Primate Adaptations

Primary source of vitamin c

The primary source of dietary vitamin C in the primate diet is FRUIT but vitamin C is also available in faunal foods (mammal livers, reptile kidneys, many insects).

Diurnal

most active during daylight hours; day-active; most primates are diurnal

Nocturnal

most active during night hours; night-active; includes crepuscular (active in low light hours at dusk and dawn) and cathemeral (variably active) primates

DIETARY VITAMIN C:

most mammals synthesize vitamin C in their livers; haplorhine primates cannot make their own vitamin C in their bodies and strepsirhine primates appear to manufacture insufficient amounts. Without dietary vitamin C, nonhuman and human primates die from the dietary disease known as scurvy.

Locomotion

primary means of travel; does not include foraging or sitting postures.

Knuckle-walkers

restricted to gorilla and chimpanzee apes of Africa; both regularly use trees but travel on the ground with unique hand and forelimb adaptations that force digits to fold into knuckle-walking posture

Bipeds

restricted to humans; terrestrial travel is made possible by unique pelvic and hindlimb adaptations that allow distance travel; for the record, among vertebrates, humans are not the only bipeds but, unlike other bipeds (some dinosaurs, birds, pangolins, etc.), humans descend from suspensory ancestors

Brachiators

restricted to the gibbon apes of Asia; below branch suspensory swinging with forelimbs (arms and hands) in trees; for the record, some monkeys engage in semi-brachiation but lack the upper body suspensory adaptations exhibited by hominoids;

Qaudrumanual Clamberers:

restricted to the orangutan apes of Asia; bridging from tree-to-tree by hand and foot grasping and cart-wheeling

Diet

concerns regularly consumed foods. MOST primate diets must include the following:

DIETARY PROTEIN

either from faunal sources (invertebrates & vertebrates) OR from plant sources (foliage, leaves, grasses, herbs, nuts, seeds, etc.);

One dietary exception

all primates consume dietary proteins, dietary carbohydrates, and FRUIT! The exception to this rule is the wild tarsier which is 100% faunivorous and has never been observed consuming fruit; this tiny haplorhine has a voracious appetite and probably consumes enough insects and reptiles to meet its daily dietary vitamin C needs.

Locomotor Categories:

all primates tend to have an upright (orthograde posture), most can leap, and most can balance for a few steps on two feet; locomotor categories are restricted to the primary means of travel:

Suspensory

this category is restricted to hominoids (ape and human superfamily); all share suspensory upper body adaptations but fall into specialized subcategories; this is the least-common locomotor category

Activity

time of day (out of a 24 hour period) in which the primate is most active and "makes a living" -- travels through its habitat, forages for food, socializes, and so forth.

Quadrupedal

use all four limbs to travel; arboreal quadrupeds primarily travel in trees; terrestrial quadrupeds primarily travel on the ground; semi-arboreal or semi-terrestrial quadrupeds regularly travel in both the trees and on the ground; like most mammals, most primates are quadrupedal

Leapers

use hindlimbs to leap from vertical substrate (usually tree trunks) to vertical substrate; this is the second-most common locomotor pattern

DIETARY CARBOHYDRATE

usually from fruit, but also from flowers, nectar, sap, gums, etc.