Comparative Primate Blog Post

For my topic, I will discuss the "Dentition patterns" of these 5 primates. Dentition is the development of their teeth and their arrangement in the primates mouth as well as the number of teeth they have.

Lemurs (Prosimians/Strepsirhini)

a. Lemurs are a tropical rain forests species that are mainly found in Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa. They evolved to cope with the extremely seasonal environment since it is very hot and humid.
b. The dentition pattern of Lemurs is the bottom four front teeth and canine teeth, in total sixth teeth, are faced forward rather then up. They are finely spaced providing themselves a tool for grooming or feeding. Lunars are herbivores and eat mainly trees and plants or anything else the forest has too offer such as sap, seeds, bark, and leaves.
Dentition Formula:
(Incisors)(Canine)(Premolars)(Molars)
2.1.3.3
c. The lemurs teeth are perfectly adapted and finely spaced providing themselves a tool for grooming or feeding or for shearing leaves and crushing seeds since thats mainly whats to be found in the forests. They use their long toothcomb to cut through tree bark or to bring out the flow of tree sap.


Spider Monkey (New World Monkey/Platyrrhini)

a. Spider Monkeys live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America and as well occur as far North as Mexico. They live mostly in the upper canopy in the high forests and prefer moist evergreen forests and undisturbed primary forests.
b. The dentition pattern of Spider Monkeys is the upper crown of their teeth is very wide and the lingual surface is a bit concave and has a very narrow marginal ridge. The upper Canines are a triangular shape thats slightly narrow. The lower incisor has a narrow, straight crown. They have three premolar teeth instead of two in each toothrow. Their diets consists of mainly 90% fruits and seeds and as well as young leaves, flowers, aerial roots, and sometimes honey.
Dentition Formula:
(Incisors)(Canine)(Premolars)(Molars)
2.1.3.3
c. With have different types of teeth, they are able to eat variety of foods and process food easier. The usage of incisors are for biting, canines for shearing, and molars for chewing food properly for being digestible.

Baboon (Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae)

a. Baboons are scattered throughout East Africa and Arabia and live in a wide variety of habitats and are extremely adaptable. The only requirements they seems to have is for any habitat that supplies water sources and undisturbed sleeping places such as tall trees or on cliff faces.
b. Baboons dentition patters posses teeth that are designed to each both meat and plants. Their patters consist of important long, sharp canines to seize and protect. Its premolars are enlarged and compressed laterally to form a cutting edge. Their molars have larger flatter surfaces which is suitable for crushing and smashing plants. Baboons are opportunistic eaters and still would eat insects and sometimes prey of fish, birds, rodents, small monkeys and small antelopes.
Dentition Formula:
(Incisors)(Canine)(Premolars)(Molars)
2.1.2.3
c. With such long canine teeth, they are able to protect themselves very well from predators. They sometimes use their smaller front teeth as a comb to remove small bugs or dirt that cling to their hair. Also Baboons teeth are specifically designed to perform the necessary stabbing, ripping, and tearing of their meals


Gibbon (Lesser ape/Hylobatidae

a. Gibbon are apes of southeastern Asia in the tropical rain forests and spend most of their lives in trees. Which makes it very hard for predators to catch them.
b Gibbons dentition is similar to the great apes. Their upper molars are usually very large and their canines are very important when it comes to tearing up their small portions of meals. Their omnivores and their diet consist of mainly fruits, plants, flowers, seeds, tree bark, as well as insects and other small animals.
Dentition Formula:
(Incisors)(Canine)(Premolars)(Molars)
2.1.2.3
c. Gibbons adaptations include the usage of their high cusps on their back teeth to help grind plants and they adapted a gut for folivorous diet.


Chimpanzee (Great ape/Hominidae)

a. Chimpanzees are scattered around the forests of west and central Africa and can habituate themselves to rain forest, woodland, and grasslands.
b. Chimpanzees dentition has six permanent maxillary teeth and an outward jutting jaw. They are usually fruit and plant eaters, but they can also consume insects, eggs, and meat.
Dentition Formula:
(Incisors)(Canine)(Premolars)(Molars)
2.1.2.3
c. Even though the chimpanzees eat mainly fruits, they still use their canines to eat, tear and chew their fruits and plants. Their thinner enamel also helps with tearing through their foods.



After researching and reading of all the primates dentition patterns, it is very interesting noticing how significant the changes the primates have. I feel the teeth are one of the most useful things in the body and each primates dentition structure is adapted perfectly with what that specific primate eats. Such as the long canine teeth in the baboon and gibbon teach structures is perfectly places there for their carnivorous ways. On the other hand the Lemurs and Spider Monkey have a smaller jaw structure which makes the process of eating different kinds of fruits and veggies easier. All these primates are very similar in a lot of ways, and their dentition patters are one of them. There just structured a little different because of the different eating habits that the primates have.