Quiz Review - 24.3: Primate Evolution

A scientist on a field trip in the Amazon basin is observing an animal swinging from branch to branch high up in the forest canopy. She believes it belongs to the family of primates. What characteristics would she most likely expect the animal to have that would help it to survive in its environment? Select three correct answers.

Select all that apply.

• The animal has five flexible fingers and toes and an opposable thumb and big toe for grasping tree branches and food items, such as fruits, leaves, and seeds

• The animal’s eyes face forward with overlapping fields of view to provide a three-dimensional view and accurate judging of distance

• This animal has long flexible arms and a prehensile tail that help it swing from branch to branch

• The animal has a long snout to better smell its prey and webbed hands and feet for swimming

Choose the correct statement that describes Lemurs and lorises

• They live in Africa, Asia, or Madagascar. These are small, nocturnal animals with long snouts and large eyes for night vision.

• They live in Asia. These animals have broad faces, widely separated nostrils, and they live an arboreal, nocturnal way of life.

• They live in Central and South America. These animals have long, flexible arms and long prehensile tails to help them swing from branch to branch in the trees

• They live in Africa and Asia. They lack a prehensile tail but have an opposable thumb and a large brain

Choose the correct statement that describes New World monkeys

• They live in Africa, Asia, or Madagascar. These are small, nocturnal animals with long snouts and large eyes for night vision.

• They live in Asia. These animals have broad faces, widely separated nostrils, and they live an arboreal, nocturnal way of life.

• They live in Central and South America. These animals have long, flexible arms and long prehensile tails to help them swing from branch to branch in the trees

• They live in Africa and Asia. They lack a prehensile tail but have an opposable thumb and a large brain

Choose the correct statement that describes Old World monkeys and great apes

• They live in Africa, Asia, or Madagascar. These are small, nocturnal animals with long snouts and large eyes for night vision.

• They live in Asia. These animals have broad faces, widely separated nostrils, and they live an arboreal, nocturnal way of life.

• They live in Central and South America. These animals have long, flexible arms and long prehensile tails to help them swing from branch to branch in the trees

• They live in Africa and Asia. They lack a prehensile tail but have an opposable thumb and a large brain

Choose the correct statement that describes Tarsiers

• They live in Africa, Asia, or Madagascar. These are small, nocturnal animals with long snouts and large eyes for night vision.

• They live in Asia. These animals have broad faces, widely separated nostrils, and they live an arboreal, nocturnal way of life.

• They live in Central and South America. These animals have long, flexible arms and long prehensile tails to help them swing from branch to branch in the trees

• They live in Africa and Asia. They lack a prehensile tail but have an opposable thumb and a large brain

Anthropoids split into two groups around 45 million years ago. At that time, Africa and South America split and became two separate continents. Which anthropoids live in Central and South America and which live in Africa and Asia?

• New World monkeys

• Old World monkeys and hominoids

• Lemurs and lorises

• Bush babies and Tarsiers

In 1974 an almost complete skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis was found in Africa. The fossil was called “Lucy.” Lucy had apelike shoulders and forelimbs. However, the pelvis indicates that she was bipedal. The size of her brain was small, an apelike characteristic.

What did the study of Lucy help paleoanthropologists determine? Select two correct answers.

• Hominids had large brains before they walked upright

• Hominids walked upright before they had large brains

• Hominids are primates with opposable thumbs

• Human characteristics evolved at different rates and, therefore, at different times.

One hypothesis of the evolution of modern humans (Homo sapiens) is referred to as the Out-of-Africa hypothesis, which proposes that modern humans only evolved in Africa, and then migrated to Asia and Europe where they replaced descendants of earlier hominin species.

What is the evidence supporting this hypothesis? Select three correct answers

• After Homo erectus migrated out of Africa about 1.8 million years ago, the different populations became reproductively isolated, evolved independently and eventually became extinct.

• The fossil record indicates the earliest evidence of modern humans has been found only in Africa.

• Analysis of mitochondrial DNA provides a date for an African common ancestor between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago.

• The fossil record indicates that the earliest evidence of modern humans has been found in Asia and Europe