The meaning of the word “primates.” Modern classification of the primate order

Primates are an order of higher placental mammals of the chordate type, which is divided into two suborders: prosimians and monkeys (humanoid primates). According to the classification, Homo sapiens also belongs to this group. The order of primates includes 12 families (lemurs, tarsiers, marmosets, broad-nosed monkeys, etc.), 57 genera and more than 200 species. The superfamily of apes includes gibbons (gibbons, siamangs, hoolocks, nomascus) and hominids (gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and humans). According to paleontologists, primates appeared on Earth during the process of evolution in the Upper Cretaceous period (70-100 million years ago). Primates descended from common ancestors with woolly wings - insectivorous mammals. These ancient primates are the predecessors of tarsiers and lemurs. And primitive tarsiforms from the Eocene period became later by ancestors humanoid primates.

Primates in wildlife live in the tropics and subtropics. They live mainly in wooded areas, often in herds or family groups, less often alone or in pairs. They constantly live within a small territory, which they mark or announce with loud cries that the area is occupied. All primates have complex differentiation and coordination of movements, since their ancestors and many of modern species are arboreal animals that are able to move quickly and confidently along tree branches. In primate groups, a complex hierarchical organization is noticeable, where there are dominant and subordinate individuals. It should also be noted that there is a high degree of communication, when individuals react to the screams and movements of other members of the community, clean, lick the fur of themselves and other members of the flock, females care for their own and other people’s cubs. Primates are usually active during the day, less often at night. The diet of primates includes mixed food with a predominance of plants; some species feed on insects.

Within the order, primates come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. The smallest representatives of primates are marmosets and lemurs, the largest are gorillas. The body of primates has hair of different colors different types, broad-nosed monkeys and lemurs have an undercoat, so their coat resembles fur. Many species have manes, robes, tufts on the ears and tails, beards, etc. Most monkeys have a tail of varying lengths, which sometimes serves a grasping function. When moving on the ground, primates rely on their entire foot. The habitation of primates in trees led to the development of a vertical body position, which later in the process of evolution led to the appearance of upright walking in the ancestors of hominids.

Characteristic features of primates are mobile five-fingered limbs, the thumb is opposed to all the others, the presence of nails on the fingers, binocular vision, hair on the body, an underdeveloped sense of smell, and a more complex structure of the cerebral hemispheres. Considerable freedom of action of the forelimbs is ensured by the presence of clavicles. Grasping movements are carried out due to the opposition of the thumb to the rest. The hands bend and straighten perfectly. The elbow joints are also well mobile. Monkeys have papillary patterns on their palms and soles. These animals have sharp vision and hearing, and their sense of smell is less developed than other senses.

The skull of primates is increased in volume, since due to the complication of movements and behavior, the brain is more developed than in representatives of other orders of animals. Accordingly, the facial skull is reduced in size in comparison with the brain, the jaws are shortened. In lower primates, the brain is relatively smooth, with few convolutions. U great apes There are many grooves and convolutions on the well-developed hemispheres of the brain. The occipital lobes of the brain, which are responsible for vision, and the temporal and frontal lobes, which control movements and the vocal apparatus, are prominent. There is a high level of higher nervous activity and complex behavior.

Primates have four types of teeth: incisors, canines, small and large molars. The stomach is simple due to the consumption of mixed food.

Primates reproduce throughout the year. Pregnancy in females lasts from 4 to 10 months. Larger species have a longer gestation period. A helpless baby is born, sometimes two or three. The female feeds them with milk from a pair of mammary glands on her chest. The cubs remain under the care of their mother until they are two or three years old. The life expectancy of large primates reaches 20-30 years.

The order of primates was identified back in 1758 by Linnaeus, who included humans, monkeys, prosimians, bats and sloths. Linnaeus accepted the presence of two mammary glands and a five-fingered limb as the defining characteristics of primates.

In the same century, Georges Buffon divided primates into two orders - four-armed (Quadrumana) and two-armed (Bimanus), separating humans from other primates. Only 100 years later, Thomas Huxley put an end to this division by proving that the hind limb of an ape is a leg. Since the 18th century, the composition of the taxon has changed, but back in the 20th century, the slow loris was classified as a sloth, and chiropterans were excluded from the number of close relatives of primates in beginning of XXI century.

Recently, the classification of primates has undergone significant changes. Previously, suborders of prosimians (Prosimii) and anthropoid primates (Anthropoidea) were distinguished.

All representatives of the modern suborder Strepsirhini, tarsiers, and also sometimes tupai (now considered as special squad). Anthropoids became an infraorder of apes in the suborder of dry-nosed monkeys. In addition, the family Pongidae was previously recognized, which is now considered a subfamily of Ponginae in the family Hominidae.

The order Primates is currently divided into two suborders: 1. Lower primates, or prosimians. 2. Monkeys, or humanoids.

Suborder Lower Primates

Suborder Lower Primates - prosimians. These include tupai, lemurs, tarsiers, etc.

These are small animals, but there are also medium-sized ones - about the size of a dog. All prosimians have tails, often fluffy. The facial part of the skull is elongated, the sense of smell is well developed, and there are tactile hairs on the face - vibrissae. The lower teeth grow forward to form a “comb” for grooming or scraping food. All prosimians mark the territory in which they live with the odorous secretion of specific skin glands - sternum, abdominal, throat, etc., as well as urine. The brain of prosimians is small, without convolutions. Almost all of them are nocturnal, except for some species of ancient lemurs. They live in groups or alone, giving birth to one or two young. All except tarsiers have immobile facial muscles, so they do not have the same facial expressions as monkeys.

Tupaia are a transitional form between insectivorous mammals and primates. In terms of the structure of the skull, forelimbs, teeth, and biochemical parameters, they are closer to primates. In Malay, tupaya means “squirrel”, they are small, live in trees and look like squirrels with a bushy tail.

Lemurs are the most typical representatives of prosimians; common in Madagascar. Ancient lemurs live in large groups. There are lemurs with bright colors; for example, the ring-tailed lemur has alternating white and black rings on its tail and white circles around its eyes. This lemur got its name from sounds similar to purring. Ring-tailed lemur- diurnal, feeds on fruits, flowers, leaves. In addition to large lemurs, there are small dwarf species, for example, the mouse lemur, the size of a fist, with huge eyes, it weighs 40-60 grams. These are nocturnal insect hunters.

Of all the prosimians, the closest to monkeys are the tarsiers, which live in Indonesia and the Philippines. They are the size of a rat, have huge eyes that glow in the dark, for which they are called “tarsier - ghost”. The bare tail with a tassel serves as a balancer when jumping. The facial region is not elongated, like in other prosimians, but shortened, which means that the sense of smell is underdeveloped. Tarsiers have facial muscles and can grimace like monkeys. The brain is relatively large, the hind limbs are longer than the front ones, and the heel bone is also elongated, which is why they are called tarsiers.

Suborder Greater primates - anthropoid

All higher primates are divided into two sections - broad-nosed and narrow-nosed monkeys. The division is based on differences in the structure of the nasal septum: in broad-nosed monkeys it is wide and the nostrils point to the side, while in narrow-nosed monkeys it is narrow, with the nostrils facing down. They also differ in their habitats. All broad-nosed monkeys live in South America and are called New World monkeys; Slant-nosed monkeys live in Africa and Asia and are called Old World monkeys.

