Chapter 9 Anthro

Fossil apes did not appear throughout geographic space all at once. They started in a particular location and migrated. Place the following continents in the chronological order that they were inhabited.

1. Africa 2. Europe 3. Asia

What were the first true primates called?

Euprimates

When did the first apelike primates arise?

Miocene

Match the name of the epoch to the primates that first appeared during this time.

Old World Monkeys: early Miocene Apes: mid Miocene New World Monkeys: Oligocene Prosimians: Paleocene-Eocene Humans: Pleitocene

When did the first monkeys reach South America?

Oligocene

The following are alternative hypotheses regarding the presence of platyrrhines in South America. Which of these is/are supported by available evidence?

Platyrrhines evolved from an African anthropoid and migrated across the Atlantic to South America. Platyrrhines evolved from an anthropoid in Africa that migrated south (mainly) on land to Antarctica and then to Patagonia, at the southern tip of South America.

Which of the following hypotheses is/are related to the evolution of unique primate traits?

angiosperm radiation hypothesis arboreal hypothesis visual predation hypothesis

What was the first major group of catarrhine primates in the Miocene called?

proconsulids

Aegyptopithecus was one of the most common ____________

propliopithecids

Which of the following characteristics did Archicebus share with modern monkeys and which characteristics did they share with modern tarsiers?

tarsiers: short snout, high and pointed molar cusps monkeys: ankle bones, heel bones

What was the climate of the Fayum Depression like during the Oligocene?

warm, wet, and somewhat seasonal

Plesiadapiforms most likely ____________ the first primates.

were not

During which epochs do scientists believe the first primates may have evolved?

~66 mya in the Paleocene ~56 mya in the Eocene

Put the following hypotheses in the chronological order in which they were proposed (oldest to most recent).

1. arboreal hypothesis 2. visual predation hypothesis 3. angiosperm radiation hypothesis

Place the following groups of early anthropoid primates in chronological order.

1. oligopithecids 2. parapithecids 3. propliopithecids

The first primate fossil ever discovered was called ___________.

Adapis

Unlike other plesiadapiforms, ______________ had a number of characteristics that make it a potential euprimate ancestor.

Carpolestes

Of all of the alternative hypotheses about how anthropoids first reached South America, scientists are most certain that the ancestors of New World primates rafted across the sea on islands of floating vegetation.

FALSE

Scientists have a very good idea of which Miocene apes are the direct ancestors of humans, as well as of all the other modern apes.

FALSE

What was the climate of the Fayum Depression like during the Oligocene?

FALSE

The site where the earliest known like haplorhine fossils were found is called the ___________ Depression.

Fayum

Although Cuvier did not correctly identify Adapis, which of the following did he accomplish?

He meticulously described Adapis. He planted the seeds for asking key questions about primate evolution. He influenced how later scientists classified fossils. He helped document the process of primate evolution.

Which of the following middle Miocene fossil primates is most likely the most direct ancestor of modern orangutans?

Khoratpithecus

Match each taxonomic group of early haplorhine primates to its description.

Oligopithecids: These primates share many primitive features with the Eocene strepsirhines. However, they also share some derived features with contemporary haplorhines. Only some members of this group have a 2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3 dental formula. Members of this group may have ranged beyond the Fayum into North Africa and the Arabian Propliopithecids: This is a somewhat diverse group of fossil primates. Although they were larger in body size, they still showed signs of arboreal quadrupedalism. They had a 2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3 dental formula and ate mainly fruit. Parapithecids: This is a relatively diverse group of fossil primates, the largest of which were the size of a guenon (African forest monkey); the smallest were the size of a marmoset. They had a 2.1.3.3/2.1.3.3 dental formula and unspecialized, primitive teeth.

Match each hypothesis about the evolution of unique primate traits to the scientist(s) who proposed it.

Robert Sussman: angiosperm radiation hypothesis Sir Grafton Elliot Smith and Frederic Wood Jones: arboreal hypothesis Matt Cartmill: visual predation hypothesis

Scientists do not agree about exactly how early the first primates appeared on Earth.

TRUE

Match the following hypotheses about the evolution of unique primate traits to their predictions

arboreal hypothesis: Primates' defining characteristics were adaptations to life in the trees. visual predation hypothesis: Unique primate traits arose as adaptations for preying on insects and other small animals angiosperm radiation hypothesis: The grasping hands, grasping feet, and visual acuity of primates were mostly adaptations for eating fruit and other foods made available by modern groups of flowering plants.

The history of primate evolution is filled with the evolution of new species but also countless extinctions. While factors in each case are different, certain main factors continuously contributed to the extinction of various primates. Identify the main factors that led to the extinction of primates at various points in time.

human hunting competition climate change

Match each taxonomic group of fossil apes to its description.

oreopithecids: This was a group of Miocene apes that was found in Europe. They were medium-sized, with a tiny brain, adaptations for arm swinging, and teeth that were highly specialized for eating leaves. sivapithecids: This was a group of early Miocene apes that was found in Asia. They had robust jaw bones and thick-enameled teeth adapted for eating hard, tough-textured foods such as dryopithecids: This was a group of early Miocene apes that was found in Europe. They were larger than earlier apes, with larger brains, adaptations for arm swinging, sharp canines, and cheek teeth adapted for chewing fruit.

Plesiadapiforms are attributed to the order of ____________.

proprimates

Climatic changes in the late Miocene _____________ hominoid diversity in Asia and Europe.

reduced