Download Free Primates And Their Relatives In Phylogenetic Perspective Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Primates And Their Relatives In Phylogenetic Perspective and write the review.

This unique volume investigates the relationships of primates at the ordinal and higher classificatory levels from a variety of interdisciplinary viewpoints. Individual chapters examine the origin and evolution of gliding in early Cenozoic Dermoptera, the ontogeny of the tympanic floor in Archontans, the role of the neurosciences in primate evolutionary biology, and many other subjects. The work will be of particular interest to primatologists, zoologists, and systematists.
The past decade has witnessed a tremendous surge of interest in varied aspects of primate biology, encompassing virtually all disciplines of the biological sciences. Regardless of whether these studies have been approached from a paleontological, morphological, developmental, biochemical, neuroanatomical, or behavioral point of view, one under lying theme has been a common interest in the possible phylogenetic relationships suggested by the results of such studies. In some cases, sound taxonomic principles have not been followed in the interpretation of these data, and this has led to skepticism among many taxonomists with regard to the validity of some of the genealogical relationships and conclusions suggested by comparative studies of living primates. It is generally agreed that the fossil record alone provides the essential time dimension for directly observing changes in characteristics, but unfortunately this record is limited both in the number of genera represented and particularly in the incomplete nature of the available preserved material. On the other hand, extensive comparative analyses of numerous characteristics in living primates have provided additional insight into possible phylogenetic relationships, despite the lack of a time dimension. Such studies of both fossil and living primates are enhanced considerably by a cladistic analysis of the probable primitive (ancestral) or advanced (derived) condition of each character state discussed, based upon their distribution (and ontogeny, wherever possible) in a wide variety of primate and nonprimate taxa, including other eutherian mammals, marsupials, mono tremes, and reptiles.
Comparative Determinant Analysis of 69 primate plasma proteins reveals 321 antigenic determinants for phylogenetic inference. These determinants, which are discrete characters with innate phylogenetic polarity, suggest paraphyletic cladogenesis of strepsirhine prosimians and of New World monkeys, and firmly establish the chimpanzee as man's closest relative. Divergence dates of primate clades are estimated by the molecular clock approach.
This book provides a novel focus on adaptive explanations for cranial and postcranial features and functional complexes, socioecological systems, life history patterns, etc. in early primates. It further offers a detailed rendering of the phylogenetic affinities of such basal taxa to later primate clades as well as to other early/recent mammalian orders. In addition to the strictly paleontological or systemic questions regarding Primate Origins, the editors concentrate on the adaptive significance of primate characteristics. Thus, the book provides the broadest possible perspective on early primate phylogeny and the adaptive uniqueness of the Order Primates.
Originally published in 1933 Functional Affinities of Man, Monkeys and Apes gives a taxonomic and phylogenetic survey and the findings of diverse experimental investigations of lemurs, monkeys, and apes. The book discusses the inter-relationships of different Primates and emphasizes seldom-used approaches to the question of primate phylogeny. The book attempts to show how little they have been systematically tried, and argues for a regard to the proper place of functional investigations in the study of the classification and evolution of Primates. This book will be of interest to anthropologists, scientists and historians alike.
A world of categones devmd of spirit waits for life to return. Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift The stock-in-trade of communicating hypotheses about the historical path of evolution is a graphical representation called a phylogenetic tree. In most such graphics, pairs of branches diverge from other branches, successively marching across abstract time toward the present. To each branch is tied a tag with a name, a binominal symbol that functions as does the name given to an individual human being. On phylogenetic trees the names symbolize species. What exactly do these names signify? What kind of information is communicated when we claim to have knowledge of the following types? "Tetonius mathewzi was ancestral to Pseudotetonius ambiguus. " "The sample of fossils attributed to Homo habzlis is too variable to contain only one species. " "Interbreeding populations of savanna baboons all belong to Papio anubis. " "Hylobates lar and H. pileatus interbreed in zones of geographic overlap. " While there is nearly universal agreement that the notion of the speczes is fundamental to our understanding of how evolution works, there is a very wide range of opinion on the conceptual content and meaning of such particular statements regarding species. This is because, oddly enough, evolutionary biolo gists are quite far from agreement on what a species is, how it attains this status, and what role it plays in evolution over the long term.
These original contributions on the evolution of primates and the techniques for studying the subject cover an enormous range of material and incorporate the work of specialists from many different fields, showing the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to problems of primate morphology and phylogeny. Collectively, they demonstrate the concerns and methods of leading contemporary workers in this and related fields. Each contributor shows his way of attacking fundamental problems of evolutionary primatology.
This unique book carries out a comprehensive reconstruction of the evolutionary history of living and fossil primates. The text takes a comparative approach and covers the broadest possible spectrum of evidence. Although emphasis is placed on reviews of the anatomical characteristics of such species seen in a functional context, attention is also given both to evidence from the chromosomal level and to comparative molecular evidence. The tree-shrews, once thought to provide an approximate model for the ancestral primates, are repeatedly shown to differ from them significantly in key features. The primary objective throughout the book is the identification of such key characteristics in the earliest primates and investigation of the fate of these features during the subsequent evolution of the group. The major events of human evolution are examined in a broad evolutionary context, thus avoiding the ad hoc arguments that commonly result from narrow comparisons. This book will be of special interest to advanced students of anthropology and zoology, in particular to primatologists and evolutionary biologists and those concerned with mammals generally. Since technical terminology has been explained throughout, the book will also be accessible to a wide audience of people interested in primate evolution.