Variations on an African Theme: Comparison of the Olive Baboon and Black and White Colobus Monkey in Relation to Cranial and Dental Evolution
Poster Number
28
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Dorothy Dechant
Faculty Mentor Department
Dentistry
Abstract/Artist Statement
As Old World Catarrhine Primates, the Colobine and Cercopithecine monkeys share some basic anatomical, behavioral and genetic traits, but they have been evolving in separate lineages for around 15 million years, and exhibit many different adaptations. The Olive Baboon (Papio anubis) and Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza) are two species of Old World Cercopithecine and Colobine monkey respectively. This study attempts to determine whether the cranial and dental morphology of these two species reflects their dietary preferences and adaptations. Using published resources, the diet, ecology, life history, locomotion and behavior of these two Old World monkeys were investigated. Cranial and dental measurements of these two species, taken from single skulls found in the P&S Comparative Anatomy Collection of the Institute of Dental History and Craniofacial Study at the University of the Pacific’s Dugoni School of Dentistry, were compared. Findings from the anatomical data support published descriptions of the Olive Baboon as a large terrestrial primate adapted to an omnivorous diet, and of the Black and White Colobus as a smaller arboreal primate adapted to a leaf-eating diet.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
20-4-2013 1:00 PM
End Date
20-4-2013 3:00 PM
Variations on an African Theme: Comparison of the Olive Baboon and Black and White Colobus Monkey in Relation to Cranial and Dental Evolution
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
As Old World Catarrhine Primates, the Colobine and Cercopithecine monkeys share some basic anatomical, behavioral and genetic traits, but they have been evolving in separate lineages for around 15 million years, and exhibit many different adaptations. The Olive Baboon (Papio anubis) and Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza) are two species of Old World Cercopithecine and Colobine monkey respectively. This study attempts to determine whether the cranial and dental morphology of these two species reflects their dietary preferences and adaptations. Using published resources, the diet, ecology, life history, locomotion and behavior of these two Old World monkeys were investigated. Cranial and dental measurements of these two species, taken from single skulls found in the P&S Comparative Anatomy Collection of the Institute of Dental History and Craniofacial Study at the University of the Pacific’s Dugoni School of Dentistry, were compared. Findings from the anatomical data support published descriptions of the Olive Baboon as a large terrestrial primate adapted to an omnivorous diet, and of the Black and White Colobus as a smaller arboreal primate adapted to a leaf-eating diet.