Body size

Body Size and Sexual Dimorphism

1.       Lemurs (Prosimians/Strepsirhini)-

a.       Lemur, which is Latin for “ghost” are native to the island of Madagascar and the neighboring Comoro islands, according to www.Lemurs.us. With the exception of ringtail Lemurs, they almost exclusively live in trees and mid canopy level.  Many are nocturnal. A lemur diet includes fruits, leaves, and other edible plant materials. Insects may also be on the menu, especially for the smaller lemurs.

b.      Unlike other monkeys they do not possess a prehensile tail, meaning they cannot hang from it. Theirs is instead used mainly for balance, and is usually longer than the body. They have excellent night vision. They are able to control their metabolism though and rely on very little food to survive. When they can’t find food at all they can even hibernate until the food supply comes back. They have the ability to avoid breeding during times when food isn’t readily available. According to Lemurworld.com, Scientists believe that through the process of evolution their body went from one that was the size of an adult ape to what we see today. Female Lemurs are dominant to males, and the family group is often led by one female Lemur.

c.       The shrinking of the Bodies of Lemurs over time show an adaptation to their environment because, they live in the highest parts of a tree where the branches are able to support less weight. The ability to control their metabolism is useful since their food supply is decreasing due to deforestation. Being able to go for a longer period of time between meals is useful when there is less trees producing food.

d.       

2.       Spider Monkey (New World Monkey/Platyrrhini)-

a.       Spider Monkeys can be found in the forests of Mexico, Central America, and South America. They often gather together in groups of 20 to 30, but they sleep and forage for fruits, nuts, leaves, spiders, and bird eggs in smaller groups. Spider monkeys are active during the day and sleep at night.

b.      The spider monkey tail functions like an arm. It is prehensile, which means it can grip, it has no hair but rather ridges, just like human fingertips. They have no thumbs, but they can use the four other fingers on their hand to grip tightly, along with their tails. They often weight between twelve and twenty pounds. The combination of long limbs, small size, prehensile tail, and agility means they can move through the forest canopy extremely fast, which is usefully to avoid predators. Females are dominant to males, often out numbering them at a ratio of two to one.

c.       The adaptation of a small body is a direct result of living in the highest reaches of a tree, where the limbs can’t support large animals. The agility afforded to these animals by have such a dexterous tail comes from the need to hang from branches or the need for stability while moving or foraging.  

d.       

3.       Baboon (Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae)-

a.       Baboons live in Africa or Arabia, according to NationalGeaographic.com, baboons generally prefer savanna and other semi-arid habitats, though a few live in tropical forests. They spend much of their time on the ground, but can climb trees to sleep or eat. They eat fruits, grasses, seeds, bark, and roots, but also do eat meat. They eat birds, rodents, and even the young of larger mammals. They form large troops, and spend endless hours cleaning each other of dead skin and insects.

b.      Baboons are some of the world's largest monkeys, and males of different species average from 33 to 82 pounds. Baboons don’t have prehensile tails. They have large heads with a long, dog-like muzzle and cheek-pouches for storing food with a heavy brow ridge protecting their eyes.  Males are twice the size of females, and they possess large canine teeth. Where they don’t have fur they develop hardened skin, mostly on the face and rump.

c.       Baboons are extremely suited to their environment. The lack of many trees in the savanna developed them to spend much of their time on the ground, allowing them to grow quite large. Having meat in their diet also opens up their options for food in a sometimes very harsh environment. They can go longer without food because of the ability to store food in their cheeks. Males have adapted to the protector role in the troop, by growing larger and developing sharp teeth to ward off predators or kill small mammals. They also have developed the ridge above the eyes as most probably a defensive tool to protect their eyes during a confrontation.

d.       

4.       Gibbon (Lesser ape/Hylobatidae)-

a.       According to a-z-animals.com, they are small size apes, living in the dense jungles and tropical rainforests of South East Asia. Gibbons are an arboreal animal, which means that they spend the majority of their lives in the trees. There are more than 10 different species of gibbon living in the trees from northern India and the islands of Indonesia. They eat both plants and other small animals, such as insects and small birts. However ripe fruit makes up the majority of their diet. They live in large troops led by an alpha male and female.

b.      Gibbons are small apes, not growing more than twenty pounds in most cases. They have extremely long arms and strong legs. They are known to be the fastest tree dwelling mammal that doesn’t fly, they can reach up to thirty five mph. They have no tale much like other primates. Females do not differentiate much from males.

c.       These animal’s small bodies and light weight allows them to move very fast through the trees, protecting them from predators. Another trail that suits them to their environment is, with no tail their long arms assist their balance while walking on limbs. It also allows them to swing long distances, eight meters in some cases. Their varied diet also enables them greater ease in finding food.

d.       

5.       Chimpanzee (Great ape/Hominidae)-

a.       Chimpanzee’s live in a variety of different habitats in Africa, mostly tropical forest and woody savanna. They can spend time in the trees or on the ground looking for food. They like many apes are omnivores, meaning they can eat both plants and animals. They are excellent climbers and nest in trees at night. They are highly sociable, spending much time with other group members grooming.

b.      Chimpanzees have long arms which allow them to walk almost upright while on all fours. They possess an opposable big toe on their feet which allows them to grip. They are covered in long course black hairs. They also possess a large frontal cortex, allowing them to reason and problem solve. Females and males are very similar in appearance and behavior.

c.       Chimpanzees’ traits have made the remarkably adapted to their environment. Their long arms and ability to grab with their feet make the remarkable climbers, which protects them from predators. Their hair protects them from the sun and also from the elements in higher elevations. Their frontal cortex is their most remarkable trait, it is the major reason they seem so similar to humans. It allows one to reason and solve problems, they not only use tools but can also make them to better survive. This is a distinguishing trait from all other primates.

d.       

While all of these animals share some traits, and are very different in respect to others, all of these are as a direct influence from their environment. When they live high in trees, Like Lemurs or the Gibbon, They tend to be smaller, with the ability to balance well and leap large distances. The Baboon on the other hand does not live in trees; it spends much of its time on the ground, so it grows Larger, and loses much of the dexterity in its tail (or loses the tail completely.) Baboons also develop sharp canine teeth like other apes that eat meat. Additionally, a varied diet or being able to control their metabolism gives them a better chance to survive; If they relied on one source the chances of them not surviving increases, especially if that source disappears. These individual and group traits can be directly linked to each species evolving to survive in its habitat.