"The Human Species" - Intro to Biological Anthropology Ch. 9
Terms
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- Primates
- The order of mammals that has a complex of characteristics related to initial adaptation to life in the trees.
- Homology
- Similarity due to descent from a common ancestor.
- Homoplasy
- Similarity due to independent evolution.
-
Parallel Evolution
(H) -
Independent evolution of similar traits in closely related species, such as the increase in dental size among a number of early human ancestors.
(H) -
Convergent Evolution
(H) -
Independent evolution of similar traits in rather distinct evolutionary lines, such as the evolution of flight in both birds and flies.
(H) -
Primitive Trait
(H) -
A trait that HAS NOT changed from an ancestral state.
(H) - Derived Trait
- A trait that HAS changed from an ancestral state.
- Evolutionary Systematics
- A school of thought that considers the overall similarity of all (primitive and derived) homologous traits when classifying organisms into taxonomic groups.
- Cladistics
- A school of thought that only looks at shared derived homologous traits and classifies organisms based solely on their evolutionary relationships.
- Outgroup
- A group used for comparison in cladistic analyses to determine whether the ancestral state of a trait is primitive or derived.
- Chordata
-
A vertebrate phylum consisting of organisms that possess a notochord at some point in their life.
(Animals with a spinal cord) - Notochord
- A flexible internal rod that runs along the back of an animal.
- Vertebrata
- A subphylum of the phylum Chordata, defined by the presence of an internal, segmented spinal column and bilateral symmetry.
- Bilateral Symmetry
- Symmetry in which the right and left sides of the body are approximately mirror images.
- Placenta
- An organ that develops inside a pregnant placental mammal that provides the fetus with oxygen and food and helps filter out harmful substances.
- Prenatal
- The period of life from conception until birth.
- Postnatal
- The period of life from birth until death.
- Homeotherm
- An organism capable of maintaining a constant body temperature under most circumstances.
- Homodontic
- Meaning that all of an organisms teeth are the same.
- Heterodontic
- Meaning that an organism has different types of teeth.
- Dental Formula
- A short-hand method of describing the number of each type of tooth in one half of one jaw on a mammal.
- Cerebrum
- The area of the forbrain that consists of the outermost layer of brain cells, associated with memory, learning, and intelligence.
- Arboreal
- Living in trees.
- Terrestrial
- Living on the ground.
- Prehensile
- Capable of grasping.
- Specialized Structure
- A biological structure adapted to a narrow range of conditions and used in very specific ways.
- Generalized Structure
- A biological structure adapted to a wide range of condittions and used in very general ways.
- Binocular Stereoscopic Vision
- Overlapping feilds of vision with both sides of the brain receiving images from both eyes, thereby providing depth perception.
- Monogamy
- An exclusive sexual bond between an adult male and an adult female for a long period of time.
- Polygamy
- A sexual bond between an adult male and an adult female in which either individual may have more than one mate at the same time.
- Social Structure
- The composition of a social group and the way it is organized; including size, age structure, and the number of each sex in the group. There are five of these social groups.
- Solitary Group
- The smallest primate social group, consisting of the mother and her dependent offspring.
- Monogamous Family Group
- Social structure in which the primary social group consists of an adult male, an adult female, and their immature offspring.
- Polyandrous Group
- A rare type of primate social structure, consisting of a small number of adult males, one reproductively active adult female, and their offspring. Other females may belong to the group but are not reproductively active.
- Uni-male Group
- Social structure in which the primary social group consists of a single adult male, several adult females, and their offspring.
- Multimale/Multifemale Group
- A type of social structure in which the primary social group is made up of several adult males, several adult females, and their offspring.
- Dominance Hierarchy
- The ranking system within a society that indicates which individuals are dominant in social behaviors.
- Sexual Dimorphism
- The average difference in body size between adult males and adult females.
- Home Range
- The size of the geographic area that is normally occupide and used by a social group.
- Behavioral Ecology
- The study of behavior from an ecological and evolutionary perspective.
- Parental Investment
- Parental behaviors that increase the probablility that offspring will survive.
- Kin Selection
- A concept used in evolutionary explainations of altruism. Sacrificial behaviors, for example, can be selected for if they increase the probability of survival of close relatives.
- Infanticide
- The killing of infants.