Section of broad-nosed monkeys. In the section of broad-nosed monkeys, three families are distinguished - small marmosets, callimikos and large capuchin monkeys. All marmosets and callimicos have primitive structural features - a hairy ear, a relatively simple brain, almost without convolutions, up to three young are born. Marmosets are the smallest of all primates; In addition to the marmosets themselves, these include pygmy marmosets and tamarins. All are characterized by paired family image life, only one adult female breeds in a group, the male cares for the offspring. Callimico was isolated from the marmoset family relatively recently. In terms of the structure of the teeth, the shape of the skull, and biochemical parameters, they are similar to capuchin monkeys and occupy an intermediate position between them and marmoset monkeys.

Capuchin monkeys have a prehensile tail, the lower end of the tail is hairless, and has the same dermatoglyphic patterns as on the palms. This tail acts as an additional limb. The first finger of the hand is underdeveloped, sometimes absent, but on the foot it is well developed and contrasted with the others. The brain is quite developed, these monkeys have complex behavior and easily learn complex skills. They live in large groups. All of them are arboreal and diurnal, except for one genus of nocturnal monkeys. Like prosimians, all broad-nosed monkeys have skin glands, with the secretion of which they mark territory. Broad-nosed monkeys often form multi-species communities to better protect themselves from predators. They have well-developed acoustic (voice) communication and rich facial expressions.

Narrownose section. Monkey monkeys. They are small or medium in size, their forelimbs are equal to their hind limbs or slightly shorter. The first finger of the hand and foot is well contrasted with the rest. The fur covers the entire body, with the exception of the face, and is usually bright in color. There are ischial calluses and cheek pouches. Cheek pouches are special pockets - folds of the mucous membrane in the oral cavity on both cheeks, where monkeys stuff food in reserve. In addition to ischial calluses, they have so-called “genital skin” - areas of skin that swell and turn red during ovulation, this can serve as a signal to the male that the female is ready to mate. Ischial calluses, unlike the genital skin, are vascular-free. They are comfortable when sleeping or sitting on the ground. All monkeys move on the ground and tree branches, among them there are terrestrial forms (baboons, geladas), arboreal forms (rhesus macaques, and lapunders) and purely arboreal forms (all thin-bodied monkeys, langurs, etc.). They are plantigrade, resting on their feet and hands when walking. The tail is never grasping. Some species have well-developed sexual dimorphism, that is, males are larger than females. They are all gregarious, living in forests, savannas, and on rocks. The apes include the genera of monkeys, hussars, baboons, mandrills, geladas, mangobays, macaques and the subfamilies of slender-bodied monkeys, the genera of colobus monkeys, gwerets, and langurs. A very beautiful monkey - Hanuman langur is considered sacred monkey in India, Sri Lanka and other countries. According to the epic Ramayana, the Hanuman langur saved the pious Rama and his wife. In Egypt, the hamadryas baboon is considered a sacred animal, considered the personification of the god Ra - the god of health, fertility, generosity and writing.

Family Gibbonaceae. These are small, gracefully built monkeys, their forelimbs are longer than their hind limbs, their fur is thick, their palms, soles, ears and face are bare. There are small ischial calluses. The fingers are long, the first finger is well opposed to the rest. Distributed in India, Indochina, Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, and the Malacca Peninsula. All of them are arboreal, inhabitants of the tropical forest with a characteristic method of movement - brachiation: alternately intercepting tree branches with their hands, they fly from tree to tree at a distance of up to fifteen meters. They can walk on the ground on two legs, balancing with their arms. Some gibbons exhibit sexual dimorphism in hair color, for example, male gibbons are black and females are light beige. Another feature of the gibbon is family life, with each family having its own territory and communicating with other families. This behavior is called "singing" or "choiring" by gibbons; The initiator of singing is, as a rule, the male, then the whole family joins him. Joint-toed gibbons - siamangs - even have special throat vocal sacs - resonators to amplify sound.

The Pongid family unites Asian orangutans and African apes - chimpanzees and gorilla. All of them are distinguished by their large body sizes; the gorilla weighs up to 200 kilograms and grows up to two meters. They have a relatively short body and long limbs, no tail, a shortened sacral spine, a barrel-shaped chest, and broad shoulders. All are characterized by semi-upright movement along branches and the ground, relying on the knuckles of the forelimbs. They have large and complex brains, about six times larger than those of lower monkeys such as macaques. The gorilla's brain weighs 420 grams and has many convolutions. The frontal lobe is larger than that of lower apes. Like humans, apes have well-developed facial muscles, and their lips are very mobile. Chimpanzees have ischial calluses; gorillas and orangutans are rare. The hair on the back and chest is sparse, and there are no tufts of tactile hair on the face (vibrissae). The immunological and biochemical parameters of chimpanzees, gorillas and humans are very similar in blood proteins. The gestation period is the same as in humans (9 months), the baby develops very slowly, up to seven years. All of them have high intelligence and are able to use objects as tools in nature and in captivity.

Orangutans are common in Sumatra and Kalimantan and are distinguished by their massive build (males are 150 centimeters tall and weigh 100 - 200 kilograms). Females are significantly smaller than males. Kalimantan orangutans have developed cheek growths from connective tissue and fat. The hind limbs are short, the front limbs are long, the fingers on the hands are long and have the appearance of hooks, the first finger is shortened on the hand, and there are large guttural pouches on the neck. The skull of orangutans is long, elongated, the facial region is concave. The skull has sagittal and occipital crests. The lower jaw is massive, the teeth are large, with strongly wrinkled crowns, the fangs rarely protrude beyond the dentition. Brain volume is 300-500 cm3.

Gorilla

There are three subspecies: mountain, coastal and lowland. The lowland gorilla is common in Western equatorial Africa (Cameroon, Gabon), in the Congo River valley and near Lake Tanganyika. The male is about two meters tall, weighs up to 200 kilograms, has a massive neck and shoulders, a skull with a low forehead and a powerful supraorbital ridge. Males also have sagittal and occipital crests. Females are smaller than males. The face protrudes forward, the lower jaw is very massive.

The chimpanzee lives in tropical Africa, in the Congo and Niger river basins. Chimpanzees are shorter and thinner in build, height 150 centimeters, weight 50 kilograms, sexual demorphism in body size is less pronounced than in the gorilla and orangutan. The supraorbital ridge is also less developed, and the occipital ridge is absent. The forehead is straighter, the brain skull is rounder, the fangs are less developed, and the wrinkled crowns are also weaker than in the orangutan. The pygmy chimpanzee or bonob is a living model of early hominids, characterized by its small stature and gracefulness. Lives in Zaire.

Family Hominidae. Body height 140-190 centimeters. Females are 10-12 centimeters smaller than males. Characterized by a vertical body position and movement only on the lower limbs. The first toe loses mobility and is not opposed to the rest. The length of the lower limbs significantly exceeds the length of the upper ones. The development of the first finger of the hand is of great importance. The head is round, characterized by a highly developed brain part and a slightly protruding facial part. The facial section is located not in front of the brain, but below it. The foramen magnum is directed downwards. The teeth are poorly developed, almost indistinguishable from the incisors. The molars have flattened tubercles on the chewing surface, four tubercles on the upper ones, and 5 on the lower ones. The spinal column is S-shaped curved, which is associated with the vertical position of the body. The sacral and caudal vertebrae fuse into complex bones - the sacrum and coccyx. Characterized by strong development of the femur. The brain is unusually developed, especially the cerebral hemispheres with grooves and convolutions. Pregnancy lasts 280 days, one child is born, less often two or three. Humans are characterized by the longest periods of child development and learning among mammals.

