Comparative Primate Blog Post

Lemur

The Lemur lives in forest areas, more common in tropical rainforests, but some can be located in dry areas as well as savannahs. The lemur dentition has multiple tooth morphologies. In most lemurs, the bottom incisors and canine teeth come outward instead of facing up and are spaced out, providing a tool for grooming and feeding. Lemurs have their full permanent dentition when they are still being breast-fed. This trait is viewed as an adaptation to the lemurs’ environment showing that their teeth are perfectly adapted for shearing leaves and crushing seeds. Their spaced out, procumbent teeth make them capable of grooming and prying out large seeds from fruits. They are also able to cut through tree bark in order to feed on sap. Their dentition helps them survive in the forest areas that they live in.

Spider Monkey

Spider monkeys live in tropical rainforests where they thrive in evergreen, semi deciduous and mangrove forests. These monkeys live in the highest parts of the trees found in rain forests and prefer undisturbed forests. Spider monkeys have three premolars. These monkeys are capable of eating seeds, flowers and nuts, but their main diet consists of fruit, swallowing them whole. The male teeth are much larger than the female’s teeth causing them to be the providers for their families. Their teeth are small and sharp, ready to chew on the tough seeds and nuts that are common in their environment. Their teeth also help them adapt to retrieving the fruits that grow on the high branches, helping them hold onto their food as they climb back to their home.

Baboon 

Baboons have a wide tolerance for habitat and are extremely adaptable. However, they prefer to live in trees while climbing down to hunt for food. They like open woodlands, savannahs, grassland, and rocky hill country. All baboons have long muzzles, heavy and powerful jaws with sharp canine teeth. This helps them chew their food while feeding off of small animals. However, they eat a variety of foods such as leaves flowers and seeds. This trait is an adaptation to a baboon’s environment by being able to feed off of animals when there are no plants available, or being able to eat plants when animals cannot be hunted.

Gibbon



Gibbons live in the deciduous and evergreen rainforests of Southeast Asia and are very rarely observed on the ground, keeping themselves safe from most of their predators. The gibbon eats fruit, leaves, insects and flowers. The dental arcade is U-shaped, and the mandible is thin and light. The incisors are broad and flat, while the molars have low, rounded cusps with thick enamel. They have large, dagger-like canines in both the upper and lower jaw. This dangerous dentition helps them adapt to their environment by being able to protect themselves from predators who hunt them.

Chimpanzee

  

Chimpanzees live in a wide variety of habitats, including tropical rain forests, woodlands, swamp forests, and grasslands in western Africa. Chimpanzees are omnivores, foraging for food in the forests during the day, eating leaves, fruit, seeds, tree bark, plant bulbs, tender plant shoots, and flowers. They also eat termites, ants, and small animals such as young monkeys. Their dentition is larger. They are omnivores but eat fruits and vegetables regularly. They also feed on insects including termites. Because chimpanzees eat animals and vegetation, it is necessary to have both sharper teeth in order to tear meat and flatter teeth in order to chew their food.

I have learned that the environment has so much to do with the way these animals look physically and behave mentally. During my research, I have found that many primates who live in an area where they mainly feed off of fruit, vegetables and flowers, start losing their canine teeth over time because they no longer need them. They also behave different when they are physically different. When a primate has sharp canine teeth, they are eager to hunt prey or defend themselves against predators. Animals without them tend to create their habitat in safer areas such as on higher ground or in trees where food is readily available without having to be put in danger.