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Monkey Defending its territory against tourists

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Malaysian jungles are full of monkeys who like their place. Unfortunately for tourists, it also means that they are liable of attacking. These are not zoo monkeys, and they don't care if you are bigger. They have sharp teeth and make scary noises. Monkeys are definitely not pets, and are not friendly at all.

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Titi Baby Being Carried on Father's Back

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Titi Baby Being Carried on Father's Back

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Natural Selection Type
New World monkeys go through both directional and stabilizing selection. The White Headed Capuchin goes through stabilizing selection. The Capuchin remains around a constant 13.8 to 18 inch size.   They also are mainly around 6.4-8.6 pounds. This shows stabilizing selection because most of the Capuchins remain the same size, and it decreases genetic diversity in this species. This helps the organism survive to its best capability, because if it were too big then it would be easily spotted by predators, and if it were too small, it would be killed by predators too easily.
The Atlantic Masked Titi Monkey shows Directional selection, since it is very vocal territorial. This replaced the middle trait, which would be partially territorial. It is more beneficial to be extremely territorial, because in a shrinking forest, there is increased competition for habitat space and other resources. So, if a titi monkey is extremely territorial, it can fend off any other organisms trying to take over its territory. This will help the monkey survive. Being territorial also can scare off predators. Being vocal can also help the monkey communicate with other monkeys and scare off predators.
The Black Headed Spider Monkey also shows directional selection.  They show this by having extremely long arms. This appears in a much larger amount than the mean, which is medium length arms. Having long arms is better than having medium or short arms, since they can move between trees much faster and avoid predators using their speed. It can also help the monkey reach in places for food where a monkey with normal arm length would not be able to. This will help the monkey survive and reproduce much better.
Descent With Modification
Based on the phylogenetic tree above, you can see that over time, the New World Monkey changed. As time went on, New World Monkeys gained a central eye area, which is a modification of the original monkey. In fact, the New World Monkey order came out of the Old World Monkey order, because it was modified so many times. The central eye area shows a modification the was not there in Old World Monkeys. The Rhesus Monkey also has a downward pointing nose, whereas the spider monkey does not, which shows descent with modification. It does because as time went on, the spider monkey was modified into a monkey without a downward pointing nose.

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Genetic Drift
In the Capuchin and Spider monkeys, the L-M opsin gene codes for what colors the monkey can see. In these two specific species, the gene region where this gene is located is different. You can see this shows genetic drift since there is a difference in alleles in these two specific monkeys. There were no outside forces acting upon these monkeys, so i t had to be genetic drift. Also, within the spider monkey species specifically, there are many variations of the L-M gene. This shows genetic drift within the spider monkey species, since there are variations. The amount that this would affect a population depends on the specific place they live. For example, if the organism were to live in a place where predators were colorful snakes, the monkeys would have a hard time spotting these predators and could be killed. But if the organism does not live in a place like this, then they would not be greatly affected by this.
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/27/2/453.full
Emigration
As male White Headed Capuchins grow to the age of four, they start to leave the troop they were born into. This will most likely lead to genetic diversity, since the male from one troop may have different genes than monkeys from another troop. So, when they mate with females from other troops, they could spread new traits and genes, leading to diversity. The females staying behind can also create new traits, because when a male with alien genes mates with a female with genes that are normal for that troop, they can create new traits by making combinations that were not possible originally.
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cebus_capucinus/
Speciation Type
The Platyrrhines evolve gradually, not through punctuated evolution. It takes a long time for a noticeable change to occur in a New World Monkey. This is a sign of gradualism, because gradualism occurs slowly in organisms. There is also no large break and then suddenly a huge jump in evolution, but rather continuous small changes, which is a sign of gradualism. The Platyrrhines also change as the forest was growing. But, since forests do not grow very fast, the monkeys will not change very fast, and this is a sign of gradualism. Platyrrhines also use non-random mating, which slows down the speciation process, and lengthens it over time. This is also a sign of gradualism. Genetic drift also shows gradualism. The variations of he L-M opsin gene happened over a large amount of time, and happened very slowly, which is a sign of gradualism. Finally, environmental factors, such as new predators, human interference, and global warming will also interfere with the evolution of Platyrrhine.

