Primate and Human

Evolution
Unit 4

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Half a Billion Years of Backbones
 By the end of the Cambrian period, some 540 million years ago
 An astonishing variety of animals inhabited Earth’s oceans
 One of these types of animals
 Gave rise to vertebrates, one of the most successful groups of
animals
 The animals called vertebrates
 Get their name from vertebrae, the series of bones that make up
the backbone
 There are approximately 52,000 species of vertebrates
 Which include the largest organisms ever to live on the Earth

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Mammals
 Mammals, class Mammalia
 Mammals are amniotes (members include reptiles, birds and mammals) that have hair and
produce milk.
 Amniotes have their origin in the amniotic egg which allows embryos to develop on land in an
aquatic medium.
 Are represented by more than 5,000 species

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Derived Characters of Mammals

 Mammary glands, which produce milk

 Are a distinctively mammalian character
 Hair is another mammalian characteristic
 Mammals generally have a larger brain
 Than other vertebrates of equivalent size

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Early Evolution of Mammals
 Mammals evolved from synapsids, a group of amniotes who initially did not have hair but later evolved into large
herbivores and carnivores during the Permian period and later became mammal-like in the late Triassic period.
 The early forms of mammals were small, hairy and fed on insects at night and still laid eggs.
 During Jurassic period, the first true mammals arose but were still small probably because of the presence of large-
bodied dinosaurs.
 Early Cretaceous, the three major lineages of living mammals emerged: monotremes (egg-laying mammals), marsupials
(mammals with a pouch) and eutherians (placental mammals).
 After extinction of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles duirng later Cretaceous period, mammals underwent an
adaptive radiation.

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Monotremes
 Monotremes
 Are a small
group of egg-
laying mammals
consisting of
echidnas and the
platypus

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 Marsupials
 Marsupials
 Include opossums, kangaroos, and koalas

 A marsupial is born very early in its development

 And completes its embryonic development while nursing within a maternal pouch called a
marsupium

(a) A young brushtail possum. The young of

marsupials are born very early in their
development. They finish their growth
while nursing from a nipple (in their
mother’s pouch in most species).

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 In Australia, convergent evolution
 Has resulted in a diversity of marsupials that resemble
eutherians in other parts of the world
Marsupial mammals Eutherian mammals
Plantigale Deer mouse

Marsupial mole Mole

Sugar
glider
Flying squirrel

Wombat
Woodchuck

Wolverine
Tasmanian devil

Patagonian cavy
Kangaroo

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Eutherians (Placental Mammals)

 Compared to marsupials
 Eutherians have a longer period of pregnancy
 Young eutherians
 Complete their embryonic development within a
uterus, joined to the mother by the placenta

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 This clade of eutherians evolved
in Africa when the continent
was isolated from other
landmasses. It includes
Earth’s largest living land
animal (the African elephant),
as well as species that weigh
less than 10 g.
All members of this clade,
which underwent an adaptive
radiation in South America,
belong to the order Xenarthra.
One species, the nine-banded
armadillo, is found in the
southern United States.
This is the largest eutherian
clade. It includes the rodents,
which make up the largest
mammalian order by far, with
about 1,770 species. Humans
belong to the order Primates.
This diverse clade includes terrestrial
and marine mammals as well as bats,
the only flying mammals. A growing
body of evidence, including Eocene
fossils of whales with feet,
supports putting whales in
the same order (Cetartiodactyla)
as pigs, cows, and hippos.

Proboscidea Sirenia
Tubulidentata Rodentia Carnivora
Hyracoidea Lagomorpha Cetartiodactyla
Afrosoricida (golden Primates Perissodactyla
moles and tenrecs) Dermoptera Chiroptera
Macroscelidea (flying lemurs) Eulipotyphla
(elephant shrews) Scandentia Pholidota
 Phylogenetic Monotremata Marsupialia Xenarthra (tree shrews) (pangolins)

relationships of
mammals

Monotremes Marsupials Eutherians

Possible phylogenetic tree of mammals.

All 20 extant orders of mammals are listed
Ancestral mammal at the top of the tree. Boldfaced orders
are explored on the facing page.

