Primates

Population-level right-handedness is a defining characteristic of humans. Despite extensive research, we still do not know the conditions or timing of its emergence in human evolution. We present a review of research into the origins of handedness, based on fossil and archaeological data for hand preference and great ape hand-use. The data show that skeletal asymmetries in arm and hand bones supporting a rightsided dominance were present at least in the genus Homo, although data are more robust for Neanderthals. The evidence from tool-use, production, and cave art confirms that right-hand preference was established in Neanderthals and was maintained until the present. The great apes can provide real-life models for testing the conditions that facilitate or enhance hand preference at both the individual and group levels. The database on great ape hand-use indicates that they do exhibit hand preferences, especially in complex tasks. However, their preferences vary between tasks, and w...

The modern concept of the tree of life originated as a popular, iconic synthesis of the Darwinian evolutionary theory of descent by modification even if Darwin's own trees were hypothetical and abstract. It is generally thought that Ernst Haeckel in 1866 was the first to publish a true evolutionary tree which showed actual taxa. It is apparently forgotten that St. George Mivart beginning in 1865 made significant contributions to the development of evolutionary based trees of life which dealt with primate evolution, including human phylogeny. His trees were built on the most extensive sets of original data published up to that time, and were clearly articulated as working hypotheses. Mivart's trees were surprisingly modern for appearance and for content. Not only are most taxonomic names still in use today, but also many of the issues he raised are still under discussion in current scientific literature. The history of biology and especially that of primatology in the 19th ce...

... KINZEY et al. found that in mixed species groups of Callicebus torquatus and Saguinus fuseieollis, the more quadrupedal titi monkey, C. torquatus, always moved higher in the canopy than the more saltatory tamarin, S. fuseieollis (KINZEY et al., 1977; KINZEY, pers. comm.). ...

The Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), a species endemic to Morocco, is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and on ‘Appendix I’ of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), and the species is the most trafficked live mammal to Europe in the last decade. Ifrane National Park (INP) in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco is the stronghold of the Barbary macaque (BM), with approximately half of the surviving BMs living there. INP had been identified as the main source of poaching where juveniles are often targeted to be sold as pets, mainly for European consumers. Born to be Wild” was a three-year project focused on the sustainable protection of the Barbary macaque mainly from trafficking from North Africa to Europe

Introduction

It is a commonly held notion that chimpanzees are not only very aggressive but also downright ornery. The famed primatologist Frans De Waal, (2010) draws stark comparisons between chimpanzees and bonobos when it comes to aggressive behavior, and he is one who should know. So, are the differences really as extreme as we are led to believe? Are bonobos as peaceful and loving as everyone seems to believe they are? Or, perhaps, do both chimpanzees and bonobos exhibit aggressive behavior in the wild? If so, what differences and causations have been observed? And to what degree?

This paper seeks to discover the answers to those questions and perhaps even go a bit further and explore some examples of chimpanzee and bonobo aggression in the wild. In particular, I was intrigued by the idea that chimpanzees are emblematic of the cold and violent side of human nature while in contrast bonobos are considered emblematic of our benevolence and sensual nature. If this is true I reasoned, then there must be a lack of evidence of aggressive behavior in bonobos both in captivity and in the wild. Perhaps even more critically, what has made the difference between them, closely related as they are, and can we, as humans, learn more about our own aggressive behaviors by studying them?

For purposes of this paper, and at the request of Dr. Peter Robertshaw, I will concentrate on behaviors in the wild. In fact, as I began this research I was quite prepared to find little or no evidence of aggression in bonobos in the wild. Imagine my surprise then, when I discovered there is quite a substantial amount of literature detailing various aspects of aggression among this seemingly passive group of primates, although, to be sure, far less than exists about chimpanzees.

This work is the result of an ethnographic research made during the period from September 2018 to March 2019 with primatologists, and aims to contribute to the increasing debate about the Anthropology of Science and Human-animal relations. The research was carried out in the Parque Nacional de Brasilia, also known as Água Mineral, which is a unit of conservation  and a place open to visitation that hosts diverse species of the Brazilian Cerrado, including the bearded capuchin monkey (Sapajus libidinosus). The daily encounter between humans (visitors, scientists and servers) and the group of bearded capuchin monkeys already famous for interacting with the people and stealing food from visitors in the park's swimming pool areas allows and promotes the most diverse types of mutual interactions. The contact among the agents of this relationship causes specific behaviors, techniques and procedures to be triggered and constantly transformed with contact, for example, scientific techniques, among scientists; the extreme protection of personal objects and foods, among visitors, and variations in monkey behavior. I also analyze the process of primatological making, the techniques and methodologies in the phases of recognition, naming, habituation, between scientists and the monkey group. In light of the classic debate about nature and culture, I discuss possible approaches between biology and anthropology.

Keywords: Anthropology of Science; Human-animal relations; Parque Nacional de Brasília; Bearded capuchin monkeys; Primatologists.

The state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil has a richbiodiversity due to its geographic location and landscape.Thirty-fi ve percent of the Brazilian mammals, 141 speciesin 34 families, have been recorded for the state (Silva, 1994).Most of them occur in the Atlantic forest which extendsfrom Rio Grande do Norte in the northeast of Brazil. In RioGrande do Sul, this forest extends from the municipality ofTorres to the Rio Maquiné in the northeast of the state, andmarks the southern limit for most tropical plants (Reitz et al.,1988).

