New world monkeys : the evolutionary odyssey / Alfred L. Rosenberger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rosenberger, Alfred L., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Environmental Studies, Science: Biology/Natural History, Science: Zoology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2020.

Summary:

A comprehensive account of the origins, evolution, and lifestyles of South and Central American primatesNew World Monkeys brings to life the beauty of evolution and biodiversity in action among South and Central American primates, who are now at risk. These tree-dwelling rainforest inhabitants display an unparalleled variety in size, shape, hands, feet, tails, brains, locomotion, feeding, social systems, forms of communication, and mating strategies. Primatologist Alfred Rosenberger, one of the foremost experts on these mammals, explains their fascinating adaptations and how they came about.New World Monkeys provides a dramatic picture of the sixteen living genera of New World monkeys and a fossil record that shows that their ancestors have lived in the same ecological niches for up to 20 million years—only to now find themselves imperiled by the extinction crisis. Rosenberger also challenges the argument that these primates originally came to South America from Africa by floating across the Atlantic on a raft of vegetation some 45 million years ago. He explains that they are more likely to have crossed via a landbridge that once connected Western Europe and Canada at a time when many tropical mammals transferred between the northern continents.Based on the most current findings, New World Monkeys offers the first synthesis of decades of fieldwork and laboratory and museum research conducted by hundreds of scientists.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Preface

CHAPTER 1. What Is a New World Monkey?

CHAPTER 2. Diverse Lifestyles

CHAPTER 3. What’s In a Name?

CHAPTER 4. Evolutionary Models

CHAPTER 5. How to Eat like a Monkey

CHAPTER 6. Arboreal Acrobats

CHAPTER 7. Many Kinds of Platyrrhine Brains

CHAPTER 8. The Varieties and Means of Social Organization

CHAPTER 9. 20 Million Years: Every Fossil Tells a Story

CHAPTER 10. South America Was Once an Island: How Did Platyrrhine Ancestors Get There?

CHAPTER 11. After 20 Million Years of Existence, New World Monkeys Face Extinction

Acknowledgments

Glossary of Terms

Recommended Reading

References

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780691189512

069118951X

OCLC:

1139015690