Species is a complex term, and is not as simple as one might think. A biological species can be defined as members of populations that actually or potentially interbreed in nature and produce fertile offspring. The concept of biological species has nothing to do with the similarity of appearance, and is a useful concept to keep in mind when looking at the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the pygmy chimpanzee or bonobo (Pan paniscus), which are considered to be the two living species of chimpanzees today. These two species are great apes belong to the genus Pan, and can only be found in the West and Central Africa. There is a range of evidence that supports the existence of two distinct species, including genetic, behavioural and physical. paniscus and P. troglodytes provides evidence supporting the existence of two distinct species. The P. paniscus are smaller and leaner than chimps with black faces and pink lips, while the P. troglodytes are stockier and taller with brown lips and their faces change colour with age. The P. paniscus also has longer head hair that parts slightly down the middle (Boesch, Hohmann, & Marchant, 2002). The skeletal dimensions of each species were compared and significant differences were found in the clavicles, scapulae, pelvises, and in the humerus/femur and femur head/length ratios (Zihlman & Cramer, 1978). These difference show that the P. paniscus and P. troglodytes are physical different, supporting the existence of two distinct species. The physical difference between the two species could be linked to the difference in the habitats of each species, the P. troglodytes spend a lot of their time in the trees, and the P. troglodytes sleeps in the trees, while the P. paniscus spend their time on the
What separates on species from another are reproductive isolating mechanism (RIMs). RIMs can pre-zygotic and post-zygotic meaning they act before fertilisation and after fertilisation. Pre-zygotic RIMs include temporal isolation, behavioural isolation, ecological isolation and mechanical isolation. Post-zygotic RIMs include gametic incompatibility, zygotic mortality, and hybrid sterility just to name a few. The P. paniscus and P. troglodytes show behavioural isolation. The P. paniscus and the P. troglodytes both have different behavioural traits that would separate the species and work as reproductive isolating mechanisms (Boesch, Hohmann, & Marchant, 2002). They also show ecological isolation because they are separated by the Congo River as well as the P. troglodytes spends most of its time in the trees, their habitats do not cross over. This is supported by the research looking at the mitochondria DNA of the P. paniscus populations separated by rivers (Eriksson, Hohmann, Boesch, & Vigilant,
I observed chimpanzees in the Kimberly-Clark Chimpanzee Forest exhibit at the Dallas zoo. These African apes, like humans, are hominoids and fall into the larger category of catarrhines. Their scientific classification is Pan troglodytes. There were about ten chimpanzees in that habitat. Most of them were grown adults, except two children. They were robust and had black fur. The average weight of the chimps was listed on a display to be about 115 pounds.
Crickett Sanz, Dave Morgan, & Steve Gulick. "New Insights into Chimpanzees, Tools, and Termites from the Congo Basin." The American Naturalist 164.5 (2004): 56-581. Article. 25 April 2014.
There are two distinct infraorders of Anthropoidea that have been evolving independent of each other for at least 30,000,000 years. They are the Platyrrhini (New World monkeys) and the Catarrhini (Old World monkeys, apes, and humans). These two diverse groups of species can be distinguished from each other most easily based on the form of their noses and by the number of specific types of teeth.
As time progress on the phylogeny, Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus afarensis were considered to be direct descendants of Proconsul heseloni. However it was decided that A. afarensis branched off and became extinct with no other descendants. Reasons for branching A. africanus and A. afarensis include the data taken from the brain vs....