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This tree shows the evolution of the Order Platyrrhine by showing the traits they lost or gained in order to better adapt to their environment.
*See more in Descent With Modification Section

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Biochemistry That Shows Evidence of Evolution in Platyrrhines

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Biochemistry That Shows Evidence of Evolution in Platyrrhines

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Proteins
In normal cases, the PrPc prion protein contains 250 amino acids with some variations among different species. Later, protein is turned into PrPSc which requires sequences of 3-D conformation of b-sheets. In New World Monkeys, there are significant variations in the prion protein PrPc. These are amino acid substitutions that occur in these New World Monkeys, that are different from other organisms with the protein such as humans. This difference in proteins in New World Monkeys show a significant similarity between these monkeys in the PrPc protein. This also shows how they have evolved differently from other organisms with the protein such as humans. The change in the prion protein of PrPc shows how New World Monkeys have evolved and changed from such organisms like humans who have similar proteins.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK47448/

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=57d119b9d3&view=lg&msg=15502acdc846863d
DNA or RNA

All New World monkeys have been found to have a single M/L photopigment gene on the X chromosome. This gene limits males to have dichromatic or monochromatic color vision. Only heterozygous females for the gene were trichromatic. Male howler monkeys have recently been found to have more than one M/L pigment gene, and both are uniformly trichromatic. These observations show DNA similarity between all new world monkeys because they have the M/L gene that codes for pigment. Evolution is shown in the howler monkey because it has 2 of the genes and it always codes for trichromatic vision, unlike the other monkeys. This shows how the howler monkey has differently evolved. Also, new world monkeys such as marmosets have the common gene WFIKKN1. This gene is turned on in New World Monkeys, specifically marmosets, that encodes for the twinning process in reproduction. This shows DNA similarity in new world monkeys and also how marmosets have evolved to have this occur more often and for the gene to be more active.
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Chromosomal

Chromosome numbers in New World monkeys range from 16 in the titi monkey to 62 in the wooly monkey. There are many close numbers between new world monkeys such as the silvery marmoset, pygmy marmoset, and Common Squirrel Monkey with 44 chromosomes and the Goeldi’s marmoset with 46 chromosomes. These similarities show how close new world monkeys are similar to each other. Because these four monkeys have such close chromosome number this shows that they are evolutionary similar. In addition, the wide range of chromosome numbers within new world monkeys (titi to Wooly) shows that there is also a wide range of evolutionary relationships within the platyrrhines. The chromosome numbers show how New World Monkeys as a whole have evolved together, but also shows how specific monkeys have changed within the Platyrrhines.
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Anatomy and physiology
Anatomical

New world monkeys have broad faces, widely spaced noses, long tails, and a vomeronasal organ. These traits have been passed down from older new world monkeys in the platyrrhine. This shows evolution because these traits are similar through several generations and have been passed on to other platyrrhines. These structures such as the vomeronasal organ have shown evolution in new world monkeys from other organisms with their structure such as humans because it has evolved to become different in monkeys.

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The fact that the titi monkey eats based on the availability of food gives it an advantage over other organisms, since it does not need to eat a specific diet and can eat whatever is at hand.

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The capuchin's speed helps it evade predators while it is being chased. Their arboreal lifestyle helps them avoid predators when possible and find food. Finally, their intelligence increases their resourcefulness when it comes to finding food or evading a predator. Link

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Spider monkeys do not have opposable thumbs. This gives these monkeys hook-like hands that help them grab on to trees, since they are arboreal. They also have elongated arms, which help them move through trees in a 'hand over hand' motion. One other trait they have is a prehensile tail, which lets them hang off the side of trees and search for food. (Link)

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Time Period: Eocene and Oligocene Eras
Age-56 million years
Type-Skull
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A homologous structure shared by all New World Monkeys is the vomeronasal organ. The original purpose of this is  to detect non-volatile chemical cues, which requires direct physical contact with the source of odor. This is still what platyrrhines use it for today. It uses sensory neurons to do this.