Problems of primate conservation

Of all orders of mammals, the threat of extinction is most real for primates. Half of all species belonging to this order are on the verge of extinction. These include all species of apes and most lemurs. Over the last thousand years, after people appeared in Madagascar, 15 species of lemurs belonging to 8 genera have disappeared there forever. And golden lion tamarins and silver gibbons could disappear forever from the face of the Earth in the next 50 years.

What is often forgotten when discussing primate conservation efforts is how beneficial these animals are to humans. In the Kibale region of Uganda, for example, monkeys disperse the seeds of about a third of the species forest trees, of which 42% play an important role in the life of the local population, providing them with fuel and furniture, food and medicine, as well as feed for livestock. If the monkeys go extinct, then these trees, and perhaps the entire forest, will disappear. And people will have to leave these places.

The two main factors behind the extinction of monkeys were habitat disturbance and hunting. People are cutting down forests and turning wild areas into farmland. For the period from 1981 to 1990. 8% of tropical forests were completely destroyed. Monkeys can, of course, survive both changes in living conditions and the transformation of large forest areas into isolated islands. But they need, at a minimum, food trees! It is also vital that the remaining "islands" of forest are connected by corridors that allow animal passage. Few species of monkeys, such as blue or red-tailed monkeys, tolerate human intrusion into their lives. They easily adapt to new foods in the absence of their usual food. Their small size and high fertility allow populations of these species to restore their numbers even with significant decline.

Hunting monkeys provides people with meat, skins, and organs used in traditional Eastern medicine. The monkey meat trade in Africa has become a serious threat to the populations of many species. Habitat destruction exacerbates the effects of hunting. Logging makes forests easier to access for hunters and settlers, as happened in northern Congo. The worst situation is for monkeys with a low reproduction rate. Large, conspicuous species such as gorillas and mandrills suffer greatly from hunting because they are easy to find and, due to their low reproduction rates, their populations can be easily wiped out.

Most monkey conservation programs aim to protect species in their habitats. In recent years, work in this direction has begun to bear fruit. Local authorities are tasked with regulating hunting in order to preserve monkey populations for the long term. But this is little support for primates, since they reproduce very slowly. Other ways of protecting monkeys, for example by attracting tourists, have more prospects. Work is also being carried out to breed certain species of monkeys, which are then released into places where they were previously found, but were exterminated. However, this is a more expensive method compared to on-site conservation measures.



Primates that are included in this order of mammals. They live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, and America. Only one species - magot - is found in Europe - on the rocks of Gibraltar. Zoologists divide primates into two groups (suborders): prosimians and monkeys, or great apes. We, people, also belong to the latter group, representing a family of people, one genus - man and a single species - modern intelligent man. The ancestors of all primates were ancient insectivorous animals that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period. Outwardly, they resembled tupaya - a representative of prosimians.

Primates: 1 - ghost tarsier; 2 - mandrill; 3 - coata; 4 - Diana monkey; 5 - bonobo pygmy chimpanzee; 6 - gorilla.

Some primates are almost dwarfs, measuring 8.5–12 cm, and our “cousins”, gorillas, reach 180 cm in height. Alone with long tails, helping to cling to branches, others have short tails, and others have no tails at all. The body of primates is covered with thick hair.

These are very active animals. Most prefer to live in trees, where they move with the agility, precision and virtuosity of first-class acrobats. Jumping from tree to tree is swift and unexpected. Small tarsiers jump 1 m, howler monkeys easily cover a distance of 4 m in the air. There are also those who prefer a terrestrial lifestyle, such as the squirrel-like tupai, the ring-tailed lemur, and the baboon.

Life in the trees left its mark on the structure of the body and sensory organs of primates. They have five-fingered grasping limbs. A poorly developed sense of smell is compensated by good vision and hearing. The brain is highly developed, and in higher apes the cerebral hemispheres provide conscious activity.

Prosimians have up to four young, sometimes twice a year. They make nests in tree hollows and other secluded places. Some species of lemurs hibernate during the hot season.

Monkeys are especially interesting.

Monkeys are touchingly tender with their young. In the pack, “neighbors” help mothers nurse their children. The Japanese macaque is a neat person: he always washes his food before eating. The crabeater macaque from Java, an inhabitant of mangrove swamps, catches crabs and collects shellfish, the shells of which are broken by taking a stone in his hand. In addition, he is a good swimmer. Rhesus monkeys are not inferior to him in this: he not only swims, but also dives excellently.

Other aspects of monkey behavior in nature are also interesting. Among monkeys living in herds, a leader dominates, regulating relationships among his subordinates. Sometimes just one look from him is enough - and the quarrel immediately stops. Many monkeys, such as the baboon, are brave, fearless and even engage in single combat with a leopard. Sounds, facial expressions, gestures are various signals for action and means of communication of these animals.

People are trying to better understand the world of monkeys, especially anthropoids: chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans. They are observed in captivity and in the wild.

Monkeys play a big role in human life. Macaques were the first living creatures to rise in a rocket into the stratosphere. Monkeys serve as a model replacing humans in biological experiments. The Japanese macaque became the main supplier of materials for obtaining the polio vaccine, saving hundreds of thousands of people from serious illness.

Monkeys eat fruits, flowers, buds, shoots, honey, as well as bird eggs, lizards, insects, and small birds. But they still prefer plant foods. This is necessary to know when keeping monkeys in living areas. But here's what's interesting. When a chimpanzee, born in captivity, was released onto an island in the middle of a lake (near Pskov), he did not touch any of the 15 species of poisonous plants that grew on the island. This means that they are able to distinguish edible plants from inedible ones well.

Primates live quite a long time. Lori, tupai - up to 7 years, saimuria - 21 years, hamadryas - 30, capuchin fawn - 40, gorilla - 50 years.

Now only 2.5 thousand orangutans and 10 thousand gorillas have survived in the wild due to excessive hunting. Therefore, most of the monkeys are taken under strict protection.

In 1927, the Sukhumi nursery was created, where up to 3 thousand monkeys were kept, some of them were released into the wild as an experiment. Experiments were also conducted on the acclimatization of monkeys near Moscow. It turned out that they not only tolerate winter well, but also reproduce well here.

And tarsiers. Primates from the suborder of monkeys were represented by anthropoids, including apes and humans. Recently, primates have been classified into the suborder Strepsirrhini or wet-nosed primates, and suborder Haplorhini or dry-nosed primates, which includes tarsiers and apes. Apes are divided into broad-nosed or New World monkeys (living in South and Central America) and narrow-nosed or Old World monkeys (living in Africa and Southeast Asia). New World monkeys include, in particular, capuchins, howler monkeys and saimiris. The narrow-nosed monkeys include the apes (such as baboons and macaques), gibbons, and great apes. Humans are the only representative of the narrow-nosed monkeys to have spread outside Africa, South and East Asia, although fossil remains indicate that many other species previously lived in Europe. New species of primates are constantly being described, with more than 25 species described in the first decade of the 21st century, and eleven species described since 2010.

