Fossils preservationMineralization - After an organism dies the hard tissues become impregnated with other minerals and eventually solidify

Insects encased in tree sap - No oxygen = well preserved insects (we can extract DNA from them!).

Impressions of leafs/things - clay hardens into stoneAnthr Ex. 47 mya well preserved primate skeleton with soft-body imprint and fossilized remains associated with the digestive tract (Franzen et al 2009).

Footprints from dinosaurs and early Hominins

Most available fossil data is inferred from teeth - including primates-hardest, most durable part of vertebrate skeleton = most likely to mineralize

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Species ConceptsBiological Species Concept - BSC - Species boundaries form due to reproductive isolation-New species form due to some type of isolation-The accumulated effects of drift and natural selection are emphasized

Kingdom > Phylum > Class > Order > Family > Genus > Species

Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia Order: Primates

Family: HominidaeGenus: Homo

Homo sapiens

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Homologies and Analogies

Homologies - Structures shared by species due to common descent

Examples-multicellular (very broad)

Analogies - similar structures arise in other lineages in response to different functional demands

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Homologies and Analogies

Homologies - Structures shared by species due to common descent

Analogies - similar structures arise in other lineages in response to different functional demands

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Cladistics more explicit and rigorous Ancestral traits - shared via common distant ancestryEx. Grasping hand in humans

Derived traits - modified from the original ancestral traits-help to distinguish between evolutionary groups-cladistics looks at derived traits

Ex: Land vertebrates = general ancestral forelimb patternbut the modifications in different groups helps us distinguish between the groups

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Vertebrate evolution-spans Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic eras

Fish ~500 mya in the Paleozoic (earliest out of reptiles, mammals, and birds)

Continental drift = continents move like sliding plates on the Earth's surface-Large landmasses move in geologic timePangea - late Paleozoic singular land mass -Large chunks split to the north and south in the early Mesozoic ~65 my

Mammal-like reptiles ~250 mya - diversify in Late Paleozoic

Reptiles/dinosaurs ~252 mya = most dominant land vertebrates cf Mesozoic -expanded into a wide array of econiches

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Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction~66 mya = Cretaceous-Tertiary or K-T boundary

-Large asteroid impacted the Earth caused dramatic changes in the global environmentEx: Plants and plankton could not photosynthesis

75% of plants and animals went extinct

-Dinosaurs died off = empty ecological niches

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Mammalian Evolution ~75 mya diverged -became dominant land-living vertebrates-rapid growth starting the Cenozoic Era

Major Mammal Groups

*Monotremes - egg-laying = most ancestral

*Marsupials - pouched = immature young complete development in external pouch

*Placental - long development period in utero and placental tissue specialized to provide nourishment

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Rise of Mammals

Distinctive mammalian featuresLarge brains - complex information processingEx. cerebrum enlarged - trend continued to increase in primates

Placental - give live birth

Heterodont - ancestral mammalian teeth patterns -generalized

Endothermic - maintained constant internal temperature thru metabolic activities

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Ch 6 Order: Primates

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Summary of chapter*Why primatology is anthropology

*Geographical overview

*Primate features and evolution

*Taxonomy & survey of living primates

*Conservation and primatology

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Why primatology is anthropologyPrimatology: Study the behavior, biology, and evolutionary history of primates

Anthropologists: What makes us human?

Comparative approach:-modern human morphology-Hominin morphology

Possible answer: Compare our behaviors versus nonhuman primate behavior-helps us identify what makes us distinct

Examples: Culture and language distinct to humans12

Generalized and Specialized Characteristics

Generalized = adapted for many functions-ancestral characteristics -give flexible evolutionary springboard for rapid diversification which leads to:

Specialized = modification to narrow ecological niche-derivedEx. Hominin feet evolution

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Primate features and evolution-features found among many different mammalian groups but collected together can distinguish the primate order

1. Limbs and locomotion

2. Diet and teeth

3. Senses and brain

4. Maturation and behavior

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Primate features and evolution-features found among many different mammalian groups but collected together can distinguish the primate order

1. Limbs and locomotion-generalized anatomy = adapt to variety of ecological niches-prehensility - more so than other animals-- opposable thumbBrachiation - arboreal locomotion (through tropical environments primates inhabited)

2. Diet and teeth3. Senses and brain4. Maturation and behavior

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Primate features and evolution1. Limbs and locomotion

2. Diet and teeth-most primates = omnivorous - generalized diet correlates with generalized dentition

3. Senses and brain4. Maturation and behavior

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Primate features and evolution1. Limbs and locomotion2. Diet and teeth

3. Senses and brain-rely heavily on visionprimates see in color-flat faces = eyes facing forward = stereoscopic vision

Diurnal - active during...

4. Maturation and behavior

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Primate features and evolution1. Limbs and locomotion2. Diet and teeth3. Senses and brain

4. Maturation and behavior= mammals -> primates have large brains -learning and social behavior emphasized (long gestation, delayed maturity, socialization)-primates have a greater dependence on these behaviors

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Geographical overview

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Primate evolutionAdaptations = arboreal

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