FratFiles

• Save Paper

THE NEW WORLD MONKEYS: THE DWARFING HYPOTHESIS

Introduction
I will consider support for the dwarfing hypothesis in New World monkeys. Since evolution has shown to result in a general increase in body size, the case of reduced body size in the New World primates is quite unusual. To explain the phenomenon, the dwarfing hypothesis has been proposed (Martin, 1992).
The dwarfing hypothesis implies that there must have been selective pressure that favored a reduction in body size. Phyletic dwarfing is then presumed to be fundamental to the further development of the species' characters (Martin, 1992). Callitrichids are not the only primates that are thought to have undergone phyletic dwarfing. For example, there are also dwarf lemurs and dwarf bushbabies (Martin, 1990).
I will consider the dwarfing hypothesis in the context of analyzing whether the morphological features of the callitrichids are primitive or derived. Although the callitrichids have many common features......

View the rest of this paper...

Approximate Word Count: 1831
Approximate Pages: 8 (250 words per double-spaced page)

Similar Essays

1. The New World Monkeys: The Dwarfing Hypothesis
   

   The New World Monkeys: The Dwarfing Hypothesis. THE NEW WORLD MONKEYS: THE
   DWARFING HYPOTHESIS Introduction I will consider support ...