs of up to five to a tree hole, while they sleep.

- The composition of these sleeping groups changes seasonally, and often animals do choose to sleep alone.

- During the winter dry months they become dormant for up to 6 months, nesting in holes in trees. During this time they use stored fat in their tails to survive until the next wet season.

- During sleep and times of dormancy they are rolled up in a tight ball.

- Gorillas are generally peaceful, shy, and amiable unless threatened.

- Males will stand erect and beat their chests with their fists in attempts to intimidate or show off their strength.

- They rarely hit intruders, though. Instead, they rush past and may charge.

- Fighting plays an important role in group hierarchy.

- It is common that a newly-dominant male, after displacing the former dominant male, is likely to kill the infants in the group, thus returning all lactating females prematurely to reproductive cycling.

- Mutual grooming is not as common in gorillas as it is in other primate species.

- Tarsiers are both crepuscular and nocturnal and are very active throughout the night.

- At dusk, they travel for about 30 minutes until they find a forage site. During this time, they frequently stop to groom themselves by licking and scratching their fur with their claws.

- Also engage in play behavior, snuggling, allogrooming, and food sharing.

- Competition for food results in increased time foraging.

- Extremely territorial and engage in disputes with neighboring groups that venture into their boundaries.

- Red kangaroos are mostly nocturnal, resting in the shade during the day, but have been known to move about during the day.

-Most of their active period is spent grazing.

- During hot weather, kangaroos lick their forearms, which promotes heat loss by evaporation.

- They travel and feed in groups whose composition shifts, but they are not truly social, since the individual members move at liberty.

- Males fight for access to females by biting, kicking, and boxing.

- These methods are also used by kangaroos to defend themselves against predators. With their agile arms, they can spar vigorously.