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Unit 18: Biology Part 1 Page 40 of 60
thumbs and long fingers and arms, Although most primate species are
they are excellent at brachiation, quadripedal, meaning they walk
or swinging from tree to tree. on four legs, the arms of primates
Primates tend to be omnivores, are used for many things, including
which means that they will eat gathering food and nesting
both meat and plants. As you material. In some primates, arms
might expect, primate teeth are are used for making and holding
somewhere in between the sharp tools. For example, gorillas use
teeth of carnivores and the flat sticks to gauge the depth of water,
teeth of herbivores. Although they and chimpanzees sharpen sticks to
will eat anything, most primates use as weapons in hunting, and
prefer fruit as a food if it is use stones like a hammer to break
available. things apart.
Many animals communicate using “Fishing”
sound (think of birds using mating for
calls) or smell, primates use sight termites
as a main communication tool. with a
Primates can express emotion that stick is
can be understood by other an
members of their species based on example of using tools seen in
a look on their face. As humans primates.
who use facial expressions, we Birds and mammals, the two
may take something like this for endothermic groups of animals,
granted, but it makes primates show a remarkable amount of
nearly unique in the animal diversity. These animals have
kingdom. found ways to survive in nearly
every environment on the planet,
eating a wide variety of foods and
moving from place to place in a
number of ways. Although their
reproductive strategies vary, they
are characterized by, for the most
part, caring for their young more
than many other kinds of animals.
As mammals ourselves, we can see
many familiar characteristics in
these animals.
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