Taxonomic Classification and Evolution of Primates

Posted on Jan 11, 2025 in Biology

Taxonomic Classification

Kingdom: Animalia (covered by cells possessing a cytoplasmic membrane, centrioles, and movement).

Phylum: Chordata (chordates, presenting a notochord and pharyngeal gill slits).

Class: Mammalia (milk glands, bodies covered with hair, temperature regulation).

Order: Primates.

Family: Hominidae (larger brains than other species, eyes in a frontal position, flat fingernails allowing better handling).

Genus: Homo.

Species: Sapiens.

Subphylum: Vertebrata (notochord that becomes a backbone).

Subclass: Eutherians (placenta takes in oxygen and releases food waste).

Primate hand: Retained a 5-finger pattern that is perfected with the divergent thumb, allowing the development of apprehension and handling. Switched from claws to fingernails, with sensitive finger touch pads.
Visual acuity: Replaced dependency on olfaction with changes in the anatomical location of the eyes and improved vision. Vision was enhanced by the development of rods and cones in the retina.
Vertical adjustment: Arboreal life led to a change in the position and orientation of the head, allowing primates to look straight ahead.
Offspring care: Better care for offspring led to strong and durable mother-child relationships. Offspring mature slowly and go through periods of dependency and learning.

Prosimians: Small, arboreal, vegetarian, insectivorous, and nocturnal.
Monkeys: Larger than prosimians, with rounded skulls. More intelligent than prosimians, with full stereoscopic vision and the ability to discriminate colors.
Anthropomorphs: A branch of monkeys that diverged 30 million years ago. The name designated Dryopithecus diverged, giving rise to the major ancestors of great apes and Homo sapiens.
Hominids: Increased visual capacity, erect posture that freed the hands, improvement and development of the brain, and the possibility of gathering food and making tools.

Australopithecus: Cranial capacity of 450 cm³, height of 1.20 m. Possessed simian characteristics in the face and skull, with a jaw and teeth similar to humans. Made tools from stone and were nomadic.
Homo habilis: Cranial capacity of 650-700 cm³, height of 1.55 m. Manufactured tools from stone and wood, were nomadic and hunters, familiar with fire, and built shelters with plants.
Homo erectus: Cranial capacity of 950 cm³, height of 1.70 m. Lived in caves, built stone tools, were hunters, and used fire.
Neanderthal Man: Cranial capacity of 1550 cm³, height of 1.50-1.60 m. Used fire, were great hunters, and had stout and sturdy bodies.
Cro-Magnon Man: Cranial capacity of 1600-1800 cm³, height of 1.89 m. Had a distinct face and forehead, lived in caves, were hunters, used torches, and created rock paintings with religious meaning.

Originated by the capacity of living things to interact with their environment and natural selection.

A mechanism by which an individual cannot mate with another, but only with their peers.

Geographic: Produced by the removal of organisms by physical barriers (mountains, rivers, deserts, etc.).
Physiological: Structural differences in sex organs make up this mechanism. Prolonged separation ends in final separation when the genetic makeup is different, resulting in strong and vigorous offspring.
Seasonal: Differences in the flowering season can determine the pollination of angiosperms.
Ecological: Occurs when two species do not share the same habitat or mating seasons.

The process of the formation of new species from a pre-existing one.

The process of adjustment and resistance experienced by living organisms to changes in the environment in which they occur.

Physiological: The ability of an organism to produce or create tissues at a given moment in its life.
Structural: Produced when individuals can change their structure at a given time.
On Behavior: Behavioral changes adopted by organisms in response to environmental changes.