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 ORDERS MAIN ORDERS MAIN
AND EXAMPLES CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES CHARACTERISTICS

Monotremata Lay eggs; no Marsupialia Embryo completes

Platypuses, nipples; young Kangaroos, development in
echidnas suck milk from opossums, pouch on mother
fur of mother koalas

Echidna Koala

Tubulidentata
Proboscidea Teeth consisting of
Long, muscular Aardvark
Elephants many thin tubes
trunk; thick, cemented together;
loose skin; upper eats ants and termites
incisors elongated
as tusks
African elephant Aardvark

Aquatic; finlike Hyracoidea Short legs; stumpy tail;

Sirenia

The major
forelimbs and Hyraxes herbivorous; complex,


Manatees,
no hind limbs; multichambered
dugongs
herbivorous stomach
Rock hyrax
Manatee

eutherian Xenarthra
Sloths,
anteaters,
armadillos
Reduced teeth or
no teeth; herbivorous
(sloths) or carnivorous
(anteaters,
Rodentia
Squirrels,
beavers, rats,
porcupines,
mice
Chisel-like, continuously
growing incisors worn
down by gnawing;
herbivorous

orders
armadillos) Red squirrel
Tamandua

Lagomorpha Primates Opposable thumbs;

Chisel-like incisors; Lemurs, forward-facing eyes;
Rabbits, hind legs longer than monkeys, well-developed
hares, picas forelegs and adapted apes, cerebral cortex;
for running and humans omnivorous
jumping
Golden lion
tamarin
Jackrabbit

Sharp, pointed canine Perissodactyla Hooves with an

Carnivora Horses, odd number of toes
teeth and molars for
Dogs, wolves, zebras, tapirs, on each foot;
shearing; carnivorous
bears, cats, rhinoceroses herbivorous
weasels, otters,
seals, walruses Indian rhinoceros
Coyote

Chiroptera
Cetartiodactyla Hooves with an Adapted for flight; broad
Bats
Artiodactyls even number skinfold that extends
Sheep, pigs of toes on each from elongated fingers
cattle, deer, foot; herbivorous to body and legs;
giraffes carnivorous or
Frog-eating bat herbivorous
Bighorn sheep

Aquatic; streamlined Eulipotyphla Diet consists mainly

Cetaceans body; paddle-like “Core insecti- of insects and other
Whales, forelimbs and no vores”: some small invertebrates
dolphins, hind limbs; thick moles, some
porpoises layer of insulating shrews
blubber; carnivorous Star-nosed
Pacific white-
mole
sided porpoise

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Primates
 The mammalian order Primates include
 Lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes
 Humans are members of the ape group

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 Derived Characters of Primates

 Most primates
 Have hands and feet adapted for grasping (prehensile hands

and feet)
 Primates also have
 A large brain and short jaws

 Forward-looking eyes close together on the face, providing

depth perception
 Well-developed parental care and complex social behavior

 A fully opposable thumb

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 Living Primates

 There are three main groups of living primates:

1. The lemurs of Madagascar and the lorises and pottos of tropical Africa
and southern Asia
2. The tarsiers from South East Asia
3. The anthropoids, which include monkeys and apes found worldwide

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 The oldest known anthropoid fossils, about 45 million
years old
 Indicate that tarsiers are more closely related to anthropoids Anthropoids

Old World monkeys

panzees
New World monkeys

Orangutans
Lemurs, lorises, and pottos

Gibbons
Tarsiers

Gorillas

Humans
Chim-
10

Millions of years ago

20

30

40

50

60 Ancestral primate

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 Both New and Old World monkeys are thought
to have originated from Asia or Africa (Old
World).
 The fossil record indicates that New World
monkeys
 First appeared in the New World (South America)
during the Oligocene

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 New World and Old World monkeys
 Underwent separate adaptive radiations during their many
millions of years of separation

(a) New World monkeys, such as spider (b) Old World monkeys lack a prehensile tail, and their nostrils
monkeys (shown here), squirrel monkeys, and open downward. This group includes macaques (shown here),
capuchins, have a prehensile tail and nostrils mandrills, baboons, and rhesus monkeys.
that open to the sides.