Most primates are arboreal, but some (including great apes and baboons) moved to the ground. However, primates that lead a terrestrial lifestyle retain adaptations for climbing trees. Methods of locomotion include jumping from tree to tree, walking on two or four limbs, walking on the hind limbs supported by the toes of the forelimbs, and brachiation - movement in which the animal swings on the forelimbs.

Primates are characterized by larger brains than other mammals. Of all the feelings highest value has stereoscopic vision as well as a sense of smell. These features are more pronounced in monkeys and weaker in lorises and lemurs. Some primates have tricolor vision. Most thumb opposed to others; some have a prehensile tail. Many species are characterized by sexual dimorphism, which manifests itself in body weight, fang size, and coloration.

Primates develop and reach adulthood more slowly than other similarly sized mammals, but they live long lives. Depending on the species, adults can live alone, in pairs, or in groups of up to hundreds of individuals.

Appearance

Primates are characterized by five-fingered, very mobile upper limbs (hands), the thumb is opposed to the rest (in the majority), and nails. The body of most primates is covered with hair, and lemurs and some broad-nosed monkeys also have undercoat, which is why their hair can be called real fur.

General characteristics

• hairline
• five-fingered limb
• fingers are equipped with nails
• the thumb of the hand is opposed to all the others
• underdeveloped sense of smell
• significant development of the cerebral hemispheres

Nutrition

Primates use a variety of food sources. It can be assumed that the diet of modern primates (including humans) is related to the diet of their evolutionary ancestors, who obtained most of their food in the canopy of the tropical forest. Most primates eat fruits rich in easily digestible carbohydrates and fats, which are necessary as a source of energy. Primates obtain essential microelements, vitamins and minerals, as well as amino acids necessary for the construction of tissues, by eating insects and plant leaves. Primates of the suborder Strepsirrhini synthesize vitamin C, like most other mammals, but primates of the suborder Haplorrhini have lost this ability and need to obtain vitamin C from food.

Many primates have anatomical features that allow them to efficiently obtain certain types of food, such as fruits, leaves, gums or insects. . Leaf beetles such as howler monkeys, colobus monkeys and lepilemuras have elongated digestive tracts that allow them to digest nutrients from leaves that are difficult to digest. Gum-eating marmosets have strong incisors, which allow them to open the bark of trees and extract gum, and claws, which allow them to hold on to trees while feeding. The aye-aye combines rodent-like teeth with a long, slender middle finger and occupies the same ecological niche as the woodpecker. By tapping trees, the aye-aye finds insect larvae, gnaws holes in the wood, and inserts its elongated middle finger and pulls the larva out. Lophocebus albigena has thickened tooth enamel, which allows this monkey to open hard fruits and seeds that other monkeys are unable to open.

Some primates have a narrow range of foods. For example, the gelada is the only primate that feeds primarily on grass, and the tarsier is the only completely carnivorous primate (their diet consists of insects, crustaceans and small vertebrates, including venomous snakes). . Capuchins, in contrast, have a very wide range of food, which includes fruits, leaves, flowers, buds, nectar, seeds, insects and other invertebrates, bird eggs and small vertebrates (including birds, lizards, squirrels and bats). The common chimpanzee also hunts other primates, such as Procolobus badius .

Classification

The order of primates was identified back in 1758 by Linnaeus, who included in it humans, monkeys, prosimians, bats and sloths. Linnaeus accepted the presence of two mammary glands and a five-fingered limb as the defining characteristics of primates. In the same century, Georges Buffon divided primates into two orders - quadrupeds ( Quadrumana) and two-handed ( Bimanus), separating humans from other primates. Only 100 years later, Thomas Huxley put an end to this division by proving that the hind limb of an ape is a leg. Since the 18th century, the composition of the taxon has changed, but back in the 20th century, slow lorises were classified as sloths, and bats were excluded from the list of close relatives of primates at the beginning of the 21st century.

Recently, the classification of primates has undergone significant changes. Previously, suborders of prosimians were distinguished ( Prosimii) and anthropoid primates ( Anthropoidea). All representatives of the modern suborder Scrotums were classified as prosimians ( Strepsirhini), tarsiers, and also sometimes tupai (now considered as a special order). Anthropoids The apes became an infraorder in the suborder dry-nosed monkeys. Additionally, the family Pongidae was previously recognized and is now considered a subfamily of Ponginae within the family Hominidae.

• suborder wet-nosed ( Strepsirhini)
  • infraorder lemur-like ( Lemuriformes)
    • lemurs, or lemurids ( Lemuridae): lemurs themselves
    • dwarf lemurs ( Cheirogalidae): dwarf and mouse lemurs
    • lepilemurs ( Lepilemuridae)
    • indriaceae ( Indriidae): indris, avagis and sifakas
    • hand-footed ( Daubentoniidae): aye-aye (single species)
  • infraorder Lorisiformes ( Loriformes)
    • Loriaceae ( Loridae): lori and potto
    • halagaceae ( Galagonidae): galago proper

• suborder dry-nosed ( Haplorrhini)
  • infraorder tarsiformes ( Tarsiiformes)
    • tarsiers ( Tarsiidae)
  • infraorder apes ( Simiiformes)
    • parvotrode broad-nosed monkeys, or New World monkeys ( Platyrrhina)
      • marmosets ( Callitrichidae)
      • prehensile-tailed ( Cebidae)
      • night monkeys ( Aotidae)
      • saki ( Pitheciidae)
      • arachnids ( Atelidae)
    • parvoorder narrow-nosed monkeys, or Old World primates ( Catarhina)
      • superfamily dog-headed ( Cercopithecoidea)
        • marmosets, or lower narrow-nosed monkeys ( Cercopithecidae): macaques, baboons, monkeys, etc.
      • superfamily great apes, or hominoids ( Hominoidea), or anthropomorphids ( Anthropomorphidae)
        • gibbons, or lesser apes ( Hylobatidae): true gibbons, nomascus, hoolocks and siamangs
        • hominids ( Hominidae): orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and humans

Chronogram

Origin and immediate family

According to the idea formed on the basis of molecular studies in 1999, it turned out that the closest relatives of primates are not tupayas, but woolly wings. Primates, woolly wings and tupaiformes (together with rodents and lagomorphs) belong to one of the four branches of placentals - the superorder Euarchontoglires, and bats - to the superorder Laurasiatheria. Previously, primates, woolly winged and tupaiformes were grouped together with bats in the superorder Archonta.

Euarchontoglires	Euarchonta Primatomorpha Primates(Primates) Rodents (Glires)

Primates evolved from a common ancestor with woolly wings in the Upper Cretaceous. Estimates of the time of appearance of primates vary from the conservative 65-75 million years ago. n. up to 79-116 million liters. n. (according to molecular clock).

