Preferred Diet - Got Insects or Leaves?
Poster Number
23
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Dorothy Dechant
Faculty Mentor Department
Dentistry
Abstract/Artist Statement
New World monkeys, found in Central and South America, and Old World monkeys, found in Africa and Asia, are both part of the Order Primates, but they have been geographically separated for 35 – 40 million years. Having reached the same grade of evolution, they share some of the same characteristics, but different monkey species also have unique traits that make them distinct. The New World Red-Backed Squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) and the Old World Black and White Colobus monkey (Colobus guereza) are compared in this study, portraying differences between monkeys of the Cebid and Cercopithecid primate families. Information from scientific journals and books has been complied about each species’ ecology, life history, diet, locomotion, behavior and anatomy. Measurements of the skull and teeth were also gathered and compared, revealing even further differences in anatomy. Data from these different sources confirm that Saimiri oerstedii is the smaller species, occupying an arboreal, frugivorous and insectivorous niche in Central America and Colobus guereza is larger, occupying an arboreal, folivorous niche in Africa.
Location
Grave Covell
Start Date
21-4-2012 10:00 AM
End Date
21-4-2012 12:00 PM
Preferred Diet - Got Insects or Leaves?
Grave Covell
New World monkeys, found in Central and South America, and Old World monkeys, found in Africa and Asia, are both part of the Order Primates, but they have been geographically separated for 35 – 40 million years. Having reached the same grade of evolution, they share some of the same characteristics, but different monkey species also have unique traits that make them distinct. The New World Red-Backed Squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) and the Old World Black and White Colobus monkey (Colobus guereza) are compared in this study, portraying differences between monkeys of the Cebid and Cercopithecid primate families. Information from scientific journals and books has been complied about each species’ ecology, life history, diet, locomotion, behavior and anatomy. Measurements of the skull and teeth were also gathered and compared, revealing even further differences in anatomy. Data from these different sources confirm that Saimiri oerstedii is the smaller species, occupying an arboreal, frugivorous and insectivorous niche in Central America and Colobus guereza is larger, occupying an arboreal, folivorous niche in Africa.