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 The other group of anthropoids, consists of primates informally called
apes.
 Apes include gibbons, chimpanzees and bonobos and the genus Homo
(humans)
(a) Gibbons, such as this Muller's gibbon, are
found only in southeastern Asia. Their very
long arms and fingers are adaptations for
brachiation.

(b) Orangutans are shy, solitary apes that live in the rain
forests of Sumatra and Borneo. They spend most of
their time in trees; note the foot adapted for grasping
and the opposable thumb.
(c) Gorillas are the largest apes: some
males are almost 2 m tall and weigh
about 200 kg. Found only in Africa, these
herbivores usually live in groups of up to
about 20 individuals.

(e) Bonobos are closely

related to chimpanzees
but are smaller. They
(d) Chimpanzees live in tropical Africa. They
survive today only in the
feed and sleep in trees but also spend a
African nation of Congo.
great deal of time on the ground. Chimpanzees
are intelligent, communicative, and social.

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 Hominoids / hominids / hominins

 Diverged from Old World monkeys about 20–25 million years ago.
 Humans are bipedal hominoids with a large brain
 Homo sapiens is about 160,000 years old
 Which is very young considering that life has existed on Earth for at least 3.5 billion years

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Derived Characters of Hominids
 A number of characters distinguish humans from other apes
 Upright posture and bipedal locomotion

 Larger brains

 Language capabilities

 Symbolic thought

 The manufacture and use of complex tools

 Shortened jaw

 S-shaped vertebrae column

 Reduced canine teeth

 Presence of foramen magnum at the base of the skull through which the

spinal cord exits

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The Earliest Humans
 The study of human origins
 Is known as paleoanthropology

 Paleoanthropologists have discovered fossils of approximately 20 species of extinct hominoids

 That are more closely related to humans than to chimpanzees

 The oldest of these hominins, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, lived about 6-7 million years ago.

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 These species are known as hominids/hominins
Paranthropus Homo Homo
robustus neanderthalensis sapiens
0
Paranthropus Homo ?
boisei ergaster
0.5

1.0
Australopithecus
1.5 africanus

2.0
Kenyanthropus
Millions of years ago

platyops
2.5
Australopithecus
garhi Homo
3.0 erectus
Australopithecus
anamensis
3.5
Homo Homo
rudolfensis habilis
4.0

4.5
Ardipithecus Australopithecus
ramidus afarensis
5.0

5.5

6.0 Orrorin tugenensis

6.5
Sahelanthropus
tchadensis
7.0

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 Hominids originated in Africa
 Approximately 6–7 million years ago

 Early hominids
 Had a small brain, but probably walked upright, exhibiting

mosaic evolution
 Two common misconceptions of early hominids include
 Thinking of them as chimpanzees

 Imagining human evolution as a ladder leading directly to

Homo sapiens

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Australopiths – Genus Australopithecus
 Australopiths are hominids
 That lived between 4 and 2 million years ago
 Got their name from the 1924 discovery in South Africa of Australopithecus africanus which means “southern ape of Africa” which
lived between 3 and 2.4 million years ago.
 A. africanus is believed to have walked fully erect (bipedal) and had human-like hands and teeth but brain volume about 1/3 of the
brain of present-day human.
 In 1974, a fossil of another species was discovered – Australopithecus afarensis in the Afar region of Ethiopia. This fossil was
about 3.2 million years old and belonged to a female and was named Lucy.
 Lucy was short, about 1m tall, with a brain volume of 400 ml and had a long lower jaw
 In 1992, the oldest Australopithecine fossil so far discovered was named A. ramidus and is dated about 4.4 million years old and is
placed at the base of the hominid phylogenetic tree based on its teeth structure.

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 Australopiths – Genus Australopithecus

(b) The Laetoli footprints, more than

(a) Lucy, a 3.24-million-year-old skeleton, 3.5 million years old, confirm that
represents the hominid species upright posture evolved quite early
Australopithecus afarensis. in hominid history.

