Compartive Primate Blog Post

Lemurs rule the treetops of the tropical rainforest. Wild lemurs live only on Madagascar, a large island off the east coast of Africa, and on the nearby Comoros Islands. While some Lemurs may also live in the dry forest. 

Depending on what species the Lemur may be, the most common locomotor trait is the arboreal quadrupedalism - walking and running on all fours along branches. The lemurs' strong hand and fingers help them to climb trees easily while their muscular legs are adapted for jumping. When they need a change of pace, as in with the Sifaka lemur, they may hop sideways on their back legs as if they were on a pogo stick. Brown lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs scamper along the forest floor on all fours. But other lemur species find traveling on the ground to be a hard thing to do because their bodies just aren’t built for walking.

Some believed the Lemur is the most diverse of all primate groups which is why They have been able to adapt successfully to changes in their environment and the main reason they are endangered is because of the actions of humans and not their inability to survive in their natural environment.

Sifaka Lemur

Spider monkeys live mainly in the top of the tree canopy and can be found in the lowland rain forests from Mexico to South America, by the coasts of the banks of the Amazon, south to Bolivia and the Matto Grosso in Brazil, and also in the mountain forest slopes of the Andes. "Spider monkeys live in the evergreen rainforests, semi deciduous and mangrove forests, lowland rainforests to mountain forests. In these forests they live mostly in the upper canopy, preferring undisturbed high forest, almost never coming to the ground. They prefer wet than dry forests." (http://www.zooschool.ecsd.net/spider%20monkey.htm)

Spider monkeys are called "the supreme acrobat of the forest." because in the wild, it is rare when they come down to the jungle floor. Spider monkeys use several different types of locomotion: quadrupedal, because they use all four limbs for locomotion as seen while walking or running and when feeding. Suspensory locomotion - when hanging, climbing or moving through the trees, using only two limbs when leaping. 

Spider Monkeys are considered to be the smartest of the primates because they can adapt to new surroundings. They have also been known to use primitive tools,like a rock to break a nut or use a stick to pull a fruit over to them that they can’t reach.

Spider Monkey

Baboons are found in savannas and woodlands and are extremely adaptable. The one major requirements for this habitat seems to be water sources and safe sleeping places in either tall trees or on the face of cliffs. When water is not always available, baboons drink every day or two, but can survive for a long period of time by licking the night dew from their fur.

Baboons locomotor pattern is quadrupedal and on their digits which means walking on their toes with the heels not touching the ground.  This is known as being a digitigrade quadrupedalism.

Baboons can quickly adapt to changing conditions and can survive on many very different types of food resources, as long as they get the nutrients they need.  Their diets differ widely depending on the habitat they live in and the resources available to them.  "They are also very flexible behaviorally, with different types of social organization and social behavior depending on environmental conditions.  If one of these changing conditions happens to be increased overlap with humans and the availability of human-produced resources, then baboons will very easily adapt to this new situation and start incorporating human-derived foods into their diet." (http://www.imfene.org/causes-of-baboon-commensalism)

Baboon

Gibbons live in Southeast Asia and can be found in tropical evergreen forests.

They have very long arms, hands and fingers, which they use in a spectacular arm-swinging locomotion called brachiation. They have short thumbs which is set down on the palm, and their fingers form a hook. Gibbons have very good bipedal locomotion, that they use on stable surfaces that are too large to grasp. When walking bipedally, their arms are held up to keep from dragging and to help them balance. They are sometimes observed putting their weight on their hands and swinging their legs through as if using crutches.

Gibbon

Chimpanzees are found across a west-east belt in equatorial Africa and live in a wide variety of habitat types that includes dry savannas, evergreen rainforests, montane forests, swamp forests, and dry woodland- savanna mosaics (Goodall 1986; Fruth et al. 1999; Poulsen & Clark 2004). Because they can live in different habitats, chimpanzees must be very adaptable to their surroundings.

Chimpanzees usually walk using all fours - on the soles of feet and the knuckles of their hands and can also walk upright but only if they need to use their arms to carry something. They are very good at climbing trees, where they spend much of their time, including when they sleep, and can swing from branch to branch in the trees, which is called brachiating. 

Chimpanzee

Researching the world of these five Primates was so intriguing. Although all five are 'monkeys', they are all their different species - just like us humans. We weren't all made from the same mold. Each has a different way of getting around - locomotor patterns. They each live in different habits and while some may be able to easily adapt if taken out of their environment, others can't.