Join Books.org — it's free

Zoology - General & Miscellaneous, Anatomy, Anatomy - General & Miscellaneous, Human Anatomy - General & Miscellaneous
Primate Anatomy: An Introduction by Friderun Ankel-Simons β€” book cover

Primate Anatomy: An Introduction

by Friderun Ankel-Simons
Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

This book is unlike ay other work on primates: it systematically reviews the biology of all living primates, including humans. It describes their bio-geographical information and provides crucial data pertaining to their body size, fur coloration external distinguishing features, habitat and basic life strategies.

Now in its third edition, Primate Anatomy discusses species that are new to science since the last edition with details concerning anatomical features among primates that were re-discovered. New research in molecular primatology is also included due to recent relevant findings in molecular biology in accordance with new technology. The basics of biological taxonomy are introduced, along with photographs of all major groups. Important new and controversal issues make this edition key for every primatologists, anthropologist, and anatomist.

* Offers up-to-date reviews of molecular primatology and primate genomics
* Concentrates on living primates and their overall biology
* Discusses the genetic connection of function where known
* Introduces primate genomics for the first time in a textbook
* Provides instructive and comprehensive review tables
* Includes many unique, novel and easily understandable illustrations

Audience: Undergraduates, beginning graduate students and faculty, especially those in primatology and physical anthropology departments offering an introductory survey course in primate biology/anatomy.

Synopsis

This book is unlike ay other work on primates: it systematically reviews the biology of all living primates, including humans. It describes their bio-geographical information and provides crucial data pertaining to their body size, fur coloration external distinguishing features, habitat and basic life strategies.

Now in its third edition, Primate Anatomy discusses species that are new to science since the last edition with details concerning anatomical features among primates that were re-discovered. New research in molecular primatology is also included due to recent relevant findings in molecular biology in accordance with new technology. The basics of biological taxonomy are introduced, along with photographs of all major groups. Important new and controversal issues make this edition key for every primatologists, anthropologist, and anatomist.

* Offers up-to-date reviews of molecular primatology and primate genomics
* Concentrates on living primates and their overall biology
* Discusses the genetic connection of function where known
* Introduces primate genomics for the first time in a textbook
* Provides instructive and comprehensive review tables
* Includes many unique, novel and easily understandable illustrations

Michael Cummings

Students and teachers of primatology will welcome the new edition of this standard text. This book is a brief, readable account of primate taxonomy, comparative anatomy, cytogenetics, and molecular evolution. It is intended primarily as a text for undergraduate or beginning graduate courses in primatology or primate anatomy, and is one of the few texts in the field. The text is well organized, well-written, and up-to-date. The author begins with a series of introductory chapters on taxonomy and the history of primatology, and a survey of living primates. This latter chapter is a sobering reminder of how little we know about some of the nearly extinct species of lower primates, and their importance in reconstructing our own evolutionary history. The body of the text is a group of seven chapters organized by body systems, beginning with the skull and ending with growth and reproduction. In the last two chapters the author deals with cytogeneties, blood groups, and molecular techniques used in studying primate evolution. If there are any faults to be noted, they would be the lack of data and figures in these chapters. The evolution of chromosomes in primates is complex and a few figures of specific examples would make this material more useful, as would some data from DNA studies on the taxonomy of primates. These minor caveats aside, this well-written, well-organized new edition will continue to serve as a useful text or brief reference work for those who seek an introduction to the basic ideas in primate biology.

About the Author, Friderun Ankel-Simons

Dr. Ankel-Simons did her graduate studies in marine biology, marine ecology, and marine geology at the University of Copenhagen, the Marine Biological Laboratory at Elsinore, Denmark, and the University of Giessen, Germany. She was a member of the first research team to keep the folivore primate Alouatta palliata alive in captivity for a long term of several years at the Max Planck Institut for Brain Research, Giessen, Germany. Since 1996, she has been a Research Associate in the Division of Paleontology at the Duke University Primate Center. She has published three books and numerous journal papers.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Michael Cummings

Students and teachers of primatology will welcome the new edition of this standard text. This book is a brief, readable account of primate taxonomy, comparative anatomy, cytogenetics, and molecular evolution. It is intended primarily as a text for undergraduate or beginning graduate courses in primatology or primate anatomy, and is one of the few texts in the field. The text is well organized, well-written, and up-to-date. The author begins with a series of introductory chapters on taxonomy and the history of primatology, and a survey of living primates. This latter chapter is a sobering reminder of how little we know about some of the nearly extinct species of lower primates, and their importance in reconstructing our own evolutionary history. The body of the text is a group of seven chapters organized by body systems, beginning with the skull and ending with growth and reproduction. In the last two chapters the author deals with cytogeneties, blood groups, and molecular techniques used in studying primate evolution. If there are any faults to be noted, they would be the lack of data and figures in these chapters. The evolution of chromosomes in primates is complex and a few figures of specific examples would make this material more useful, as would some data from DNA studies on the taxonomy of primates. These minor caveats aside, this well-written, well-organized new edition will continue to serve as a useful text or brief reference work for those who seek an introduction to the basic ideas in primate biology.

From The Critics

Reviewer: Michael Cummings, PhD(University of Illinois at Chicago)
Description: Students and teachers of primatology will welcome the new edition of this standard text.
Purpose: This book is a brief, readable account of primate taxonomy, comparative anatomy, cytogenetics, and molecular evolution.
Audience: It is intended primarily as a text for undergraduate or beginning graduate courses in primatology or primate anatomy, and is one of the few texts in the field.
Features: The text is well organized, well-written, and up-to-date. The author begins with a series of introductory chapters on taxonomy and the history of primatology, and a survey of living primates. This latter chapter is a sobering reminder of how little we know about some of the nearly extinct species of lower primates, and their importance in reconstructing our own evolutionary history. The body of the text is a group of seven chapters organized by body systems, beginning with the skull and ending with growth and reproduction. In the last two chapters the author deals with cytogeneties, blood groups, and molecular techniques used in studying primate evolution.
Assessment: If there are any faults to be noted, they would be the lack of data and figures in these chapters. The evolution of chromosomes in primates is complex and a few figures of specific examples would make this material more useful, as would some data from DNA studies on the taxonomy of primates. These minor caveats aside, this well-written, well-organized new edition will continue to serve as a useful text or brief reference work for those who seek an introduction to the basic ideas in primate biology.

3 Stars from Doody

Book Details

Published
January 1, 2007
Publisher
Elsevier Science
Pages
752
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780123725769

More by Friderun Ankel-Simons

Similar books