Primate order: classification, characteristics, characteristics, range and protection status. General characteristics of primates The earliest representative of the primate order

home Primates that are included in this order of mammals. They live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, and America. Only one species - magot - is found in Europe - on the rocks of Gibraltar. Zoologists divide primates into two groups (suborders): prosimians and monkeys, or great apes. We, people, also belong to the latter group, representing a family of people, one genus - man and the only kind - modern man of sense . The ancestors of all primates were ancient insectivorous animals that lived at the end Cretaceous period

. Outwardly, they resembled tupaya - a representative of prosimians.

Primates: 1 - ghost tarsier; 2 - mandrill; 3 - coata; 4 - Diana monkey; 5 - bonobo pygmy chimpanzee; 6 - gorilla.

Some primates are almost dwarfs, measuring 8.5–12 cm, and our “cousins”, gorillas, reach 180 cm in height. Some have long tails that help them cling to branches, others have short tails, and others have no tails at all. The body of primates is covered with thick hair.

These are very active animals. Most prefer to live in trees, where they move with the agility, precision and virtuosity of first-class acrobats. Jumping from tree to tree is swift and unexpected. Small tarsiers jump 1 m, howler monkeys easily cover a distance of 4 m in the air. There are also those who prefer a terrestrial lifestyle, such as the squirrel-like tupai, the ring-tailed lemur, and the baboon.

Life in the trees left its mark on the structure of the body and sensory organs of primates. They have five-fingered grasping limbs. A poorly developed sense of smell is compensated by good vision and hearing. The brain is highly developed, and in higher apes the cerebral hemispheres provide conscious activity. Prosimians have up to four young, sometimes twice a year. They make nests in tree hollows and other secluded places. Selected species

Lemurs hibernate in the hot season.

Monkeys are touchingly tender with their young. In the pack, “neighbors” help mothers nurse their children. The Japanese macaque is a neat person: he always washes his food before eating. The crabeater macaque from Java, an inhabitant of mangrove swamps, catches crabs and collects shellfish, the shells of which are broken by taking a stone in his hand. In addition, he is a good swimmer. Rhesus monkeys are not inferior to him in this: he not only swims, but also dives excellently.

Other aspects of monkey behavior in nature are also interesting. Among monkeys living in herds, a leader dominates, regulating relationships among his subordinates. Sometimes just one look from him is enough - and the quarrel immediately stops. Many monkeys, such as the baboon, are brave, fearless and even engage in single combat with a leopard. Sounds, facial expressions, gestures are various signals for action and means of communication of these animals.

People are trying to better understand the world of monkeys, especially anthropoids: chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans. They are observed in captivity and in the wild.

Monkeys play a big role in human life. Macaques were the first living creatures to rise in a rocket into the stratosphere. Monkeys serve as a model replacing humans in biological experiments. The Japanese macaque became the main supplier of materials for obtaining the polio vaccine, saving hundreds of thousands of people from severe disease.

Monkeys eat fruits, flowers, buds, shoots, honey, as well as bird eggs, lizards, insects, and small birds. But they still prefer plant foods. This is necessary to know when keeping monkeys in living areas. But here's what's interesting. When a chimpanzee born in captivity was released onto an island in the middle of a lake (near Pskov), he did not touch any of the 15 species poisonous plants who grew up on the island. This means that they are able to distinguish edible plants from inedible ones well.

Primates live quite a long time. Lori, tupai - up to 7 years, saimuria - 21 years, hamadryas - 30, capuchin fawn - 40, gorilla - 50 years.

Nowadays, only 2.5 thousand orangutans and 10 thousand gorillas remain in the wild due to excessive hunting. Therefore, most of the monkeys are taken under strict protection.

In 1927, the Sukhumi nursery was created, where up to 3 thousand monkeys were kept, some of them were released into the wild as an experiment. Experiments were also conducted on the acclimatization of monkeys near Moscow. It turned out that they not only tolerate winter well, but also reproduce well here.

• Primates (Latin Primates, French Primat, from primas, lit. “first”) - one of the most progressive orders placental mammals, including, among others, monkeys and humans. The order includes more than 400 species.

  The ancestors of primates lived in trees in tropical forests. The way of life of most modern primates is associated with trees. Accordingly, they are adapted to a three-dimensional habitat.

  With the exception of humans, who inhabit all continents, most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of Northern and South America, Africa and Asia. The body weight of primates varies from 30 g for the lemur Microcebus berthae to more than 200 kg for the eastern lowland gorilla. According to paleontological data, the ancestors of primates appeared at the end of the Cretaceous period about 65 million years ago; the most ancient primates (representatives of the genus Plesiadapis) are known from the late Paleocene, 55-58 million years ago. The molecular clock method indicates that primates may have diverged from ancestral forms in the mid-Cretaceous period about 85 million years ago.

