21.7k views
4 votes
Colobine primates are well adapted for eating leaves. what leaf-eating traits have evolved in these monkeys?

User Tom Dufall
by
8.4k points

1 Answer

3 votes
They are very arboreal, have high and pointed molars which are good for shearing leaves and a three or four chambered stomach similar to that of a cow. Colobine are leaf-eating specialists with high-cusped molars and multi-chambered stomachs housing mutualistic microbes that digest cellulose and detoxify plant defensive compounds. Leaves are a major component of many species diets up to 90% in a population of Ugandan red colobus.
User Ankush Roy
by
9.0k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.

9.4m questions

12.2m answers

Categories