Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Primate Locomotion pp 145–156Cite as

Tail-Assisted Hind Limb Suspension as a Transitional Behavior in the Evolution of the Platyrrhine Prehensile Tail

  • Chapter

Abstract

The atelines (Ateles, Lagothrix, Brachyteles, and Alouatta) are distinguished among the New World primates by the presence of a prehensile tail, equipped with a naked volar pad covered with dermatoglyphic friction skin (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1829). This adaptation plays a significant role in the definition of the feeding and locomotor niche of the atelines (Rosenberger and Strier, 1989). Atelines exhibit modifications of the sacral and caudal vertebrae (Ankel, 1972; German, 1982), caudal musculature (Lemelin, 1995) and cerebral cortical representation of the tail (Falk, 1980). The capuchin monkey (Cebus) also displays prehensile abilities in its relatively shorter tail, but lacks the volar pad and other distinctive caudal morphologies present in the atelines, suggesting prehensile tails evolved in parallel in Cebus and the atelines (Rosenberger, 1983; Lemelin, 1995).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Allen JA (1925) Primates collected by the American Museum Congo expedition. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 47:283–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ankel F (1962) Vergleichende Untersuchungen ueber die Skelettmorphologie des Greifschwanzes sudamerikanischer affen (Platyrrhina). Z. Morph. Oekol. Tiere 52:131–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ankel F (1963) Zur Morphologie des Greifschwanzes bei suedamerikanishen Affen. Z. Morph. Anthropol. 53:12–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ankel F (1972) Vertebral morphology of fossil and extant primates. In RH Turtle (ed.): Functional and Evolutionary Biology of Primates. Chicago: Aldine Press, pp. 223–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergeson DJ (1996) Positional behavior and prehensile tail use of Alouatta palliata, Ateles geoffroyi and Cebus capucinus. Ph.D. Dissertation, Washington University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cant JGH (1977) Ecology, locomotion and social organization of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Davis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cant JGH (1986) Locomotion and feeding postures of spider and howling monkeys: Field study and evolutionary interpretation. Folia Primatol. 46:1–14.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter CR, and Durham NM (1969) A preliminary description of suspensory behavior in primates. In HO Hofer (ed.): Recent Advances in Primatology. Proc. 2nd Intl. Congr. Primatol. 2:147-154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christoffer C (1987) Body size differences between New World and Old World, arboreal tropical vertebrates: Cause and consequences. J. Biogeography. 14:165–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dandelot P (1956) Note sur le comportment de deux Cercopitheques de l’Hoest en captivité. Mammalia 20:330–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot DG (1913) A Review of the Primates. Vol II. New York: American Museum of Natural History.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons LH, and Gentry AH (1983) Tropical forest structure and the distribution of gliding and prehensile-tailed vertebrates. Am. Nat. 121:513–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falk D (1980) Comparative study of the endocranial casts of New and Old World monkeys. In RL Ciochon and AB Chiarelli (eds.): Evolutionary Biology of the New World Monkeys and Continental Drift. New York: Plenum Press, pp. 275–292.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle JG, and Meldrum DJ (1988) Locomotor behavior and skeletal morphology of two sympatric pitheciine monkeys, Pithecia pithecia and Chiropotes satanus. Am. J. Primatol. 16:227–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle JG, and Mittermier RA (1980) Locomotor behavior, body size, and comparative ecology of seven Surinam monkeys. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 52:301–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine R (1990) Positional behavior in Saimiri boliviensis and Ateles geoffroyi. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 82:485–508.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire I (1829) Remarques sur les caracteres generaux singes americains, et descrition d’un genre nouveau, sous le nom d’Eriode. Mem. Mus. Hist. Nat. (Paris) 17:121–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • German RZ (1982) The functional morphology of caudal vertebrae in New World monkeys. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 58:453–459.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grand TI (1972) A mechanical interpretation of terminal branch feeding. J. Mammal. 53:198–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grand TI (1978) Adaptations of tissue and limb segments to facilitate moving and feeding in arboreal folivores. In GG Montgomery (ed.): The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 231–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grand TI (1984) Motion economy within the canopy: Four strategies for mobility. In PS Rodman and JGH Cant (eds.): Adaptations for Foraging in Nonhuman Primates. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 54–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haddow AJ (1952) Field and Laboratory studies on an African monkey, Cercopithecus ascanias schmidti Matschie. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 122:297–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins FA Jr, and McLearn D (1984) Mechanisms of hind foot reversal in climbing mammals. J. Morph. 182:197–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones C, and Sabater Pi J (1968) Comparative ecology of Cercocebus albigena (Gray) and Cercocebus torquatus (Kerr) in Rio Muni, West Africa. Folia Primatol. 9:99–113.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lemelin P (1995) Comparative and functional myology of the prehensile tail in New World monkeys. J. Morph. 224:351–368.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKechnie JL, ed. (1983) Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd Edition. New York: Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum DJ (1989) Terrestrial adaptations in the feet of African cercopithecines. Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York at Stony Brook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum DJ, and Lemelin P (1991) Axial skeleton of Cebupithecia sarmientoi (Pitheciinae, Platyrrhini) from the middle Miocene of La Venta, Colombia. Am. J. Primatol. 25:69–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meldrum DJ, Dagosto M, and White J (1997) Hindlimb suspension and foot reversal: An adaptation for increased feeding kinesphere in primates and other arboreal mammals. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 102:85–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendel F (1976) Postural and locomotor behavior of Alouatta palliata on various substrates. Folia Primatol. 36:1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittermeier RA (1977) Distribution, synecology and conservation of Surinam monkeys. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittermeier RA (1978) Locomotion and posture in Ateles geoffroyi and Ateles paniscus. Folia Primatol. 30:161–193.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Napier JR, and Napier PH (1967) A Handbook of Living Primates. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norconk MA, and Kinzey WG (1994) Challenge of neotropical frugivory: Travel patterns of spider monkeys and bearded sakis. Am. J. Primtol. 34:171–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rollinson J (1975) Interspecific comparisons of locomotor behavior and prehension in eight species of African forest monkey: A functional and evolutionary study. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose MD (1974) Postural adaptations in New and Old World monkeys. In FA Jenkins Jr (ed.): Primate Locomotion. New York: Academic Press, pp. 201–222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberger AL (1983) Tale of tails: Parallelism and prehensility. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 60:103–107.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberger AL, and Strier KB (1989) Adaptive radiation of the ateline primates. J. Hum. Evol. 18:717–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblum LA, and Cooper RW, eds. (1969) The Squirrel Monkey. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schön Ybarra MA (1984) Locomotion and postures of red howlers in a deciduous forest-savanna interface. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 63:65–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tappen N (1960) Problems of distribution and adaptation of the African monkeys. Curr. Anthropol. 1:91–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Roosmalen MGM, Mittermeier RA, and Milton K (1981) The bearded sakis, genus Chiropotes. In AF Coimbra-Filho and RA Mittermeier (eds.): Ecology and Behavior of Neotropical Primates, Vol. 1. Rio de Janeiro: Academia Brasileira de Ciencias, pp. 419–441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker SE (1994) Positional behavior and habitat use in Chiropotes satanas and Pithecia pithecia. In B Thierry, JR Anderson, JJ Roeder, and N Herrenschmidt (eds.): Current Primatology, Vol. 1: Ecology and Evolution. Proc. XIV IPS Congress. Strasbourg: Universitè Louis Pasteur, pp. 195–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker SE (1996) The evolution of positional behavior in the saki/uakaris (Pithecia, Chiropotes and Cacajao). In M Norconk, A Rosenberger, and P Garber (eds.): Advances in Primatology: Adaptive Radiations of Neotropical Primates. New York: Plenum, pp. 335–363.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Biological Sciences and Anthropology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, 83209, USA

    D. Jeffrey Meldrum

Authors
  1. D. Jeffrey Meldrum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, USA

    Elizabeth Strasser

  2. State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    John G. Fleagle

  3. National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C, USA

    Alfred L. Rosenberger

  4. University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA

    Henry M. McHenry

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Meldrum, D.J. (1998). Tail-Assisted Hind Limb Suspension as a Transitional Behavior in the Evolution of the Platyrrhine Prehensile Tail. In: Strasser, E., Fleagle, J.G., Rosenberger, A.L., McHenry, H.M. (eds) Primate Locomotion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0092-0_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0092-0_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0094-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0092-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation