Primate Comparison On Locomotion

LEMURS:

ENVIORMENT:

Lemurs are only found in Madagascar which is an island off the coast in Africa. Some believe that the lemurs came upon the islands on rafts made of natural vegetation. The weather it nice as it is a tropical climate. Lemurs are endangered because the forest in which the live in along the coast is being torn down for cultivation and farmlands.

LOCOMOTION:

Lemurs usually move around using their arms and legs making them quadrupeds. They can push off from their hind legs and can leap from tree to tree. Lemurs also move around on the ground using all of their limbs to run, leap, and move in a hoping motion. The lemurs cannot use their tails as an extra limb, but they do indeed use their tails for balance.

EVIORMENTAL INFLUNCE ON LOCOMOTION:

Lemurs being mostly arboreal has changed or influenced their locomotion to make them excellent climbers. Lemur’s diet consist of fruit, leaves, flowers, and seeds which are mostly found up high in the trees. Troops which are a group of lemurs sleep in neighbor trees in between feedings. The lemurs rarely sleep in the same trees twice. We can see that because of the diet and being mostly arboreal, that the environment in which lemurs live has influenced the lemurs locomotion patterns. 

 http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/ringtailed_lemur/lemur.htm

SPIDER MONKEY

ENVIRONMENT:

Sider monkeys are diurnal and arboreal meaning that they are found mostly living high in the trees. They live in rainforests mostly in the upper canopy area. They are found in South America. The spider monkey lives high up in the top of the tree line as to minimize being disturbed by humans.

LOCOMOTION:

The spider monkey like to use a use a type of locomotion which is termed semi-brachiation which is more of a leaping with a little arm swinging thrown into the mix. They also use all four limbs making them quadrupedal. They can also use their tails for an extra support when feeding and moving through the trees.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON LOCOMOTION:

Because they spend most of their time high up in the canopy of the rainforest it would make sense for them to be great tree climbers and swingers as they are. They also eat fruit, leaves, seeds, and aerial roots which are found high in the canopies. The environment has had an influence on the spider monkeys making them have strong semi-brachiation traits.

http://www.angrydmonkey.com/different-locomotion-in-spider-monkeys-study.html

BABOONS:

 

ENVIRONMENT:

Baboons are very good at adapting to various environments, because of this they are found in many different regions of Africa (Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania) just to name a few. They live mostly in the vast lands of the Sahara’s on the ground. They only use tree’s to sleep and escape predators.

LOCOMOTION:

Baboons move around quadrupedally using all four limbs. Their arms arm longer then their hind legs so they walk almost hunched over. Baboons differ from new world monkeys because they do not have tails.  Baboons do climb trees but mostly on the ground looking for food. As I stated earlier they use trees to sleep or escape predators.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON LOCOMOTION:

Living in Africa walking the savannahs they really don’t need the expertise of climbing trees, but the can if need be. The baboon has adapted to its environment by being a efficient ground walker walking around the savannah.

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/baboon/

GIBBONS

ENVIRONMENT:

Gibbons are found in the lowlands in Vietnam. The climate is somewhat sub-tropical they have rain seasons that last for months at a time.

LOCOMOTION:

Gibbons spend most of their day in the forest canopy searching for food which consists of leaves, flowers, leaf buds and insects. Since they are arboreal they use a highly specialized of brachiation which is swinging one hand over the other to move from branch to branch. They are rarely seen moving quadrapedally , but when on the ground they move bi-pedaly.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON LOCOMOTION:

Since they spend most of their time up swinging with their cup/hook like hands high in the canopy to avoid predators down on the ground. We can asee how the environment in which they live has influenced to use the locomotion they use.

http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/white-cheeked_gibbon

CHIMPANZEE

 

ENVIRONMENT:

They are natives to Africa in the rainforest, woodlands and grasslands. They are mostly found on the ground but can climb trees if need be. Chimpanzee’s do not have tails and live in social groups called a fission fusion society.

LOCOMOTION:

Chimpanzee’s walk on their knuckles “knuckle walking”. Their arms are much longer then their hind legs. Chimpanzee’s however can stand straight up and walk bi-pedaly as well. They also can swing from branch to branch using brachiaiton. Some think that because of their long arms chimps were more arboreal primates to start out, even though not they are found on the ground.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE ON LOCOMOTION:

We can see that chimpanzee’s possibly started out as being arboreal because of the length of their arms but they have adapted to living on the ground. They eat leaves, fruits, and insects even using tools to catch their food like termite fishing. We can see how the environment has changed the locomotion of these primates than to maybe what they started out as.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/chimpanzee/

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion with all five primates being quadrupeds and vertical climbers and arboreal, each has developed certain strengths depending on the environment in which they spend their lives. Each had adapted and improved its locomotion patterns depending on its environmental influence from its habitats down to its dietary needs.