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A is a silvery marmoset, B is a Pygmy Marmoset, C is a Goeldi's Marmoset, and D is a Common Squirrel Monkey. Some similarities are they all use X and Y chromosomes to decide gender. Also, all the monkeys have 21 homologous pairs of chromosomes. In all the monkeys, the largest chromosomal pair is the first one. This all shows us that these monkeys are related. By looking at these karyotypes, you can also see a few differences between the 4 monkeys. A, B and D are more closely related than C is to these three, since C has a total of 45 chromosomes, and A,B, and D have 44. Another way to see how C is slightly set apart from the others, is that it has 3 sex chromosomes, while the other three have 2. All of this shows us that even though all the monkeys are related, A, B, and D are more closely related than C's relation to the other 3.

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In all of these fossils,  all the skulls have the same general structure. They all are elongated, with large eye sockets. They all have flat teeth and small noses. This shows evolution by showing us that even over millions of years, the skull structure stayed generally the same. This shows the relatedness. But, each  of them have a few different features, such as the Aegyptopithecus zeuxis has fangs. This shows evolution. Why? Because that means that over time, these animals lost their fangs because they did not need them. This is evolution.

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This is the karyotype of a male brown woolly monkey.  It is similar, and it differs from a human karyotype in many ways. For one, a human has 22 pairs of chromosomes, so 46 in all, but a woolly monkey has 30 pairs, so 60 in total.  Another difference is  human chromosomes are much larger than woolly chromosomes.  Finally, the last difference is in the woolly monkey, the 16th pair is the  largest pair. In a human, the 16th pair is one of the smallest pairs. One similarity is they both have x and y chromosomes to decide the gender of the organism. For both, XX means female and XY means male. Another similarity is they both have 2 chromosomes per pair. Finally, in both karyotypes, 7 pairs contain very small chromosomes.

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Protein Synthesis, Chromosomal Structure & Genetics

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Protein Synthesis, Chromosomal Structure & Genetics

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How does the Taxonomy show how these animals are related?

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How does the Taxonomy show how these animals are related?

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By looking at the taxonomy, we can see that all of these animals have the same classification up to their family. Afterwards, they differ. This shows that these animals are related, because they have many similar classifications, but they are not the same since they differ in the last three categories.

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Unique Characteristics (White Headed Capuchin)

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Unique Characteristics (White Headed Capuchin)

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Capuchin monkeys are much more intellectually advanced than other types of New World Monkeys. In addition, they live very long comparatively, to around 50 years of age. Capuchin are also the most effective disperses of plant and fruit seeds throughout the jungle. This makes them very valuable to the forest and different from other monkeys.

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The Atlantic Titi Monkey is one of the few New World Monkeys with a non-prehensile tail. They are one of the few monkeys with wake up calls at dawn. In addition, they live in and do 99% of their activities in trees, unlike a lot of other New World Monkeys.

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Spider monkeys are the only monkeys without thumbs. They spend most of their day swinging from trees in the forest. They also are very aggressive and territorial, more so than other New World Monkeys. Finally, they have extremely long limbs.

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Time Period: Quarternary
Age-400-10000 years old
Fossil-Skull
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/278/1702/67

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Time Period: Miocene
Age-20 million years ago
Fossil-Skull
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homunculus_patagonicus

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Time Period: Early Miocene
Age-20 Million Years old
Fossil-Skull
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilecebus

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Time Pd- Oligocene Epoch
Age- 35-33 million years ago
Fossil-Skull
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegyptopithecus

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Time Period:  Early Miocene

Age: 20 million years ago

Fossil: Skull
http://digimorph.org/specimens/Tremacebus_harringtoni/

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Examples: Tamarin, Howler Monkey, titi monkey, Spider Monkeys, Capuchins,  Callithrix, Night Monkey, Atelidae. Mico, squirrel monkey,  and Sakis.
Habitat: They are limited to tropical forest environments of Southern Mexico, Central, and South America. They live throughout the Amazonian ecosystem and the neotropics.
Physical: Platyrrhines have relatively broad noses, side facing, widely separated nostrils, and long tails.They have  one child born at a time, and contain a unique vomeronasal organ. A vomeronasal organ is a sense organ that is located close to the vomer and nasal bones. It contains sensory neurons that detect chemical stimuli.
Behavioral: They are arboreal, and spend most of the day searching for food and sleeping at night. They form monogamous pair bonds and show a lot of care for their young. They usually live in very large groups and these sometimes break into smaller troops. They are mostly herbivorous. Mostly eat leaves, fruits, nuts, gums, and small prey like insects.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/New_World_monkey#Characteristics

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Atlantic Masked Titi Monkey (Callicebus personatus) 

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Atlantic Masked Titi Monkey (Callicebus personatus) 

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These titi monkeys are primarily found in the humid forests east of the Andes Mountains and in the coastal, inland forests of South-Eastern Brazil. There are also a few found in secondary Atlantic Coastal Forests and banana groves. In all, the titi monkey covers around 1000 square miles of area.