These ancient primates, in all likelihood, spread from Asia to other places in the Old World and North America, where lemurs and tarsiers gave rise. The original forms of monkeys of the New and Old Worlds probably originated from primitive tarsiformes (some authors consider ancient lemurs to be the ancestors of apes). New World monkeys arose independently from Old World monkeys. Their ancestors penetrated from North America to South America, developed and specialized here, adapting to conditions exclusively arboreal life. In many anatomical and biological traits, humans belong to the higher primates, where they form a separate family of people ( Hominidae) with gender person ( Homo) and one modern view - a reasonable person ( H. sapiens). In many anatomical and physiological characteristics, not only apes, but also lower primates are very similar to humans. They are even susceptible to many human diseases (for example, dysentery, tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, measles, tonsillitis), which generally proceed in the same way as in humans. Sometimes great apes die from appendicitis. All this indicates the morphological and biochemical similarity of the blood and tissues of primates and humans.

Distinctive Features

Primates mainly lead an arboreal lifestyle and therefore have many adaptations to such an environment. Distinctive features of primates:

Not all primates have the anatomical features listed, and not all of these features are unique to primates. For example, many other mammals have collarbones, three types of teeth, and a pendulous penis. At the same time, koats have greatly reduced fingers, ruffed lemurs have six mammary glands, and some wet-nosed lemurs usually have a long snout and a sensitive sense of smell.

Primate behavior is often social, with a complex hierarchy. New World primates form monogamous pairs, with males showing much greater care for their offspring than male Old World primates.

Practical significance

The practical importance of primates is very great. As living and funny creatures, monkeys have always attracted human attention. They were hunted and sold to zoos and for home entertainment. The meat of many monkeys is still eaten by the aborigines. The meat of semi-monkeys is considered very tasty. The skins of some species of primates are used to make some things. IN recent years Primates are becoming increasingly important in biological and medical experiments. Some organs of monkeys are used in the treatment of people (for example, the kidneys of macaques, green monkeys and some other monkeys serve as a nutrient medium for growing viruses, which then, after appropriate processing, turn into a vaccine against polio).

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Notes

1. Goodman, M., Tagle, D. A., Fitch, D. H., Bailey, W., Czelusniak, J., Koop, B. F., Benson, P., & Slightom, J. L. (1990). "Primate evolution at the DNA level and a classification of hominoids". Journal of Molecular Evolution 30 (3): 260–266. DOI:10.1007/BF02099995. PMID 2109087.
2. , Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2008 , . Retrieved July 21, 2008.
3. Helen J Chatterjee, Simon Y.W. Ho, Ian Barnes & Colin Groves (2009). "Estimating the phylogeny and divergence times of primates using a supermatrix approach." BMC Evolutionary Biology 9 : 259. DOI:10.1186/1471-2148-9-259. PMID 19860891.
4. (1993) "". Scientific American 269 (2): 86–93. PMID 8351513.
5. Strier, K. Primate Behavioral Ecology. - 3rd. - Allyn & Bacon, 2007. - P. 7, 64, 71, 77, 182–185, 273–280, 284, 287–298. - ISBN 0-205-44432-6.
6. Pollock, J. I., & Mullin, R. J. (1986). "". American Journal of Physical Anthropology 73 (1): 65–70. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.1330730106. PMID 3113259.
7. Milliken, G. W., Ward, J. P., & Erickson, C. J. (1991). "Independent digital control in foraging by the aye-aye ( Daubentonia madagascariensis)». Folia Primatologica 56 (4): 219–224. DOI:10.1159/000156551. PMID 1937286.
8. Hiller, C. . Animal Diversity Web(2000). Retrieved August 8, 2008. .
9. Wright, P., Simmons, E. & Gursky, S. Introduction // Tarsiers Past, Present and Future / Wright, P., Simmons, E. & Gursky, S.. - Rutgers University Press, 2003. - P. 1. - ISBN 0-8135-3236-1.
10. Sussman, R. W. Primate Ecology and Social Structure, Volume 2: New World Monkeys. - Revised First. - Needham Heights, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing & Prentice Hall, 2003. - P. 77–80, 132–133, 141–143. - ISBN 0-536-74364-9.
11. Bshary, R. Interactions between Red Colobus Monkeys and Chimpanzees // Monkeys of the Taï Forest: an African primate community / McGraw, W., Zuberbuhler, K. & Noe, R.. - Cambridge University Press, 2007. - P. 155–170. - ISBN 0-521-81633-5.
12. Stanford, C. Chimpanzee and red colobus: the ecology of predator and prey. - Harvard University Press, 1998. - P. 130–138, 233. - ISBN 0-674-00722-0.
15. Characteristics of Primates // Vertebrate Life. - 7th. - Pearson, 2005. - P. 630. - ISBN 0-13-127836-3.
16. Soligo, C., Müller, A.E. (1999). "Nails and claws in primate evolution." Journal of Human Evolution 36 (1): 97–114. DOI:10.1006/jhev.1998.0263. PMID 9924135.
17. Macdonald, David (2006), "Primates", The Encyclopedia of Mammals, The Brown Reference Group plc, pp. 290–307, ISBN 0-681-45659-0
18. White, T. & Kazlev, A.. Palaeos (January 8, 2006). Retrieved June 3, 2008. .
19. Pough, F. W., Janis, C. M. & Heiser, J. B. Primate Societies // Vertebrate Life. - 7th. - Pearson, 2005. - P. 621–623. - ISBN 0-13-127836-3.

Literature

• Biological encyclopedic dictionary edited by M. S. Gilyarov et al., M., ed. Soviet Encyclopedia, 1989.
• Butovskaya M. L., Fainberg L. A. Ethology of primates (textbook). M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1992.
• N. N. Ladygina-Kots.. - M.: State Darwin Museum, 1935. - 596 p., in 2002 the book was translated into English language: Nadezhda Nikolaevna Ladygina-Kohts./ translated by Boris Vekker, edited by Frans B. M. de Waal. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. - 452 p. - ISBN 0-19-513565-2.

Links

Prototheria (Primordial beasts) Metatheria (Metatherium) Eutheria (Eutheria, or Placental)

An excerpt characterizing Primates

- ABOUT! Ooooh! - he sobbed like a woman. The doctor, standing in front of the wounded man, blocking his face, moved away.
- My God! What is this? Why is he here? - Prince Andrei said to himself.
In the unfortunate, sobbing, exhausted man, whose leg had just been taken away, he recognized Anatoly Kuragin. They held Anatole in their arms and offered him water in a glass, the edge of which he could not catch with his trembling, swollen lips. Anatole was sobbing heavily. “Yes, it’s him; “Yes, this man is somehow closely and deeply connected with me,” thought Prince Andrei, not yet clearly understanding what was in front of him. – What is this person’s connection with my childhood, with my life? - he asked himself, not finding an answer. And suddenly a new, unexpected memory from the world of childhood, pure and loving, presented itself to Prince Andrei. He remembered Natasha as he had seen her for the first time at the ball in 1810, with a thin neck and thin arms, with a frightened, happy face ready for delight, and love and tenderness for her, even more vivid and stronger than ever, awoke in his soul. He now remembered the connection that existed between him and this man, who looked at him dully through tears filling his swollen eyes. Prince Andrey remembered everything, and enthusiastic pity and love for this man filled his happy heart.
Prince Andrei could not hold on any longer and began to cry tender, loving tears over people, over himself and over them and his delusions.
“Compassion, love for brothers, for those who love, love for those who hate us, love for enemies - yes, that love that God preached on earth, which Princess Marya taught me and which I did not understand; That’s why I felt sorry for life, that’s what was still left for me if I were alive. But now it's too late. I know it!

