Comparative Primates

Dentition Patterns in Primates

1. Lemurs (Prosimians/Strepsirhini)

• a. They are native to the Madagascar. Most Lemurs are arboreal, living in trees; they spend most of their time at the top of the rain forest canopy or in the forest mid level.

• b. Their dentition is heterodent, which means multiple tooth morphologies. Their dental formula is . Their dentition pattern is 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 3 premolars. 
• Prosimians have a tooth-comb; which is six of their teeth that are closely pushed together. Leaf eating Lemurs have a little tooth-comb. The fruit eating Lemurs use their tooth-comb to pick out seeds from the fruit.

2. Spider Monkeys (New World Monkey/Platyrrhini)

• a. Spider Monkeys are form the South America and Central America; like Lemurs, Spider Monkeys are also arboreal. They spend most of their time in the upper canopy of the rain forest.

• b. The Spider Monkeys dental formula is . Their dentition pattern is 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 3 premolars. 

• c. Spider Monkeys are fruit eaters; they use their incisors to pick fruits off of the trees.

3. Baboons (Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae)

• a. Baboons are found in Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.The have shown us that they can survive almost everywhere, such as the savanna and other semi-arid habitats, and tropical forests.

• b. Baboons dental formula is . They have 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars.  
• c. Baboons eat grass, leaves, and sometimes eat fish, and other small animal. The trait can be viewed as an adaption because it allows the dentition to be omnivorous.

4. Gibbon (Lesser ape/Hylobatidae)

• a. Gibbons are found in southeast Asia, and parts of southern China. They live in a tropical and subtropical rain forests.

• b. Their dental formula is ; they have 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars.
• c. Gibbons, mostly eat fruit, which is every where in their environment. You can believe that their teeth have adapted to their environment in order to eat their food.

5. Chimpanzee (Great ape/Hominidae)

• a. Chimpanzee's can be found in Africa; they live in rain forests and savanna's 

• b. Their dental formula is the same as Gibbons, and Baboons, which is . They have 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars.

• c. The Chimpanzee's diet ranges from plants and small animals, which means that their teeth have adapted to the need of eating anything.

Conclusion

• Studying these primates dentition patterns, the environment and the type of food make an impact on the primates dental structure. Spider Monkeys and Lemurs have the same dental formula 2133, which means they are new world monkeys. They live in a similar environment and eat similar foods. The last three, Baboons, Gibbons, and Chimpanzee have the same dental formula (2123) which makes them old world monkeys. The three primates share a similar environment and food. This makes the environment and the food type important to the dental structure.