These monkeys are around  970-1650 g, and are 310-420 mm in length. They have a small, slightly flattened head. The tail is non prehensile, and is the same color as the fur (grayish to yellowish orange), and is mixed with black. The hands, feet, foreheads, and sideburns are black. They are endothermic.

Atlantic masked titi monkeys eat  based on abundance of food available, and are nonselective about what they eat. They feed for about 2 to 3 hours. They are found in trees, where they do 99% of their activities. They stay with one mate, and have one baby per year, which the male carries. Their mating season is in between August and October.They are extremely territorial, and defend their territory through vocalizations and aggressive chasing. There are about 2-7 in a group. When they wake, they have dawn morning calls to wake the others, in which mates usually have the same tune. They spend half the day resting, 20% of the day traveling, and are active for about 11.5 hours each day. They sleep on their sides with their hands folded under their arms.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Mammalia
Order: | Primates
Family: | Pitheciidae
Genus: | Callicebus
Species: | C. personatus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_titi

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White Headed Capuchin Monkey (Cebus capucinus)

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White Headed Capuchin Monkey (Cebus capucinus)

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The Capuchin monkey is native to Central and South American jungles. It is one of the most common monkeys in North America. They live in high tropical forests and low wetlands. They are found in countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Argentina, and Ecuador.

They are medium sized at about 13.8-18 inches, and weigh  6.4-8.6 lbs. They have white markings on their face and upper body, and are black everywhere else, except for the tan facial skin and the black cap on their head. They have long, prehensile tails. They can reach speeds of up to 35 miles.

White headed Capuchin monkey are one of the most intelligent monkeys in the world. They can help people who are paralyzed beneath the waist. They are very effective seed dispersers, by eating fruits and berries and pooping out the seeds. Capuchin troops only contain 20 individuals, in which there is one alpha male for breeding. The other males leave the troop around age 4. The females are tasked with raising and protecting the infants. Their mating season is in between January and April. They are highly adaptable and social. They eat small frogs, birds, insects, or plants. The troop travels about 2 km a day. They are diurnal. Capuchins use trill vocalizations to coordinate movement in the group, and they have a different alarm to notify each other about a predator.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Mammalia
Order: | Primates
Family: | Cebidae
Genus: | Cebus
Species: | C. capucinus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-headed_capuchin

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Black Headed Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps)

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Black Headed Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps)

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These monkeys live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America, and occur as far north as Mexico. They spend most of their time in trees. The two main countries they are from are Columbia and Panama.

Black Headed Spider Monkeys are very nimble, and have very long arms. They have prehensile tails and hook like hands. They have a spider like appearance and have no thumbs. They have front facing eyes and nostrils that are very far apart. They have black faces, but are born pink. They are between 40 and 55 centimeters long and are around 9 kilograms.

These animals prefer to grab things with their tail, and they search for food during the day. They prefer to eat fruit, but will eat seeds, bark, leaves, spiders, nuts, and small insets. They spend most of their day in trees, swinging and climbing. They live in large communities of 20-100, and give birth to babies every one or two years. These babies are carried on mothers stomachs. After they get a little older, they are carried on the mother's backs. When female spider monkeys are ready to mate, their scent and behavior changes. They do not have a specific mating season, and will mate any time during the year. They are very intelligent, and have strong memories. They are also very social and noisy. They are most intense during the day, and at night, they split into half a dozen or fewer to sleep. They reproduce sexually.

Taxonomy
Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Mammalia
Order: | Primates
Family: | Atelidae
Genus: | Ateles
Species: | A. fusciceps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-headed_spider_monkey

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Black Headed Spider Monkey Prehensile Tail 

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Black Headed Spider Monkey Prehensile Tail 

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