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Lab 9: Primate Evolution

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Exercise 1:

Data Table 1

  A Pan troglodytes   Chimpanzee B Homo sapiens Cro-Magnon Man C Homo sapiens   Modern Human D Homo Neander- Thalensis   Neanderthal E Homo erectus F Australopithecus boisei G Australopithecus africanus
When Lived Modern 120,000 YA to ?* Present 400,000 to 40,000YA 1.89 MYA to 143,000 YA 2.3 to 1.2 MYA 3.3 to 2.1 MYA
Where Lived Central and West Africa Africe, Asia, Europe Worldwide Europe and southwestern to central Asia Northern, Eastern, and Southern Africa; Western Asia; East Asia   Southern Africa
Location and Year of Discovery   France 1868   Belgium 1829 Indonesia 1891 Tanzania 1959 Africa 1924
Forehead              
Chin              
Supraorbital brow ridge              
Sagittal crest              
Cranial breadth              
Cranial length              
Facial breadth              
Facial projection              
Skull length              
Vertebral Attachment Length              
Canine Length              
Incisor Length              
Cranial index              
Skull proportion index              
Facial projection index              
Skull and Vertebral Attachment Index              
Canine-Incisor Index              

*It is not known for sure when the transition from Cro-magnon to modern human occurred.

  1. Why are indices better than simple measurements for comparing fossil specimens?
  • Using the data you collected, list the skulls in order from most similar to modern humans (Homo sapiens) to most different.
  • Have there been any skull changes in humans during the last 40,000 years? Explain your response.
  • How does the shape of the face differ between Australopithecus africanus and Homo sapiens?
  • How do the canine teeth differ between Australopithecus africanus and Homo sapiens?
  • What do you think accounts for the differences you observed in the skulls and teeth of the hominoids?
  • How did the skulls compare in terms of cranial size? What does this indicate about the brains of the different hominoids?

Exercise 2: Molecular Biology

Animals with red blood each have a large protein molecule called hemoglobin in their blood cells.  Hemoglobin is needed to transport oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.  Hemoglobin, like all proteins, is made of amino acids. 

Below is a summary of some of the amino acids of hemoglobin.  Partial sequences are given for humans, chimpanzees, gibbons, gorillas, a monkey, and a mouse.  Sequences that are identical for all animals are skipped.

For each non-human animal, identify any amino acids that are different than the human sequence and highlight these cells YELLOW.  When you finish, record how many differences you found in the table on the next page.

  4 5 6 9 10 12 13 20 25 33 41 43 50 51 52
Human T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
Chimpanzee T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
Gibbon T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
Gorilla T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
New World Monkey T P E N A T T V G L F E S P D
Mouse T D A A A S C S G V Y D S A S
  54 56 58 68 69 70 71 72 73 75 76 77 80 87 104
Human V G P L G A F S D L A H N T R
Chimpanzee V G P L G A F S D L A H N T R
Gibbon V G P L G A F S D L A H N Q R
Gorilla V G P L G A F S D L A H N T K
New World Monkey V G P L G A F S D L N H N Q K
Mouse I G A I T A F N D L N H S S R
  109 110 112 115 116 117 118 121 125 126 130 139
Human V L C A H H F E P V Y N
Chimpanzee V L C A H H F E P V Y N
Gibbon V L C A H H F E Q V Y N
Gorilla V L C A H H F E P V Y N
New World Monkey V L C A H H F E Q V Y N
Mouse M I I G H H L D A A F T
Animal Number of Amino Acid Differences Compared to Human Hemoglobin
Chimpanzee  
Gibbon  
New World Monkey  
Mouse  

6.  Based on the hemoglobin data, which organism is most closely related to humans?  Which is most distantly related to humans?

primate phylogeny

Exercise 3 – Cladogram

This is a cladogram for the major groups of primates.  Based on the relationships shown in this cladogram, answer each of the following questions:

7. Which primate species is most closely related to humans?

8.  Which primate species is most distantly related to humans?

9.  How long ago did speciation occur between tarsiers and the ancestor of all the anthropoids?

10.  According to this cladogram, about how long ago did the common ancestor between humans and chimpanzees exist?

11.  Explain why the statement “Humans evolved from monkeys” is incorrect.

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