The real "junk" DNA
Let me be honest: when I started doing paleoanthropology, I really did not expect I'd be talking about Neandertal penises. And yet, here I am. Cory McLean and colleagues [1] combine a straightforward...
View ArticleMonkey numerical distractions
This study has been out for a few weeks, and I've been meaning to put up a short comment about it: "Representational format determines numerical competence in monkeys", by Vanessa Schmitt and Julia...
View ArticleWill a Jurassic placental mammal make the molecular clock make sense?
A new paper in Nature by Zhe-Xi Luo and colleagues [1] reports the discovery of a 160-million-year-old early mammal, Juramaia, which they attribute to the placental mammal lineage. The news aspect is...
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Meet Daubentonia madagascarensis
Synopsis: A laboratory station at which students encounter the skull and mandible of the aye-ayeThe aye-aye is possibly the world's strangest primate. The species is native to Madagascar, and falls...
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Primate vertebral numbers
Synopsis: A laboratory exercise to explore the numbers of vertebrae in different primates.Between the skull and the sacrum, humans have 24 vertebrae. Well, most humans, anyway. Sometimes humans have a...
View ArticlePrimate extractive foraging and tool use
Synopsis: Many kinds of primates make and use tools, or find other ways to defeat the natural defenses of their foods.An important difference among some primate species is their ability to get foods...
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Primate classification and phylogeny
Our relationship to other kinds of primates is in part reflected by the pattern of similarities and differences we share with them. This pattern of similarities and differences is also used to...
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Incisors
Synopsis: Laboratory exercise introducing incisors, including lemur tooth combs.The incisors are the front teeth. They are basically flat and have a blade-like occlusal surface. Each quadrant has two...
View ArticleLost pregnancies in geladas after male takeovers
Ed Yong reports on new research from Eila Roberts, with Jacinta Beehner's research group at the University of Michigan, who was able to show that the rate of pregnancy loss among geladas (close baboon...
View ArticleAnthropology 105, lecture 7: Eyes
Synopsis: Illustrating phylogeny and evolutionary convergence using trichromacy and eye developmentOut of all the lectures in the course, this was one of my favorites to put together. I return to the...
View ArticleThe highest award in anthropology?
Incredible! The primatologist Franz de Waal has been awarded an Ig Nobel Prize for his, well, applied work:Anatomy prize: Frans de Waal and Jennifer Pokorny, for discovering that chimpanzees can...
View ArticleHow do primates move around?
Synopsis: Exploring the way that primate locomotion influences body plan and behavior.The diversification of the first primates from other early mammals took place partly because the ancestors of the...
View ArticlePrimate mating patterns
Synopsis: Primate groups are shaped by the pattern of mating competition and interactionsEcology, diet, competition, and ease of movement all affect the size of primate groups. The structure of primate...
View ArticleGroup life in primates
Synopsis: A discussion of some factors affecting group size and dynamics in primatesPrimates form different kinds of groups. While there is variation within every species, each species has its own...
View ArticleMuriquis and human behavior
Smithsonian magazine has a long profile article about my UW-Madison colleague Karen Strier: "Humans would be better off if they monkeyed around like muriquis". The article gives a lot of details about...
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