(c) An artist’s reconstruction of what

A. afarensis may have looked like.

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Paranthropus – robust forms

 A group of early hominids more robust in form than Australopithecus has been
placed in a separate genus – Paranthropus.
 Three species have been described and dated from 2.8 to 1.6 million years old and
they are P. robustus, P. boisei and P. aethiopicus.
 These fossils had a marked crest on the top of the skull, enormous cheek teeth with
powerful jaws for grinding and chewing hard, tough foods, cranial capacity of 550
ml and are thought to be vegetarian.
 Stone tools and pieces of antelope bones, which appear to have been used for
digging in the ground for tuber and other plants, occur with these fossils.
 It is thought that Homo used the stone tools while Paranthropus used the digging
tools.
 Paranthropus appears to be an evolutionary line that became extinct.

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Bipedalism and Tool Use

 Based on the fossil records, the evidence shows two emerging trends – bipedalism and tool use.
 Hominids began to walk long distances on two legs
 About 1.9 million years ago as these hominins lived in more arid environments where bipedal walking requires less energy than walking on all fours.
 The oldest evidence of tool use—cut marks on animal bones
 Is 2.5 million years old found in Ethiopia.
 Interestingly, the hominin fossils found at the same site had a relatively small brain and have been named Australopithecus garhi and could have the
creators of the stone tools used on the bones suggesting that stone tool use originated first before evolution of large brains in hominids.

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 Early Homo
 The earliest fossils that paleoanthropologists place in our genus
Homo
 Are those of the species Homo habilis, ranging in age from

about 2.4 to 1.6 million years

 Homo habilis had shorter jaw and a larger brain volume about

600-750 ml
 Sharp stone tools have been found with H. habilis
 Giving this species its name, which means “handy man”

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Homo ergaster

 Homo ergaster
 Was the first fully bipedal, large-

brained hominid (over 900 ml)

 Existed between 1.9 and 1.6 million

years
 Had long, slender legs with hip joints

adapted for long-distance walking.

 Fingers were relatively short and

straight, suggesting that H. ergaster

did not climb trees like previous
hominids.

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Homo erectus
 Homo erectus
 Originated in Africa approximately 1.8 million years ago

 Was the first hominid to migrate out of Africa

 Fossils of H. erectus were found in South East Asia – “Java Man”

from Indonesia and “Peking Man” from China

 The intelligence conferred by the larger brain size of H. erectus

equipped it to make more sophisticated tools than those of H. habilis

and its wide distribution indicates its success.

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 Neanderthals
 Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis
 Fossils about 40,000 years old were found in a cave in Neander Valley in Germany.
 Lived in Europe and the Near East from 200,000 to 30,000 years ago

 Were large, thick-browed hominids

 Became extinct a few thousand years after the arrival of Homo sapiens in Europe

 Neanderthals had a brain as large as present-day humans, buried their dead and

made hunting tools from stone and wood.

 The fact that they left evidence of rituals and burials suggests that they were capable

of abstract thought.
 Neanderthals overlapped with Homo sapiens for many millennia and may have

interbred with them before becoming extinct.

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 Homo sapiens
 Homo sapiens
 Appeared in Africa at least 160,000 years
ago
 The oldest fossils of Homo sapiens outside Africa
 Date back about 50,000 years ago
 The early humans lacked the heavy brow
ridges of H. erectus and Neanderthals and
were more slender than other hominids.
 The rapid expansion of our species
 May have been preceded by changes to the
brain that made symbolic thought and other
cognitive innovations possible

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Out-of-Africa or Multiregional origin of Homo
sapiens?
 There are two competing theories for the geographic origin of H. sapiens.
 Both theories accept that H. erectus populations migrated out of Africa
more than one million years ago.
 Out-of-Africa theory says that a second wave of migration of anatomically
modern humans occurred about 100, 000 years ago. Thus, H. sapiens
evolved in Africa from ancestral stock similar to H. ergaster and then
replaced all other populations of Homo, including Neanderthals.
 The multiregional theory rejects the idea of a second wave of migration
and hypothesizes that modern humans, H. sapiens, evolved semi-
independently from H. erectus-like stock in a number of different regions
of the world – hence the name multiregional theory resulting in a single
species but made up of many different races.

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