The terrible sight of the battlefield, covered with corpses and wounded, combined with the heaviness of the head and with the news of the killed and wounded twenty familiar generals and with the awareness of the powerlessness of his previously strong hand, made an unexpected impression on Napoleon, who usually loved to look at the dead and wounded, thereby testing his spiritual strength (as he thought). On this day, the terrible sight of the battlefield defeated the spiritual strength in which he believed his merit and greatness. He hastily left the battlefield and returned to the Shevardinsky mound. Yellow, swollen, heavy, with dull eyes, a red nose and a hoarse voice, he sat on a folding chair, involuntarily listening to the sounds of gunfire and not raising his eyes. With painful melancholy he awaited the end of that matter, which he considered himself to be the cause of, but which he could not stop. Personal human feeling for a short moment took precedence over that artificial ghost of life that he had served for so long. He endured the suffering and death that he saw on the battlefield. The heaviness of his head and chest reminded him of the possibility of suffering and death for himself. At that moment he did not want Moscow, victory, or glory for himself. (What more glory did he need?) The only thing he wanted now was rest, peace and freedom. But when he was at Semenovskaya Heights, the chief of artillery suggested that he place several batteries at these heights in order to intensify the fire on the Russian troops crowded in front of Knyazkov. Napoleon agreed and ordered news to be brought to him about what effect these batteries would produce.
The adjutant came to say that, by order of the emperor, two hundred guns were aimed at the Russians, but that the Russians were still standing there.
“Our fire takes them out in rows, but they stand,” said the adjutant.
“Ils en veulent encore!.. [They still want it!..],” Napoleon said in a hoarse voice.
- Sire? [Sovereign?] - repeated the adjutant who did not listen.
“Ils en veulent encore,” Napoleon croaked, frowning, in a hoarse voice, “donnez leur en.” [You still want to, so ask them.]
And without his order, what he wanted was done, and he gave orders only because he thought that orders were expected from him. And he was again transported to his former artificial world of ghosts of some kind of greatness, and again (like that horse walking on a sloping drive wheel imagines that it is doing something for itself) he obediently began to perform that cruel, sad and difficult, inhuman the role that was intended for him.
And it was not just for this hour and day that the mind and conscience of this man, who bore the brunt of what was happening more heavily than all the other participants in this matter, were darkened; but never, until the end of his life, could he understand either goodness, beauty, truth, or the meaning of his actions, which were too opposite to goodness and truth, too far from everything human for him to understand their meaning. He could not renounce his actions, praised by half the world, and therefore had to renounce truth and goodness and everything human.
Not only on this day, driving around the battlefield, strewn with dead and mutilated people (as he thought, by his will), he, looking at these people, counted how many Russians there were for one Frenchman, and, deceiving himself, found reasons to rejoice that for every Frenchman there were five Russians. Not only on this day did he write in a letter to Paris that le champ de bataille a ete superbe [the battlefield was magnificent] because there were fifty thousand corpses on it; but also on the island of St. Helena, in the quiet of solitude, where he said that he intended to devote his leisure time to the exposition of the great deeds that he had done, he wrote:
"La guerre de Russie eut du etre la plus populaire des temps modernes: c"etait celle du bon sens et des vrais interets, celle du repos et de la securite de tous; elle etait purement pacifique et conservatrice.
C "etait pour la grande cause, la fin des hasards elle commencement de la securite. Un nouvel horizon, de nouveaux travaux allaient se derouler, tout plein du bien etre et de la prosperite de tous. Le systeme europeen se trouvait fonde; il n "etait plus question que de l"organiser.
Satisfait sur ces grands points et tranquille partout, j "aurais eu aussi mon congress et ma sainte alliance. Ce sont des idees qu"on m"a volees. Dans cette reunion de grands souverains, nous eussions traits de nos interets en famille et compte de clerc a maitre avec les peuples.
L"Europe n"eut bientot fait de la sorte veritablement qu"un meme peuple, et chacun, en voyageant partout, se fut trouve toujours dans la patrie commune. Il eut demande toutes les rivieres navigables pour tous, la communaute des mers, et que les grandes armees permanentes fussent reduites desormais a la seule garde des souverains.
De retour en France, au sein de la patrie, grande, forte, magnifique, tranquille, glorieuse, j"eusse proclame ses limites immuables; toute guerre future, purement defensive; tout agrandissement nouveau antinational. J"eusse associe mon fils a l"Empire ; ma dictature eut fini, et son regne constitutionnel eut commence…
Paris eut ete la capitale du monde, et les Francais l"envie des nations!..
Mes loisirs ensuite et mes vieux jours eussent ete consacres, en compagnie de l"imperatrice et durant l"apprentissage royal de mon fils, a visiter lentement et en vrai couple campagnard, avec nos propres chevaux, tous les recoins de l"Empire, recevant les plaintes, redressant les torts, semant de toutes parts et partout les monuments et les bienfaits.
The Russian war should have been the most popular in modern times: it was a war of common sense and real benefits, a war of peace and security for everyone; she was purely peace-loving and conservative.
It was for a great purpose, for the end of chance and the beginning of peace. A new horizon, new works would open, full of prosperity and well-being for all. The European system would have been founded, the only question would be its establishment.
Satisfied in these great matters and everywhere calm, I too would have my congress and my sacred alliance. These are the thoughts that were stolen from me. In this meeting of great sovereigns, we would discuss our interests as a family and would take into account the peoples, like a scribe with an owner.
Europe would indeed soon constitute one and the same people, and everyone, traveling anywhere, would always be in a common homeland.
I would say that all rivers should be navigable for everyone, that the sea should be common, that large armies were reduced solely to the guards of the sovereigns, etc.
Returning to France, to my homeland, great, strong, magnificent, calm, glorious, I would proclaim its borders unchanged; any future defensive war; any new spread is anti-national; I would add my son to the government of the empire; my dictatorship would end and his constitutional rule would begin...
Paris would be the capital of the world and the French would be the envy of all nations!..
Then my leisure time and last days would be devoted, with the help of the Empress and during the royal upbringing of my son, to little by little visiting, like a real village couple, on our own horses, all corners of the state, receiving complaints, eliminating injustices, dispersing all sides and everywhere buildings and blessings.]
He, destined by Providence for the sad, unfree role of the executioner of nations, assured himself that the purpose of his actions was the good of the peoples and that he could guide the destinies of millions and do good deeds through power!
“Des 400,000 hommes qui passerent la Vistule,” he wrote further about the Russian war, “la moitie etait Autrichiens, Prussiens, Saxons, Polonais, Bavarois, Wurtembergeois, Mecklembourgeois, Espagnols, Italiens, Napolitains. L "armee imperiale, proprement dite, etait pour un tiers composee de Hollandais, Belges, habitants des bords du Rhin, Piemontais, Suisses, Genevois, Toscans, Romains, habitants de la 32 e division militaire, Breme, Hambourg, etc.; elle comptait a peine 140000 hommes parlant francais. L "expedition do Russie couta moins de 50000 hommes a la France actuelle; l "armee russe dans la retraite de Wilna a Moscou, dans les differentes batailles, a perdu quatre fois plus que l"armee francaise; l"incendie de Moscou a coute la vie a 100000 Russes, morts de froid et de misere dans les bois; enfin dans sa marche de Moscou a l"Oder, l"armee russe fut aussi atteinte par, l"intemperie de la saison; “elle ne comptait a son arrivee a Wilna que 50,000 hommes, et a Kalisch moins de 18,000.”
[Of the 400,000 people who crossed the Vistula, half were Austrians, Prussians, Saxons, Poles, Bavarians, Wirtembergers, Mecklenburgers, Spaniards, Italians and Neapolitans. The imperial army, in fact, was one third composed of the Dutch, Belgians, residents of the banks of the Rhine, Piedmontese, Swiss, Genevans, Tuscans, Romans, residents of the 32nd military division, Bremen, Hamburg, etc.; there were hardly 140,000 French speakers. The Russian expedition cost France proper less than 50,000 men; the Russian army in retreat from Vilna to Moscow in various battles lost four times more than the French army; the fire of Moscow cost the lives of 100,000 Russians who died of cold and poverty in the forests; finally, during its march from Moscow to the Oder, the Russian army also suffered from the severity of the season; upon arrival in Vilna it consisted of only 50,000 people, and in Kalisz less than 18,000.]
He imagined that by his will there was a war with Russia, and the horror of what had happened did not strike his soul. He boldly accepted the full responsibility of the event, and his darkened mind saw justification in the fact that among hundreds of thousands dead people there were fewer French than Hessians and Bavarians.

