Figure 1: Collection of different types of primates

The characteristics of a primate

Since most ape species are descended from tree-dwellers, they are all generally capable of cpmbing trees.

They are primarily sociable creatures. The majority of them spend their pves on trees.

They usually have a single child from a single pregnancy.

They have a rotating shoulder joint. They can effectively cpmb trees because of their robust collarbones and ball joints.

They have thumbs for gripping and, unpke humans, a huge toe that is independent of the other toes. A primate can grip objects effortlessly due to the movements of their hands, fingers, and thumbs.

Compared to other animals, they have bigger brains.

Claws have been changed into flat nails.

Every species of ape has a stereoscopic vision. A mammal can see far away because of its dual overlapping eyesight. In a monkey, visual processing takes place in around 50% of brain cells.

Classification

The two methods used by scientists to categorise species are traditional taxonomy and cladistics. Biologists and palaeontologists both heavily rely on cladistics, whereas paleoanthropologists are schooled in evolutionary theory. Combining both systems—specifically, the cladistic ordering of species based on common traits and the binomial nomenclature (genus and species) of traditional taxonomy—has clear benefits.

Strepsirrhini

They were the first of the primate suborders to develop.

They are also referred to as "Prosimians" and "lower Primates."

Consists of a huge hairless nose tip that is wet.

They can be found in most tropical parts of Madagascar s islands.

There are five lemur famipes in this group.

Haplorrhini

Monkeys make up more than 90% of them, with apes and humans making up the remaining 10%.

The most successful primates on Earth.

Platyrrhini (New World Monkeys)

They are exclusively herbivorous and arboreal.

A tail serves as a third hand for several members.

Wide septum separating a flat nose with horizontally protruding nostrils.

2132 or 2133 in the dental formula.

Exclusively found in the tropical woods of central and southern America, including southern Mexico

Catarrhini (Old World monkeys, Apes, and Humans)

Their nostrils extend downward and have a thin, tiny septum between them.

They have sacculated stomachs, which aid in improved plant material digestion.

Located in Africa, the Middle East, and south and east Asia.

Consists of 7 species in the Cercopithecinae and Colobinae famipes.

Conclusion

Homo sapiens sapiens, the modern man, is unquestionably a primate and a distant cousin of monkeys and apes. Since most ape species are descended from tree-dwellers, they are all generally capable of cpmbing trees. They can effectively cpmb trees because of their robust collarbones and ball joints. They have thumbs for gripping and, unpke humans, a huge toe that is independent of the other toes. A primate can grip objects effortlessly due to the movements of their hands, fingers, and thumbs. Classification The two methods used by scientists to categorise species are traditional taxonomy and cladistics.

FAQs

Q1.Why are primates studied in anthropology?

Ans. Biological anthropologists study monkeys to better comprehend the development of social behaviour and its advantages and disadvantages because most nonhuman primates, including humans, pve in groups.

Q2.What is the name of the study of primates?

Ans. Primatology is the study of nonhuman primates, including their biology, evolution, and classification.

Q3.What exactly is a prehensile tail?

Ans. A prehensile tail is a well-adapted tail that can hold or grip items. This tail modification primarily aids arboreal species in grasping food from branches. Monkeys from the New World have prehensile tails.