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which features allowed early primates to succeed as arboreal insectivores? prehensile tails grasping fingers and toes legs that are longer than arms binocular vision large eyes

User Nicolas Raoul
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1 Answer

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25 votes

Final answer:

Primates possess adaptations such as a rotating shoulder joint, separated big toe and thumbs, and stereoscopic vision to succeed as arboreal insectivores. They also have larger brains, flattened nails, and typically bear one offspring at a time.

Step-by-step explanation:

All primate species possess adaptations for climbing trees, as they all descended from tree-dwellers. This arboreal heritage of primates has resulted in hands and feet that are adapted for climbing, or brachiation (swinging through trees using the arms). These adaptations include, but are not limited to: a rotating shoulder joint, a big toe that is widely separated from the other toes (except humans) and thumbs sufficiently separated from fingers to allow for gripping branches, and stereoscopic vision, two overlapping fields of vision from the eyes, which allows for the perception of depth and gauging distance. Other characteristics of primates are brains that are larger than those of most other mammals, claws that have been modified into flattened nails, typically only one offspring per pregnancy, and a trend toward holding the body upright.

User Tomas Capretto
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