Several tens of thousands of people lay dead in different positions and uniforms in the fields and meadows that belonged to the Davydovs and state-owned peasants, in those fields and meadows in which for hundreds of years the peasants of the villages of Borodin, Gorki, Shevardin and Semyonovsky had simultaneously harvested crops and grazed livestock. At the dressing stations, about a tithe of space, the grass and soil were soaked in blood. Crowds of wounded and unwounded different teams of people, with frightened faces, on the one hand wandered back to Mozhaisk, on the other hand, back to Valuev. Other crowds, exhausted and hungry, led by their leaders, moved forward. Still others stood still and continued to shoot.
Over the entire field, previously so cheerfully beautiful, with its sparkles of bayonets and smoke in the morning sun, there now stood a haze of dampness and smoke and smelled of the strange acidity of saltpeter and blood. Clouds gathered and rain began to fall on the dead, on the wounded, on the frightened, and on the exhausted, and on the doubting people. It was as if he was saying: “Enough, enough, people. Stop it... Come to your senses. What are you doing?"
Exhausted, without food and without rest, the people of both sides began to equally doubt whether they should still exterminate each other, and hesitation was noticeable on all faces, and in every soul the question arose equally: “Why, for whom should I kill and be killed? Kill whoever you want, do whatever you want, but I don’t want any more!” By evening this thought had equally matured in everyone’s soul. At any moment all these people could be horrified by what they were doing, drop everything and run anywhere.
But although by the end of the battle people felt the full horror of their action, although they would have been glad to stop, some incomprehensible, mysterious force still continued to guide them, and, sweating, covered in gunpowder and blood, left one by three, the artillerymen, although and stumbling and gasping from fatigue, they brought charges, loaded, aimed, applied wicks; and the cannonballs flew just as quickly and cruelly from both sides and flattened the human body, and that terrible thing continued to happen, which is done not by the will of people, but by the will of the one who leads people and worlds.
Anyone who looked at the upset behinds of the Russian army would say that the French only have to make one more small effort, and the Russian army will disappear; and anyone who looked at the backs of the French would say that the Russians only have to make one more small effort, and the French will perish. But neither the French nor the Russians made this effort, and the flames of the battle slowly burned out.
The Russians did not make this effort because they were not the ones who attacked the French. At the beginning of the battle, they only stood on the road to Moscow, blocking it, and in the same way they continued to stand at the end of the battle, as they stood at the beginning of it. But even if the goal of the Russians was to shoot down the French, they could not make this last effort, because all the Russian troops were defeated, there was not a single part of the troops that was not injured in the battle, and the Russians, remaining in their places , lost half of their army.
The French, with the memory of all the previous victories of fifteen years, with the confidence of Napoleon's invincibility, with the consciousness that they had captured part of the battlefield, that they had lost only one-quarter of their men and that they still had twenty thousand intact guards, it was easy to make this effort. The French, who attacked the Russian army in order to knock it out of position, had to make this effort, because as long as the Russians, just like before the battle, blocked the road to Moscow, the French goal was not achieved and all their efforts and the losses were wasted. But the French did not make this effort. Some historians say that Napoleon should have given his old guard intact in order for the battle to be won. Talking about what would have happened if Napoleon had given his guard is the same as talking about what would have happened if spring had turned into autumn. This couldn't happen. Napoleon did not give his guards, because he did not want it, but this could not be done. All the generals, officers, and soldiers of the French army knew that this could not be done, because the fallen spirit of the army did not allow it.
Napoleon was not the only one who experienced that dream-like feeling that the terrible swing of his arm was falling powerlessly, but all the generals, all the soldiers of the French army who participated and did not participate, after all the experiences of previous battles (where, after ten times less effort, the enemy fled), experienced the same feeling of horror before that enemy who, having lost half the army, stood just as menacingly at the end as at the beginning of the battle. The moral strength of the French attacking army was exhausted. Not the victory that is determined by the pieces of material picked up on sticks called banners, and by the space on which the troops stood and are standing, but a moral victory, one that convinces the enemy of the moral superiority of his enemy and of his own powerlessness, was won by the Russians under Borodin. The French invasion, like an enraged beast that received a mortal wound in its run, felt its death; but it could not stop, just as it could not help but deviate twice as weak Russian army. After this push, the French army could still reach Moscow; but there, without new efforts on the part of the Russian army, it had to die, bleeding from the fatal wound inflicted at Borodino. The direct consequence of the Battle of Borodino was the causeless flight of Napoleon from Moscow, the return along the old Smolensk road, the death of the five hundred thousandth invasion and the death of Napoleonic France, which for the first time at Borodino was laid down by the hand of the strongest enemy in spirit.

Absolute continuity of movement is incomprehensible to the human mind. The laws of any movement become clear to a person only when he examines arbitrarily taken units of this movement. But at the same time, most of human errors stem from this arbitrary division of continuous movement into discontinuous units.
The so-called sophism of the ancients is known, which consists in the fact that Achilles will never catch up with the tortoise in front, despite the fact that Achilles walks ten times faster than the tortoise: as soon as Achilles passes the space separating him from the tortoise, the tortoise will pass ahead of him one tenth of this space; Achilles will go this tenth, the tortoise will go one hundredth, etc. ad infinitum. This task seemed insoluble to the ancients. The meaninglessness of the decision (that Achilles would never catch up with the tortoise) stemmed from the fact that discontinuous units of movement were arbitrarily allowed, while the movement of both Achilles and the tortoise was continuous.
By taking smaller and smaller units of movement, we only get closer to the solution of the problem, but never achieve it. Only by admitting an infinitesimal value and an ascending progression from it to one tenth and taking the sum of this geometric progression do we achieve a solution to the question. A new branch of mathematics, having achieved the art of dealing with infinitesimal quantities, and in other more complex questions of motion, now provides answers to questions that seemed insoluble.
This new, unknown to the ancients, branch of mathematics, when considering issues of motion, admits infinitesimal quantities, that is, those at which the main condition of motion is restored (absolute continuity), thereby correcting that inevitable mistake that the human mind cannot help but make when considering instead of continuous movement, individual units of movement.

