Primates

 Sifaka (Prosimians/Strepsirhini representative) –

A. Sifakas are in the Madagascar forests, which is an island country in the Indian Ocean and they spend most of their time in the trees. They can be found in many habitats from rainforest to western and dry and spiny forests. Sifakas are threatened by the destruction of their forest habitats and some species are hunted for meat, though others are protected by Malagasy tradition that forbids eating their flesh. They are almost all classified as rare, vulnerable, or endangered. At least 17 species of Sifakas have become extinct since man arrived on Madagascar.  

B. These primates has a long tail that it uses as a balance when leaping from tree to tree. These primates remain upright, and they leap quickly from tree to tree by jumping with their strong hind legs.  They clear distances of over 30 feet and can also move quickly on the ground, which they do using a two-legged sideways hop and its body is so highly adapted to an arboreal existence that on the ground its only means of locomotion is hopping. They use their arms and legs to grip tree branches unlike other primates who use there tail.

C.  Sifakas environment have influenced their locomotors adaptation.  Their tails have adapted to give balance as they go thru the rain-forests instead of being used as an extra limb like their close primate relatives. And they are usually traveling the treetops quickly, their arms and legs have adapted to the swift movements.  

Spider Monkey (New World Monkey/Platyrrhini representative) –    
   

A. Spider monkeys live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America and occur as far north as Mexico.  Because their large size, spider monkeys require large tracts of moist evergreen forests, and prefer undisturbed primary rain forest and they are social animals and live in bands of up to 35 individuals but will split up to forage during the day. They find food in the treetops and eat nuts, fruits, leaves, bird eggs, and spiders. Indigenous peoples often hunt spider monkeys for food, and the animals are usually agitated by human contact. Logging and deforestation continue to shrink the space that spider monkeys are able to call home.

B.  Spider monkeys locomotor pattern is using all five's: the arms, legs and their tail.  Spider monkeys have long, lanky arms and gripping tails that enable them to move gracefully from branch to branch and tree to tree and these monkeys spend most of their time aloft, and maintain a grip on branches even though they have no thumbs.  These primates are loud animals and often communicate with many calls, screeches, barks, and other sounds.

C. Spider monkey's environment is influenced by their locomotors adaptation. Their gripping tails are useful adaptation for eating, hanging from their tails allows them to gather food with both hands.  Also they are able to grip with their fingers and thumbs allow them to get out of danger by shaking the branches to scare away prey.

Olive Baboon (Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae representative)-

A. Olive Baboons are found in 25 countries through Africa, Mali, Ethiopia.  Its inhabits are steppes, Savannah and forests. A. They eat fruits, grasses, roots seeds, small birds and rodents. They act as pests for some farmers because they attack their livestock such as sheep and also eat their crops.  They need to be where there is a water sources and safe sleeping places in either tall trees or on cliffs. Baboons drink every day or two, but they can survive for long periods by licking the night dew from their fur.  The baboon's major predators are humans; the males may confront other predators like leopards or cheetahs by forming a line and strutting in a threatening manner while baring their large canines and screaming.

B. Baboon’s locomotors pattern is walking quadrupedally, meaning on all fours and they are semi-terrestrial.   They stay on the ground during the day but also climb trees to sleep at night. Baboons do not have gripping tails like other primates.

C. Baboon’s environment plays an important part in their locomotors.  The baboon doesn't have a gripping tail to use as an extra limb. The limb-like tails are primarily used for grasping branches to move from treetop to treetop. The baboon, on the other hand, stays on ground sitting upon rocks as well as sitting or sleeping on rough branches in trees.

Lars Gibbon (Lesser ape/Hylobatidae representative)- 

 A. Gibbons are primarily found in the tropical and subtropical rain-forests of the South, East and Southeast Asia.  Lar gibbon are usually found in lowland, hill dipterocarp forest, and upper dipterocarp and sub montane rainforest, mixed deciduous bamboo forest, and seasonal evergreen forest. They are not usually found higher than 1200 meters above sea level. A. Gibbons are omnivores and eat flowers, fruits, leaves, insects, spiders, bird eggs and small birds. Gibbons spend most of their lives in trees, and because of their great skill of mobility in the dense treetops, most predators cannot catch them.

B. Their locomotion can move gibbons through the jungle at up to 35 miles an hour and can bridge gaps as wide as 50 feet with a single swinging leap. Brachiating also gives gibbons the unique advantage of being able to swing out and grab fruits growing at the end of branches, which limits competition for their favorite foods. When gibbons walk, whether along branches or in the rare instances when they descend to the ground, they often do so on two feet, throwing their arms above their head for balance.

    C. Gibbon’s environment influences its locomotors patterns. The dense forests of southern Asia, are perfectly adapted to life in the trees and rarely descend to the ground. They have strong, hook-shaped hands for grasping branches, comically outsize arms for reaching faraway limbs, and long, powerful legs for propelling and gasping. Their shoulder joints are even specially adapted to allow greater range of motion when swinging.

Chimpanzee (Great ape/Hominidae representative)-

A. Chimpanzees are currently found in 21 African countries—from the west coast of the continent to as far east as western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.   Chimpanzees live in communities found in African rainforests, grasslands, and woodlands. They are omnivores and they eat fruits, nuts, seeds, blossoms and leaves, but many kinds of insects and occasionally the meat of medium-sized mammals. Chimpanzee are intelligent and peaceful animals.

B. Chimpanzees move on all fours on the ground and in the trees and while walking, they tend to use their knuckles for support.  This form of locomotion is due to the fact that chimpanzees have longer arms than legs, so walk on the soles of their feet and on the knuckles of their hands.  They use their long, powerful arms to "brachiate" also known as swing from branch to branch and Chimps have both opposable thumbs and opposable big toes; which enable a precision grip on branches. Chimps are also capable of walking upright on two legs, like humans; but unlike humans, they usually only use this mode of locomotion if they need to travel while carrying objects in their hands.

C. The chimpanzees locomotion has been definitely affected by its environment. Whether they are walking in groups quadrupedal, or swinging from branch to branch, their locomotors ability is always adapting to their needs. These interchangeable traits are constantly at work to the chimpanzee’s advantage.

The environments makes a huge role in influencing physical and behavioral traits. All the primates share some similar qualities. But their environmental stresses causes them to physically look different from one another as well as behave differently from each other. Some primates have long arms and strong tails to brachiate and even eat at the same time. On the other hand, some primates lack these prehensile tails because it is not necessary where they live. The primates adapted how to walk, swing or jump all because of their differing environments. I believe that environments play a significant role in how organisms adapt their common physical and behavioral traits.