Comparative Primate Blog Post

For this week’s assignment I am focusing on locomotor patterns of the five primates.

Lemurs:

a.     Lemurs are from the island of Madagascar as well as a few near by islands off the coast of Africa. They are not found anywhere else in the world. They live in trees as well as on the ground, but are typically found in the trees. These islands have a forest type of environment where these animals are found.

b.     Lemurs have two arms, two legs, and a very long tail. They walk and run using all four limbs on the ground. Unlike other primates they do not grip with their tails or hang from trees with their tails. They do stand on their legs for balance.

c.      The lemur has been on the island of Madagascar for thousands of years. On this island, they have survived by living in trees. They use their limbs to climb trees, eat fruit and leaves, and lay out on branches These animals are small, so living up high protects them from other predators on the ground. Their tail is used for balance. Their environment has allowed for them to live comfortably without too many predators; they are able to live both on the ground and in trees. Their arms and legs give them the ability to walk on the ground as well as climb in trees to sleep and eat.

d.      

Photo Credit: http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4730

Spider Monkeys:

a.     Spider Monkeys live in tropical environments in both Central and South America. They are found high up in the trees where they swing from branch to branch looking for food and sleeping.

b.     Spider Monkeys, just like lemurs, have two arms, two legs, and a long tail. However, unlike the lemur, spider monkeys use their tails to swing from tree branch to tree branch and to grasp things. They walk on all four limbs and their tail serves as balance when not being used to grasp something.

c.      These monkeys live high up in the branches of trees in a forest setting and are small. They use their long tails to swing from branch to branch, a way to move around the canopy across trees without having to go down to the forest floor. They also use their other limbs to walk along branches to gain access to fruit and other food.

d.      

Photo Credit:  http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/animals/spidermonkeypage.html

Baboon:

a.     Baboons can be found in Africa. There are multiple species of baboons and all of them live in central Africa. Most of them live in the savanna, rather than in the forest such as the other animals we have looked at, but some species do live in the forest. They prefer to live in tall trees or near cliffs.

b.     Like the other primates, baboons also have two arms, two legs, and a long tail. These animals are very large, some of the bigger of the primates. They do not have a tail that grips, like the spider monkey, and typically do not climb trees but they can. They spend most of their time on the ground walking on all four legs.

c.      It seems that because baboons are hunted, they have to find a way to get away from predators. With the help of their tails, baboons are able to climb trees to get away from danger. They live in the savanna where there are lots of other animals that are just as bigger if not bigger than they are. They have adapted to use their tail for climbing trees to survive.

d.      

 

Photo Credit: http://www.monkeyworlds.com/baboon/

Gibbons:

a.     Gibbons live in the thick forests of Asia in countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and China. They live high up in the trees of the forest.

b.     Just like the other primates we have discussed, gibbons have a long tail, two arms and two legs. They live high up in the trees, rarely coming down to the ground. When they are on the ground, they walk on their back legs with their arms up in the arm to help with their balance. They have a special type of movement, known as brachiating; this allows them to swing among the branches because their fingers hook the limbs instead of grabbing them. When they are on the ground, they walk more like humans than other primates.

c.      Because these animals live mainly high up in the trees, without coming down to the ground, they need to be able to get from tree to tree, limb to limb. Their adapted motion, brachiating, allows them to do this quickly and swiftly. This allows them to swing out far as well to grab fruits that are way out on the end of limbs. This gives them the ability to gain food other animals might not be able to reach.

d.      

Photo Credit: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gibbon/?source=A-to-Z

Chimpanzee:

a.     Our closest living relatives, chimpanzees live in the African rainforests, the woodlands, and grasslands. They prefer to live however in the rainforest.

b.     Chimpanzees are known as knuckle walkers, meaning, they walk on all four limbs but they walk on their front knuckles. However, they walk upright at short distances. They do also live in trees where they use their long limbs to swing from branches. One difference in these primates from others is their lack of a tail.

c.      Chimpanzees use their limbs for other uses than the previously discussed primates. They are able to use their fingers and thumbs to dig and grab things differently than the others. They are able to eat a wide array of food and the use of their hands helps them to do that. They do obtain most of their food from the trees, fruit and leaves. They are able to climb trees using both their arms and legs and their fingers to grab branches.  

d.      

Photo Credit: http://www.chimphaven.org/education/chimp-facts/

Summary:

All of the five animals discussed above are primates. They have similar characteristics and features, however, they all have differences, which allow them to live and sustain their populations in different environments. Not all of them have tails, and the ones that do use them for different things. Some are able to swing from branch to branch with them while others use them to help with their balance. Gibbons use their fingers to swing from branches instead of grasping like chimpanzees.  These animals live in different places, some in Asia, most in Africa. They have learned to adapt to their environments through their motion. Depending on the heights and distances of trees, some primates rarely walk on the ground, therefore they use their long arms and legs to crawl or swing from branch to branch. Others use their legs and arms to walk on the ground. Animals must adapt to survive. We have been studying and learning all about this and these different characteristics prove that. All five are primates, and all five live in different settings and environments. Each one uses their arms, legs, and tail for different uses all for a means of survival, whether it is to get food or to move from predators.

Works Cited:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/baboon/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chimpanzee/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gibbon/?source=A-to-Z

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/ring-tailed-lemur/

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/?source=A-to-Z

http://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/baboon

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/animals/baboons/facts/

http://www.chimphaven.org/education/chimp-facts/

http://www.janegoodall.org/chimpanzees/fast-facts

http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/chimpanzee.html

http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/white-cheeked-gibbon

http://www.monkeyworlds.com/baboon/

http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/animals/spidermonkeypage.html

http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=4730

http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/profiles/mammals/black_spider_monkey/

http://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/lemurs.html