Through Goodall’s research valuable information such as the chimpanzees eating larger mammals such as a bushpig were uncovered. Goodall made a valid argument when she mentioned that the behavior of these chimpanzees may have been comparable to that of our ancient hominin ancestors. Goodall went in to observe the chimpanzees with no previous bias opinion, and this I believe attributed to her successful study of the chimpanzees. Goodall is able to in time get close enough to the chimpanzees in order to gain the knowledge and material needed in order to properly study chimpanzee behavior. Noting the compelling nature of Goodall’s research, I believe that without Goodall’s research the lack of information on chimpanzees and their behavior would be distressing. It isn’t often that we learn of a species that is deemed most biologically equivalent to us, and then find in that study that they are much similar to us. The chimpanzees live in group setting much like humans and our society. Chimpanzees also demonstrated use of tools in order to hunt for food, such as using leaf stems to fish for termites. They also demonstrated predatory behaviors in hunting and killing other larger mammals such as bushpigs, baboons, and other monkeys. In short the chimpanzee is an intriguing species that can be closely compared to
In 1996 Kevin Hunt proposed a feeding hypothesis on why bipedalism ocurred. It stated that 80% of the time chimpanzees feed, they are exhibiting a bipedal locomotion (Jacobs, 90). This occurs when chimps feed o...
Primates, any placental mammal of the order Primates, normally having flexible hands and feet and, in the higher apes, a highly developed brain (“Primate”, 2016), have been one of the most popular animals and prominent attractions in zoos.
Chimpanzees are part of the non-human primate group. Though we share a common ancestor, evolution has pushed us in different directions. However this common ancestor causes humans to be curious about these creatures. As discussed in Jane Goodall’s video Among the Wild Chimpanzees we were once considered to be human because of our use of tools but once we observed these non-human primates using tools, this perception was changed forever. The question now at hand is if having the chimpanzees that we study in captivity makes a difference between studying wild chimps. These interesting creatures can be found naturally in the rainforests of Africa.
The species A. afarensis is one of the better known australopithecines, with regards to the number of samples attributed to the species. From speculations about their close relatives, the gorilla and chimpanzee, A. afarensis’ probable social structure can be presumed. The species was named by Johanson and Taieb in 1973. This discovery of a skeleton lead to a heated debate over the validity of the species. The species eventually was accepted by most researchers as a new species of australopithecine and a likely candidate for a human ancestor.
3.Body mass for 109 primate species. For 23 species with sample sizes of nine or more for each sex, dimorphism (male/female ratio) in neonatal body mass range from 0.94 in Galago senegalensis 1.19 in Pongo pygmaeus. Dimorphism in neonatal body mass was absolutely connected both with adult body mass and with dimorphism in adult body mass, but the obvious relationship with adult
According to National Geographic, scientists have sequenced the genome factor of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 98.5% similar to the ape species. The chimpanzee is our closest relative in the animal kingdom; however, some people are not aware of our resembling traits with chimpanzees. Jane Goodall’s, In the Shadow of Man, describes some similar traits humans and chimpanzees have such as their facial expressions and emotions, use of tools, and diet.
Apes, gibbons, monkeys, tarsiers, lemurs, and lorises make up the diverse and beautiful world of primates. We humans are primates, and there are more 300 species of primates in the world. The smallest primate is the pygmy mouse lemur, which can fit in the palm of your hand. The largest—the gorilla—can weigh more than 400 pounds. Almost every primate species is endangered, and the overhunting and forest devastation has brought some species to within a few dozen heads of final extinction.
Gould, Edwin, George McKay, and David Kirshner. Encyclopedia of Mammals. San Francisco, CA: Fog City, 2003. Print.
White F. (1996) "Comparative socio-ecology of Pan paniscus", pp. 29–41 in: McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T (eds.) Great ape societies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ Press,
These are areas fragmented and mostly separated by wide-open landscapes. Their common habitat is the lowland forests and tropical dry forests, ( Fleagle, 45). There were five of these primates. Two were male, two female and one infant. They remained together most of time and were always in a group. The primates have tails that are white in color. The male primate is larger compared to the female which is evidence of the sexual dimorphism of the primates, (Fleagle,49). The primates have shorter forelimbs, are upright and have strong recognizable limbs. They move by leaping on the ground are different a clear distinction between the other species and them. Their short arms limit them in movement. Their hind limbs are however powerful.