  The primate order has traditionally been divided into two suborders - prosimians and monkeys. Primates from the suborder Prosimians have features characteristic of ancient primates. This suborder included, in particular, lemurs, lorisiformes and tarsiers. Primates from the suborder of monkeys were represented by anthropoids, including apes and humans. IN Lately Primates are classified into the suborder Strepsirrhini or dry-nosed primates, and the suborder Haplorhini or dry-nosed primates, which includes tarsiers and apes. Apes are divided into broad-nosed or New World monkeys (living in South and Central America) and narrow-nosed or Old World monkeys (living in Africa and Southeast Asia). New World monkeys include, in particular, capuchins, howler monkeys and saimiris. Narrow-nosed animals include apes (such as baboons and macaques), gibbons, and great apes. Man is the only representative of the narrow-nosed monkeys that has spread beyond Africa, South and East Asia, although fossil evidence indicates that many other species were previously present in Europe. New species of primates are constantly being described, with more than 25 species described in the first decade of the 21st century, and eleven species described since 2010.

  Most primates are arboreal, but some (including great apes and baboons) have become terrestrial. However, primates leading a terrestrial lifestyle retain adaptations for climbing trees. Methods of locomotion include jumping from tree to tree, walking on two or four limbs, walking on the hind limbs supported by the toes of the forelimbs, and brachiation - movement in which the animal swings on the forelimbs.

  Primates are characterized by larger brains than other mammals. Of all the feelings highest value has stereoscopic vision as well as a sense of smell. These features are more pronounced in monkeys and weaker in lorises and lemurs. Some primates have tricolor vision. In most people the thumb is opposed to the others; some have a prehensile tail. Many species are characterized by sexual dimorphism, which manifests itself in body weight, fang size, and coloration.

  Primates develop and reach adulthood more slowly than other similarly sized mammals, but they live long lives. Depending on the species, adults can live alone, in pairs, or in groups of up to hundreds of individuals.

What animals represent the order primates, you will learn from this article.

Primate order: representatives

Primates are the most highly developed mammals.

The order Primates include various prosimians, great apes or monkeys. We will talk about this in more detail below. Primates have prehensile, five-fingered limbs, an opposable thumb, flat nails, and patterns on the soles of their feet and palms. Almost all animals have a tail. The brain is large and has developed hemispheres along with gyri and sulci. Primates can communicate with each other. They live in forests of subtropics and tropics. They often live in family groups or small herds.

Representatives of the primate order

• Prosimians– tarsiers and lemurs, active at night and live in trees. Found in Africa and Tropical Asia. Outwardly they resemble predatory animals with fluffy tails.
• Great apes or monkeys are highly organized animals. They include the marmoset family and great apes.
• Representatives of the ape family: monkeys, baboons, macaques. Monkeys are found in savanna and tropical forests. They spend almost their entire life in trees. These are graceful and slender animals that can climb trees and run on the ground. They live in herds. They feed plant foods. The most famous representative of monkeys is green monkey, having a bright green cap on her head and white sideburns. Macaques are semi-terrestrial and semi-arboreal monkeys with bare ears and faces. Emotions are shown by bringing the eyebrows closer together or raising them, or smacking the lips. Dog-headed monkeys or baboons are fairly large animals with an elongated snout. They live in herds and lead a terrestrial lifestyle.

Highly developed or anthropoid apes include gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. Outwardly they resemble a person. They have a wide bare face, small ears, elongated lips, and highly developed facial expressions. They do not have a tail or cheek pouches. They walk on the ground on 4 legs and rely on the soles of their feet and the back of their bent toes. Females, having given birth to a baby, take care of it touchingly, reminiscent of the habits of a person. Animals can use simple tools.

The order of Primates (primate - Latin “prince”, or “first among the first”) in modern classifications is divided into two suborders. The first is the Lower primates, or prosimians (prosimians - pre-monkeys), the second is the Higher apes (anthropoids) (Fig. I. 1).

Lower primates. Tupai are small animals, distinguished by a long body on short limbs with claws on the fingers, a sharp muzzle and long tail, which gives them a resemblance to rats or squirrels. In the primitive brain, a reduction in the olfactory part and

The visual department is highly developed. The outer wall of the orbit is absent in the skull. In the building internal organs Many primitive features have been noted. They are arboreal, predominantly nocturnal animals that feed on plant matter and insects.

Lemurs are herd animals, characterized by larger sizes than tupai. They are more numerous and varied. Lemurs have thick fur and are usually brightly colored. Most lemurs have large eyes. The size of the brain is larger than that of the tupaya, but it is also primitive. Lemurs are close in size to a cat, but their brain is twice as large as that of the latter. Lemurs' toes have nails (only the second toe is equipped with a claw for combing fur). The front legs are shorter than the hind legs. There are a lot of lemurs on the island. Madagascar, in Equatorial Africa and the Indo-Malayan region.

