Latest Primate Stories
By Carol Clark, Emory UniversityIt's been a puzzle why our two closest living primate relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, have widely different social traits, despite belonging to the same genus. Now, a comparative analysis of their brains shows neuroanatomical differences that may be responsible for these behaviors, from the aggression more typical of chimpanzees to the social tolerance of bonobos."What's remarkable is that the data appears to match what we know about the human brain and...
A team of researchers studying Old World monkeys have found that the primates have better numerical skills than previously believed, BBC News reports. They found, using a basic numeracy test, that long-tail macaques were able to determine which of two plates had more raisins. However, in strange fashion, the macaques only excelled in the basic test if they were not allowed to eat the raisins used in the experiment. The results of the experiments show that the animals have the ability to...
The tendency to perceive others as "us versus them" isn't exclusively human but appears to be shared by our primate cousins, a new study led by Yale researchers has found.In a series of ingenious experiments, Yale researchers led by psychologist Laurie Santos showed that monkeys treat individuals from outside their groups with the same suspicion and dislike as their human cousins tend to treat outsiders, suggesting that the roots of human intergroup conflict may be evolutionarily...
One of the most complex human mysteries involves how and why we became an outlier species in terms of biological success.Research findings published in the March 11 edition of the journal Science by an international team of noted anthropologists, including several from Arizona State University, who study hunter-gatherer societies, are informing the issue by suggesting that human ancestral social structure may be the root of cumulative culture and cooperation and, ultimately, human...
Chimpanzees, gorillas and other primate, including humans, share similar aging rates and mortality gender gapA new study says chimps, gorillas and other primates grow old gracefully much like humans. The findings come from the first-ever multi-species comparison of primate aging patterns reported in the March 11 issue of Science.It was long thought that humans, who have relatively long life spans, age more slowly than other animals. But new research funded by the National Science Foundation's...
Paleontologists have found two new sabertooth species that use to roam in an ancient lakeside habitat in Africa, along with humankind's oldest known ancestor. A team unearthed the remains of a seven million-year-old human-like creature known as "Toumai" at the central African site. Its discoverers say that Toumai is the oldest hominid species known to exist. The Toumai's skull was found in the Djurab desert by a team led by Michael Brunet of the University of Poitiers, France....
What sets mankind's closest relatives "” monkeys, apes, and other primates "” apart from other animals? According to a new study, one answer is that primates are less susceptible to the seasonal ups and downs "” particularly rainfall"” that take their toll on other animals. The findings may also help explain the evolutionary success of early humans, scientists say.The study appeared online in the November 30 issue of American Naturalist."Wild animals deal with a world that's...
Evolutionary divergence of humans from chimpanzees likely occurred some 8 million years ago rather than the 5 million year estimate widely accepted by scientists, a new statistical model suggests.The revised estimate of when the human species parted ways from its closest primate relatives should enable scientists to better interpret the history of human evolution, said Robert D. Martin, curator of biological anthropology at the Field Museum, and a co-author of the new study appearing in the...
New paper appearing in Nature asks questions and frames future researchToday in the journal Nature, a new discovery described by a team of international scientists, including Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Christopher Beard, suggests that anthropoids"”the primate group that includes humans, apes, and monkeys"”"colonized" Africa, rather than originally evolving in Africa as has been widely accepted. According to this paper, what is exceptional about these new...
University of Florida researchers presenting new fossil evidence of an exceptionally well-preserved 55-million-year-old North American mammal have found it shares a common ancestor with rodents and primates, including humans.The study, scheduled to appear in the Oct. 11 online edition of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, describes the cranial anatomy of the extinct mammal, Labidolemur kayi. High resolution CT scans of the specimens allowed researchers to study minute details in...
Latest Primate Reference Libraries
Geoffroy’s tamarin (Saguinus geoffroyi) is a small primate that is native to Colombia and Panama. Its other common names include the rufous-naped tamarin, the red-crested tamarin, and the Panamanian tamarin. It can be found in many different habitats including dry, moist, tropical, and secondary forests. In Panama, it occurs in the central and eastern regions, but is found less on the Atlantic coast. It can be found in Metropolitan Natural Park as well as an urban park with its Panama...
The white-headed Capuchin (Cebus capucinus) is a New World monkey that is native to Central America, as well as the far northwestern area of South America. It is also known as the white-faced capuchin and the white-throated capuchin. Its Central American range includes Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. Reports have shown that it may occur in southern Belize and eastern Guatemala, but these reports have not been confirmed. Its South American range is limited to the northwestern area...
Campbell’s mona monkey (Cercopithecus campbelli) is a primate that can be found in many areas including the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, and Liberia. Its other common names include Campbell’s monkey and Campbell’s guenon. In 2009, studies revealed that this monkey might have advanced communication skills. It previously held Lowe’s mona monkey as a subspecies. Campbell’s mona monkey appears on the IUCN Red List with a conservation status of “Least Concern”. Image Caption:...
The Ugandan red colobus (Procolobus tephrosceles) is a primate native to Africa. It is an Old World monkey that was not classified as its own species until 2001. Its range includes five areas of Uganda and Tanzania that equal 621.3 miles. These areas include the edge of Lake Victoria in Tanzania and Kibale National Park in Uganda, where the largest population is thought to be located. The preferred habitat of this monkey depends on its location, and it some areas, sustainable habitat is...
The collared mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus) is a species of primate in the Old World monkey family. Its other common names include the red-capped mangabey and the white-collared mangabey, which allows for some confusion with the sooty mangabey. The collared mangabey is native to Africa, with a range including western Nigeria extending into south and east Cameroon. It can also be found through Equatorial Guinea and from Gabon to the Gabon-Congo border near the Atlantic shore. The collared...
