Glossary

ALLELES - Different versions of the same gene.

ALLOPATRIC SPECIATION - population is split into two (or more) geographically isolated subdivisions that organisms cannot bridge

ANTHROPOMORPHISM - Ascribing human characteristics to other animals or inanimate objects.

ARBOREAL - Living in trees.

ATAVISTIC – Recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination.

BINOCULAR VISION - Using two eyes at the same time with overlapping fields of vision, whereby distance is perceived.

BIPEDAL - Moving on two legs.

BRACHIATION - Locomotion by arm swinging with full shoulder rotation; grasp/release propulsion, usually with hook?like grasp.

CHROMOSOME – A long, threadlike association of genes in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. They are most visible during mitosis and meiosis. They are made of DNA and protein.

CODON – A block of three nucleotides within a gene.

COPROPHAGY - Eating feces.

CREPUSCULAR - Active at dawn and dusk.

DELETERIOUS – Harmful in subtle or unexpected ways.

DIMORPHIC - Existing in two forms.

DIPLOID (2n) – Having two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent. Humans are diploid.

DIURNAL - Active during the day.

ENRICHMENT - Objects and activities that engage an animal physically and/or mentally (e.g., popcorn in straw or feeding tubes attached to enclosure).

ESTRUS - Period when a female is receptive to mating; characterized by changes in the sex organs; heat (usually midway through what humans call the menstrual cycle).

EUKARYOTES – An organism composed of one or more cells containing visible nuclei and other organelles.

EXUDATE - Matter extruded, like sap from a tree.

FECES - Excrement, poop.

FITNESS - The average reproductive output of a class of genetic variants in a gene pool.

FOLIVOROUS - Eats leaves.

FORAGE - Search for food.

FOUNDER EFFECT – A cause of genetic drift attributable to colonization by a limited number of individuals from a parent population.

FRUGIVOROUS - Eats fruit.

GENE – A hereditary unit.

GENE POOL - The set all of genes in a population.

GENOME – The genetic material of an organism.

GENOTYPE – The genetic make up of an organism.

GULAR SAC - The large throat sac found in adult orang utans, especially pronounced in sexually mature males.

HAPLOID (n) – Having one set of chromosomes. Most organisms have two sets, one from each parent. Gametes or sex cells, are haploid.

HERBIVOROUS - Eats plants.

HETEROZYGOTE – Having two different alleles for a give trait.

HOMOZYGOTE – Having two identical alleles for a given trait.

INFANTICIDE - Killing infants. Found in some uni-male species where a successful male rival kills nursing babies so females come into estrus sooner.

ISCHIAL CALLOSITIES - Bare, tough, nerveless pads attached to the hip (ischia) bones of the pelvis that make sitting on small branches easier. Found only in Old World monkeys, gibbons, and chimpanzees.

KNUCKLE WALKING - The form of locomotion used by African apes (gorillas and chimpanzees). The fingers are turned under, the wrist is straight, and the weight of the upper body is carried on the second portion of the third and fourth digits.

LOCUS - The location of a gene on a chromosome.

MACROEVOLUTION - Larger changes in evolution, such as when a new species is formed or a mass extinction.

MARSUPIAL – A mammal, such as kangaroo or opossum, whose young complete their embryonic development inside a maternal pouch called a marsupium.

MEIOSIS – A type of cell division in sexually reproducing organisms that results in gametes with half the chromosome number as the original cell.

MICROEVOLUTION – Smaller changes in evolution, such as a change in a populations gene pool over a succession of generations.

MONOGAMOUS - Having one mate at a time. Rare in primates.

MULTI-MALE - Group whose leadership is shared by more than one male.

MYA – Millions of years ago.

NATURAL HISTORY - An explanation of the elements of the life and life style of a given species, such as diet, reproduction, and social grouping. (As in “gorilla natural history.”)

NOCTURNAL - Active at night.

OMNIVOROUS - Eats both plants and animals.

OPPOSABLE - A digit (usually the thumb) capable of moving so as to touch with its tip the tip of any other digit on the same limb.

PHENOTYPE – The visible characteristics of an organism produced by the genotype and the environment, such as height and hair color.

PHYLOGENY – The evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.

PLACENTAL – A mammal, such as humans, whose young complete their embryonic development in the uterus, joined to the mother by a placenta.

POLYGAMOUS - Having more that one mate at a time.

POLYGYNOUS - Male that mates with several females (a harem).

POLYANDROUS - Female that mates with several males.

POPULATION - Collection of individuals, each harboring a different set of traits.

PREHENSILE - Adapted for seizing or grasping.

PROKARYOTE – A single-celled organism that does not contain a visible nucleus.

QUADRUMANOUS - Locomoting using four hands (grasping extremities) as orang utans do.

QUADRUPEDAL - Locomoting on four feet.

RIBOSOME – A cell organelle functioning as the site of protein synthesis.

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM - Differences in color, size, form, or structure (other than sex organs) between adult males and adult females of the same species.

SOLITARY - Living alone. A lifestyle where the only groups are transient ones, such as a female and her immature offspring or a temporary breeding alliance.

SYMBIONT – The smaller participant in a symbiotic relationship, living in or on the host.

SYMBIOSIS – An ecological relationship between organisms of two different species that live together in direct contact.

SYMPATRIC SPECIATION - Two subpopulations become reproductively isolated without first becoming geographically isolated.

TAXONOMY - The science of classification of species into natural, related groups, based on some factors common to each, such as structure, embryology, and biochemistry.

TERRESTRIAL - Living on the ground.

TETRAPLOID – Having four sets of chromosomes, two from each parent. This is very unusual.

TRANSCRIPTION – The transfer of information from a DNA molecule into an RNA molecule.

TRANSLATION – The transfer of information from an RNA molecule into a polypeptide, involving a change of language from nucleic acids to amino acids.

TUMESCENCE - Swelling of the sexual skin of females during estrus.

UNI-MALE - A group led by a single male.

VIBRISSA - Whiskers.

Page Controls