Final answer:
Haplorhine primates have specialized eye sockets with postorbital bars that surround and protect the eyes, enhancing their binocular vision and depth perception, important for navigating their environment and predatory activities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The specialized eye sockets of haplorhine primates, which include the tarsiers and simians (New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, apes, and humans), have postorbital bars - bony rings that completely surround the eyes. This feature is significant in that it provides structural support for the eyes and may be protective. This distinct characteristic of haplorhines enhances their binocular vision and depth perception, which are crucial for activities like hunting and navigating complex environments.
These adaptations suggest that haplorhines may have evolved these features not just as a result of living in trees but also to improve their success as predators, as indicated by the visual predation hypothesis. While the strepsirrhines have a more pronounced reliance on olfaction, haplorhines exhibit reduced reliance on sense of smell and a relatively small snout, further highlighting their visual specialization.