The primate order is divided into two suborders and 16 families:

Suborder Wet-nosed ( Strepsirrhini) includes the following families:

• Dwarf lemurs ( Cheirogalidae);
• Lemuridae ( Lemuridae);
• Lepilemurs ( Lepilemuridae);
• Indriaceae ( Indridae);
• Hand-footed ( Daubentoniidae);
• Loriaceae ( Loridae);
• Galagadae ( Galagonidae).

Suborder Dry-nosed ( Haplorrhini) consists of the following families:

• Tarsier ( Tarsiidae);
• Marmosets ( Callitrichidae);
• Grain-tailed monkeys ( Cebidae);
• Night Monkeys ( Aotidae);
• Sakova ( Pitheciidae);
• Spider monkeys ( Atelidae);
• Monkeys ( Cercopithecidae);
• Gibbons ( Hylobatidae);
• Hominids ( Hominidae).

Evolution

Fossils of early primates date from the Early (56 to 40 million years ago) or possibly Late Paleocene (59 to 56 million years ago) epochs. Although they are an ancient group and many (especially the broad-nosed or New World monkeys) remained entirely arboreal, others became at least partially terrestrial and reached high level intelligence. There is no doubt that this particular detachment includes some of the.

Lifespan

Although humans are the longest-living primates, the potential lifespan of chimpanzees is estimated at 60 years, and orangutans sometimes reach this age in captivity. On the other hand, the lifespan of lemurs is about 15 years, and monkeys are 25-30 years.

Description

Roxellanov's rhinopithecus

Despite the marked differences between primate families, they share several anatomical and functional characteristics that reflect their common order. Relative to body weight, the primate brain is larger than that of other mammals and has a unique spur-like groove that separates the first and second visual areas on each side of the brain. While all other mammals have claws or hooves on their toes, primates have flat nails. Some primates have claws, but the big toe still has a flat nail.

Not all primates have equally dexterous hands; only monkeys (marmosets and hominids, including humans) and some lemurs and lorises have an opposable thumb. Primates are not the only animals that grasp various objects with their limbs. But since this characteristic is found in many other arboreal mammals (such as squirrels and opossums), and since most living primates are arboreal, it is assumed that they evolved from an ancestor that was arboreal.

Primates also have specialized nerve endings on their limbs that increase tactile sensitivity. As far as is known, no other placental mammal has them. Primates have fingerprints, but so do many other arboreal mammals.

Primates have binocular vision, although this feature is by no means limited to primates, but is a common characteristic observed among. Therefore, it has been proposed that the ancestor of primates was a predator.

Primate teeth differ from those of other mammals, with low, rounded molar and premolar teeth that contrast with the long, sharp teeth of other placental mammals. This difference makes it easy to recognize primate teeth.

Size

Members of the primate order exhibit a range of size and adaptive diversity. Most small primate- mouse lemur ( Microcebus berthae), which weighs about 35-50 grams; The most massive primate is, of course, the gorilla ( Gorilla), whose weight varies from 140 to 180 kg, which is almost 4000 times the weight of the mouse lemur.

Geographical range and habitat

Primates occupy two main vegetation zones: And . Each of these zones created corresponding adaptations among primates, but among arboreal species there is probably more diversity in bodily forms than among savannah dwellers. Arboreal primates share many of the characteristics that likely evolved as adaptations to life in the trees. Several species, including our own, have left trees and become terrestrial.

Non-human primates are widespread in all tropical latitudes, India, Southeast and. In Ethiopia, Gelada (genus Theropithecus) is found at altitudes up to 5000 meters. The gorillas of the Virunga Mountains are known to pass through mountain passes at altitudes of over 4,200 meters. Red Howlers ( Alouatta seniculus) Venezuelans live at an altitude of 2500 meters in the mountains of the Cordillera de Merida, and in northern Colombia the Myriquins (genus Aotus) are found in the tropical montane forests of the Central Cordillera.

The gestation period varies among primate species. For example, mouse lemurs have a gestation period of 54–68 days, lemurs 132–134 days, macaques 146–186 days, gibbons 210 days, chimpanzees 230 days, gorillas 255 days, and humans (on average) 267 days. Even in small primates, the gestation period is significantly longer than in other mammals of equivalent size, reflecting the complexity of primates. Although there is a general evolutionary tendency for primates to increase body size, there is no absolute correlation between body size and the length of the gestation period.

The degrees of puberty and maternal dependence at birth are obviously closely related. Newborn primates are not as helpless as kittens, puppies or rats. With a few exceptions, a young primate is born with with open eyes and wool. The cubs must be able to cling to their mother's fur; only a few species leave their babies in shelters while feeding. The cubs of the highest primates are able to cling to their mother's fur without outside help; however, humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas must support their newborns, and humans do this the longest.

Once the primate infant has learned to support itself by standing on its own two (or four) legs, the physical dependency phase is over; next stage, psychological dependence, lasts much longer. A human child is attached to its mother for a much longer time than a non-human primate. The teenage period of psychological maternal dependence is 2.5 years in lemurs, 6 years in monkeys, 7-8 years in most hominoids and 14 years in humans.

Behavior

Primates are among the most social animals, forming pairs or family groups. Social systems are influenced by three main ecological factors: distribution, group size, and predation. Within a social group there is a balance between cooperation and competition. Cooperative behavior includes social grooming, food sharing, and collective defense against predators. Aggressive behavior often signals competition for food, bedding or mates. Aggression is also used to establish dominance hierarchies.

It is known that several species of primates can cooperate in the wild. For example, in Tai National Park in Africa, several species coordinate behavior to protect themselves from predators. These include Diana's marmoset, Campbell's marmoset, small white-nosed marmoset, red colobus, royal colobus, and smoky mangabey. Among the predators of these monkeys is the common chimpanzee.

Primates have developed cognitive abilities: some make tools and use them for food and for social display; others have complex hunting strategies that require cooperation, influence, and primacy; they are status conscious, manipulative and capable of deception; these animals can learn to use symbols and understand human language.

Some primates rely on olfactory cues for many aspects of social and reproductive behavior. Specialized glands are used to mark territories with pheromones, which are picked up by the vomeronasal organ. Primates also use vocalizations, gestures, and emotions to convey psychological states. Like humans, chimpanzees can distinguish between the faces of familiar and unfamiliar people.

Primate conservation

Although many primates are still abundant in the wild, populations of many species are in steep decline. More than 70% of primates in Asia and approximately 40% of primates in South America, mainland Africa and the island of Madagascar are listed as critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A number of species, especially the gorilla, some of the Madagascan lemurs and some species from South America, are at serious risk of extinction as their habitats are destroyed and poaching is widespread.

However, the numbers of some endangered species have increased. Concerted captive breeding efforts have been successful, and reintroduction into the wild is also practiced in Brazil.