Fourier analyses allow extracting parameters from the outline of tooth crowns, which can be used in multivariate analyses. However, the great complexity of some dental shapes forces to check for the intrinsic error produced in this procedure. The main goal of this paper is to apply and validate the Fourier analysis in the study of second lower molar (M2) crown shape of four Hominoidea species to explore the interspecific morphometric variability, as well as determine the intra- and interobserver error rates. The occlusal surfaces outlines were digitized, derived Fourier functions were calculated, and Discriminant Analyses and Mantel Tests (Pearson correlations) were performed in order to determine the error rates between measurements and interspecific tooth shape variability. Results show that Fourier analyses are able to discriminate variability of molar shapes within Hominoidea primate species. In addition, the high correlation found, both intra- (r>0.9) and inter-observers (r>0.7) suggest that tooth morphometric description by Fourier methods from different observers can be pooled for joint analyses.

Keywords: Hominoidea, tooth, shape, elliptic Fourier analysis.

Resumen
Los análisis de Fourier permiten caracterizar el contorno del diente y obtener una serie de parámetros para un posterior análisis multivariante. Sin embargo, la gran complejidad que presentan algunas formas obliga a determinar el error de medición intrínseco que se produce. El objetivo de este trabajo es aplicar y validar los análisis de Fourier en el estudio de la forma dental del segundo molar inferior (M2) de cuatro especies de primates Hominoidea para explorar la variabilidad morfométrica interespecífica, así como determinar el error de medición a un nivel intra- e interobservador. El contorno de la superficie oclusal del diente fue definido digitalmente y con las funciones derivadas del análisis de Fourier se realizaron Análisis Discriminantes y Test de Mantel (correlaciones de Pearson) para determinar las diferencias de forma a partir de las mediciones tomadas. Los resultados indican que el análisis de Fourier muestra la variabilidad de forma en dientes molares en especies de primates Hominoidea. Adicionalmente, los altos niveles de correlación a nivel intra- (r>0,9) como inter-observador (r>0,7) sugieren que la descripción morfométrica del diente a partir de métodos de Fourier realizados por diferentes observadores puede ser agrupada para posteriores análisis.

Palabras clave: Hominoidea, diente, forma, análisis elíptico de Fourier.

"We have studied habitat isolation, resource availability and demographic parameters of 15 lion-tailed
macaque groups in eight different rainforest fragments in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, which are controlled by
private (PF; n=4) and forest department (FF; n=4) with reference to fragment size, tree density, canopy cover,
tree height and GBH of food trees. Group size ranged from 5 to 62 individuals but was not related to habitat
variables. Both FF and PF habitats harbor fairly same ratio of adult males (FF- 2.44±0.9 and PF- 2.83±2.1) but
female ratio has slight variation (FF- 4.22±1.9 and private- 5.0±3.3). The mean group size (FF- 11.65±3.3) varies
in both habitats (PF- 19.50±9.2) respectively. The FF are lager in size (971.25 ha, n=4), than the PF (43.50 ha,
n=4). Tree density, Tree height and GBH of food tree all showing strong differences. Sub adults (%) do not
differ in both fragmented habitats. Of the 4 small fragmented habitats, two fragments have big group size with
high adult male ratio. Small fragments with high population (Puthuthottam) become more vulnerable they need
serious conservation concern. Using our results, we have examined the factors that may contribute towards
maintenance of viable population of the flagship species in tropical rainforests."

Facial thermography has enabled researchers to noninvasively and continuously measure the changes of a range of emotional states in humans. The present work used this novel technology to study the effect of positive and negative emotions in nonhuman primates by focusing on four facial areas (the peri-orbital area, the nose bridge, the nose tip, and the upper lip). Monkeys and apes were examined for positive emotions (during interactions with toys and during tickling) and for negative emotions (during food delay and teasing). For the combined toy and tickling condition, the results indicated a drop in the nose tip temperature and a tendency of an increase in the peri-orbital temperature. For the combined food delay and teasing condition, the results also revealed a rise in the upper lip temperature of the subjects. These different effects on the facial temperatures in monkeys and apes most likely reflect distinctive physiological reactions of a primordial primate emotion system. We conclude that facial thermal imaging represents a promising physiologically grounded technology to noninvasively and continuously obtain reliable data on emotional states in nonhuman primates, which may help modernize research on emotions in nonhuman primates and enhance our understanding of the evolution of human emotions.

International Encyclopedia of Anthropology Abstract
Milk kinship is a designation which refers to social practices sharing the feature in which infants are breastfed by lactating women who are not their birth mothers. Historically these practices were widespread in the Mediterranean, Arabian and Balkan regions, and among contemporary Shi’a and Sunni groups. While predating Islam, Islamic sources legitimized the practice and regulated it in kinship terms of prohibition and avoidance. Recent field research contributed insights that explicitly define the parameters proposed to empirically establish admissibility or inadmissibility of milk kinship practices within the anthropological kinship category.

Music is commonly employed as auditory enrichment in NHP facilities under the assumption that music is as enriching for NHPs as it is for humans (Hinds et al., 2007; Lutz & Novak, 2005). The purpose of this study was to assess the utility of music as NHP enrichment by exploring musical preference and discriminative ability in three Sumatran orangutans. In Experiment 1, orangutan preference for music vs. silence was tested. Following exposure to a sample of music belonging to one of seven musical genres, orangutans were given the choice via touchscreen to continue to listen to the music sample previously played or to listen to silence instead.  Results indicated that all three orangutans either preferred silence to music or were indifferent.  No preference for any one of the musical genres tested over others was found.  In Experiment 2, orangutans’ ability to discriminate music from scrambled music was assessed using a touchscreen-delivered standard delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) ...