Tupayas and lemurs form a group of strepsirrhine primates with non-motile hair. upper lip.

The suborder Prosimians also includes very peculiar animals - tarsiers. They are very small, the size of a rat, with a short body and very long hind limbs with a developed heel part of the foot (hence the name of the animals). The forelimbs are shortened, the tail is long. The tarsier's skull is rounded, the front part is shortened. The eyes are very large, set straight forward. The orbits are largely separated from the temporal fossae. The toes of tarsiers end in “pads” that serve as suction cups when climbing branches. The second and third toes have claws, and the remaining toes have nails. Tarsiers move by jumping, with the tail serving as both a rudder and a counterweight, and when sitting on hind legs ah, it serves as the third fulcrum of the body. Tarsiers live only on the Sunda and Philippine Islands.

Tarsiers, monkeys and humans form the group of eaplorine primates, characterized by a hairy upper lip and entire nostrils.

Greater apes (monkeys and humans) are much more widespread than the previous suborder, and inhabit predominantly the equatorial regions of not only the eastern but also the western hemisphere.

Monkeys are diurnal herd animals. Their eyes are directed forward. All fingers of the limbs have nails. The trachea consists of open rings. The uterus is simple. The brain in monkeys undergoes significant development; grooves and convolutions are well defined on the forebrain hemispheres. The visual area of ​​the brain is highly developed, and due to the daily lifestyle, a macula develops in the retina, in which color-perceiving receptors - cones - are concentrated.

Greater apes are divided into two geographically isolated groups: broad-nosed and narrow-nosed.

Broad-nosed monkeys live only in the New World, namely in central and equatorial South America. Marmosets and cebus are small in size. They are covered with thick, soft fur. All American monkeys are purely arboreal; they feed mainly on plant foods, insect larvae and bird eggs. The long, prehensile tail serves as an additional grasping organ, with the help of which monkeys can hang on tree branches, often upside down. The lower surface of the tip of the tail is hairless and has well-defined skin patterns, like those on the fingers. Dental system broad-nosed is similar to prosimians. The orbits are not completely separated from the temporal fossae. The nostrils are widely spaced and directed to the sides. Marmosets have nails typical of primates only on the first toes of their hind feet. Thumb the hand of the marmoset is not opposed. The largest American howler monkeys have vocal resonators that amplify their calls.

Narrow-nosed monkeys live only in the Old World (all of Africa and southern Asia). They are partly arboreal and partly terrestrial herd animals. They include the superfamily (a group of a special classification level) of the Lesser Narrow-nosed (canine) apes and the superfamily of the Higher narrow-nosed (anthropoid) monkeys.

The lower narrow-nosed monkeys are not directly related to the human ancestry; they are known to us from various species of macaques, baboons, thin-bodied and thick-bodied monkeys, often used in experimental biology and medicine. All named monkeys differ from American ones in the composition of the dental system, closely spaced nostrils, and non-prehensile tail. Nails are developed on all fingers. The thumb of the front and hind limbs is opposed. The forelimbs are shorter than the hind limbs. There are ischial calluses and cheek pouches; lack an appendix.

Greater narrow-nosed (humanoid) primates are represented in modern world humans (family Hominid), gibbons (family Small Apes), large apes (family Pongid). Apes in nature are represented by five genera. Asian gibbons - gibbons and siamangs. They are characterized by: a small, primitive brain, ischial calluses, thick fur, and blood less similar in composition to humans. The gibbon's body proportions differ significantly from those of humans, and the very long forelimbs attract attention. Frontal sinuses are absent. Gibbons live in monogamous family groups led by a male leader.

Three genera belong to the pongid family. Large orangutans are found in the swampy forests of Kalimantan and Sumatra. The body length of the male reaches 1.5 m, body weight - up to 200 kg. Males and females are clearly different. The hair has a corrugated surface rather than a smooth one. The crowns of the molars are sharply grooved. The lungs are not divided into lobes. The big toe is almost not pronounced. The central carpal bone, like that of gibbons, is free.

Pongids live in Africa - chimpanzees and gorillas. Habitats are confined to tropical forests and more open landscapes Equatorial Africa. Chimpanzees (two variants of different body sizes) in a number of morphological (relative brain mass, skull massiveness), physiological and biological features, along with the gorilla, stand close to the person. Gorillas (coastal and lowland varieties) are the largest modern apes with pronounced sexual dimorphism. Body length reaches 1.8-2 m, body weight - up to 200-250 kg. Gorillas live in small herds led by a male leader.

