The Primates of Hominidae Family - Essay Example

Homo sapiens, better known as human beings belong to the Hominidae family and the Homo genus. Hylobates, Pongo pygmies, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla and Homo sapiens are the six different species of Hominoids. Chimpanzees belong to the Pan genus. They spend a considerable amount of time on the ground and inhabit large complex social groupings.

They are specially adapted for knuckle-walking. They also indulge in hunting as a group, sharing food and tool making. They resemble our ancestors in anatomy as well as social behaviour and are considered to be our closest living cousins. Orangutans belong to the Pongo genus. They are generalized climbers and are most isolated among the primates. Gorillas are the largest among primates. The male gorilla is larger and stronger than its female counterpart. The male gorilla has exclusive relationships with a group of females and keeps away male rivals from this group.

The Old World species exhibit sexual dimorphism as a result of the polygynous mating system. Hence, the males are bigger and stronger than the females to attract and sustain the pressure of defending multiple mates. On the other hand, the New World species follow a monogamous mating system and form pair bonds (Shumaker and Beck, 64-69). Hence, the phenomenon of sexual dimorphism is less pronounced. Hominoids are the largest among the primates, in terms of body size and relative brain size. They also have grinding teeth behind the premolars with a five-pointed crown design which is also commonly known as the Y-5 pattern.

They also have a pentadactyly structure, wherein each limb consists of five fingers. They have opposing thumbs and long fingers with short fingernails to easily cling on to tress. The orthograde or the semi-erect posture is yet another distinctive feature found in hominoids. Brachiation, the ability to freely swing the arms serves as a form of locomotion in extant primates. Their arms and shoulders are highly flexible and mobile. Also, their arms are longer than their legs to aid in swinging from tree to tree.

They also have a forward-facing colour binocular vision for finding and collecting food. However, recent studies propose that colour binocular vision in male primates is also important for wooing females. The absence of a tail is yet another striking factor. The size of the brain is relatively large and its structure is highly complex. All these factors and lifestyle patterns make extant primates models for our ancestors.