The order unites the most developed and progressive mammals. “Primates” in translation means “first”, since representatives of the monkey species are one of the most highly organized animals. There are more than 200 species of primates - these include small pygmy marmosets (up to 10 cm in length) and huge gorillas (up to 180 cm in length) weighing about 250 kg.

General characteristics of the Squad

Primates inhabit tropical zones: prefer to live in dense thickets. Other species of arboreal animals climb trees using sharp claws. But primates use it for this long fingers, which wrap around the branch.

The front and hind limbs are five-fingered, the first finger, like a human’s, is opposed to the rest. This is how the animals securely grab onto the branches and stay on them. There are no claws on the fingers, but flat nails grow. Primates use their limbs not only for moving, but also for grasping food, cleaning and combing hair.

Signs of the primate order:

• Binocular vision;
• limbs with five fingers;
• the body is densely covered with hair;
• instead of claws, nails are developed;
• the first finger is opposed to the others;
• poor development of sense of smell;
• developed brain.

Evolution

Primates are the oldest group of placental mammals. With the help of the remains, it was possible to study their evolution over 90 million years, it was then that apes were divided into primates and woolly wings.

After 5 million years, two new groups formed: dry-nosed and wet-nosed primates. Then the tarsiforms, apes, and lemurs appeared.

Global cooling, which occurred 30 million years ago, led to mass extinction primates, representatives remained only in Africa, America and Asia. Then the first true ancestors of modern primates began to appear.

These animals lived in trees and ate insects. From them came orangutans, gibbons, and dryopithecus. The latter are an extinct group of primates that evolved into other species: chimpanzees, gorilla, humans.

The opinion of scientists that man descended from dryopitens is based on many similarities in structure and appearance. Upright walking - main sign, who first separated humans from primates during evolution.

Sense organs

Among all mammals, monkeys have the most developed brain, with many convolutions in the hemispheres. Hearing and vision are well developed. The eyes simultaneously focus on the object, allowing you to accurately determine the distance, which is very important when jumping along branches.

Monkeys are able to distinguish the shape of surrounding objects and their color; from a distance, they see ripe fruits and edible insects. The olfactory receptors do not distinguish odors well, and the fingers, palms and feet, devoid of hair, are responsible for the sense of touch.

Lifestyle

They eat plants and small animals, but still give preference to plant foods. Newborn primates are able to see from the first days, but cannot move independently. The cub clings to the fur of the female, who holds it with one hand and carries it with her.

They lead an active lifestyle during the daytime. They unite in herds with a leader - the strongest male. Everyone obeys him and follows his instructions, which are sent through facial expressions, gestures, and sounds.

Habitats

In America, primates with wide nostrils are common ( broad-nosed monkeys), with an elongated tail that easily clings to branches. A well-known representative of the broad-nosed monkey is the spider monkey, which received this name because of its long limbs.

Narrow-nosed primates live in Africa and tropical Asia. The tail, for example, in monkeys, does not play a significant role during climbing, and some species are completely deprived of it. Baboons prefer to live on the ground, moving on all fours.

Squad classification

There are several classifications of the primate order. The modern one distinguishes two suborders: wet-nosed primates and dry-nosed primates.

Characteristics from the suborder Wet-nosed species distinguish them from dry-nosed species. The main difference is a wet nose, which makes it possible to better perceive odors. The first finger is less opposed to the other fingers. The wet-nosed ones give birth to more fertile offspring - up to several cubs, while the dry-nosed ones mainly bear one child.

The older division of primates into two groups is considered: prosimians (lower primates) and monkeys (higher primates):

1. Prosimons include lemurs and tarsiers, small animals that are active at night. They inhabit the territory of tropical Asia and Africa.
2. Monkeys are highly organized animals, whose representatives include different types monkeys, marmosets, gibbons, and apes.

Apes include the African gorilla, chimpanzees, and orangutans. Apes climb trees during the day in search of food, and at night they settle in nests made of twigs. They skillfully and quickly move on their hind limbs, maintaining balance using the back of the hand, which rests on the ground. Apes lack a tail.

Representatives of the family have a well-developed brain, which determines their behavior. They are endowed with excellent memory and intelligence. Apes can make primitive tools from available materials. The chimpanzee uses a branch to remove insects from narrow gorges and uses straws as toothpicks. Monkeys use large knots and piles of earth as weapons.

Thanks to their developed facial muscles, chimpanzees can communicate by sending facial signs to each other: they can depict fear, anger, joy. In this respect, apes are very similar to humans.

Humans, as a representative of primates, are also characterized by: a five-fingered grasping limb, a tactile pattern, differentiation of teeth, significant development of sensory systems, low fertility, and more. That is why humans are classified as members of the ape family. Distinctive feature people is the consciousness that arose in connection with work activity.