Platyrrhine Locomotion

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior
  • 70 Accesses

Definition

Body displacement relative to physical surroundings in New World monkeys.

Introduction

Locomotion, i.e., body displacement within space and time, is part of a behavioral continuum with postures, involving minimal to no body displacement, that enables animals to interact with and utilize their environment. As such, locomotion is an integral part of animal biology, as it provides access to food sources, facilitates social contact and bonding, promotes mate connection and ritual, and enables escape from potential predators. In this way, it feeds back to important biological parameters and contributes significantly to fitness. Locomotion can be seen as the response of morphology (e.g., physiology, anatomy) to the architectural challenges of the environment (substrate availability, size, inclination, texture, stiffness etc.). Thus, terrestrial mammals transfer their body mass on the ground mainly by walking, running, and jum** (but some terrestrial mammals, which live in rocky...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bezanson, M. (2009). Life history and locomotion in Cebus capucinus and Alouatta palliata. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 140, 508–517.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boinski, S. (1989). The positional behavior and substrate use in the squirrel monkeys: Ecological implications. Journal of Human Evolution, 18, 659–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cant, J. G. H., Youlatos, D., & Rose, M. D. (2001). Locomotor behavior of Lagothrix lagothricha and Ateles belzebuth in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador: General patterns and nonsuspensory modes. Journal of Human Evolution, 41, 141–166.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cant, J. G. H., Youlatos, D., & Rose, M. D. (2003). Suspensory locomotion of Lagothrix lagothricha and Ateles belzebuth in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. Journal of Human Evolution, 44, 685–699.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleagle, J. G., & Mittermeier, R. A. (1980). Locomotor behavior and comparative ecology of seven Surinam monkeys. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 52, 301–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine, R. (1990). Positional behavior in Saimiri boliviensis and Ateles geoffroyi. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 82, 485–508.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, S. M. (1988). Postcranial adaptations of the earliest platyrrhine. Journal of Human Evolution, 17, 155–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garber, P. A. (1980). Locomotor behavior and feeding ecology of the Panamanian tamarin (Saguinus oedipus geoffroyi, Callitrichidae, Primates). International Journal of Primatology, 1, 185–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garber, P. A. (1991). A comparative study of positional behavior in three species of tamarin monkeys. Primates, 32, 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garber, P. A. (1992). Vertical clinging, small body size, and the evolution of feeding adaptations in the Callitrichinae. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 88, 469–482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garber, P. A., & Leigh, S. R. (2001). Patterns of positional behavior in mixed-species troops of Callimico goeldii, Saguinus labiatus, and Saguinus fuscicollis in northwestern Brazil. American Journal of Primatology, 54, 17–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gebo, D. L. (1992). Locomotor and postural behavior in Alouatta palliata and Cebus capucinus. American Journal of Primatology, 26, 277–290.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, A. L. (2008). The evolution of brachiation in atelid primates, ancestral character states and history. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 137, 123–144.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Karantanis, N. E. (2010). Comparative positional behaviour in three captive callitrichid species: Leontopithecus chrysomelas, Saguinus imperator and Cebuella pygmaea. M.Sc. thesis, University College of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawler, R. R., Ford, S. M., Wright, P. C., & Easley, S. P. (2006). The locomotor behavior of Callicebus brunneus and Callicebus torquatus. Folia Primatologica, 77, 228–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perez, S. I., & Rosenberger, A. L. (2014). The status of platyrrhine phylogeny: A meta-analysis and quantitative appraisal of topological hypotheses. Journal of Human Evolution, 76, 177–187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberger, A. L., & Strier, K. B. (1989). Adaptive radiation of the atelid primates. Journal of Human Evolution, 18, 717–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberger, A. L. (1992). Evolution of feeding niches in New World monkeys. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 88, 525–562.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, S. E. (1993). Positional adaptations and ecology of the Pitheciini. Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, S. E., & Ayres, J. M. (1996). Positional behavior of the white uakari (Cacajao calvus calvus). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 101, 161–172.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. C. (1989). The nocturnal primate niche in the New World. Journal of Human Evolution, 18, 635–658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, K. A. (2007). The relationship between locomotor behavior and limb morphology in brown (Cebus apella) and weeper (Cebus olivaceus) capuchins. American Journal of Primatology, 69, 736–756.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Youlatos, D. (1998). Positional behavior of two sympatric guianan capuchin monkeys, the brown capuchin (Cebus apella) and the wedge-capped capuchin (Cebus olivaceus). Mammalia, 62, 351–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Youlatos, D. (1999). Comparative locomotion of six sympatric primates in Ecuador. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie, 20, 161–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Youlatos, D. (2008). Locomotion and positional behavior of spider monkeys. In C. J. Campbell (Ed.), Spider monkeys: Behavior, ecology and evolution of the genus Ateles (pp. 185–219). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Youlatos, D. (2009). Locomotion, postures, and habitat use by pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea). In S. M. Ford, L. M. Porter, & L. C. Davis (Eds.), The smallest anthropoids: The marmoset/callimico radiation (pp. 279–297). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Youlatos, D., & Gasc, J. P. (2001). Comparative positional behaviour of five primates. In F. Bongers, P. Charles-Dominique, M. Forget, & M. Théry (Eds.), Nouragues: Dynamics and plant-animal interactions in a neotropical rain forest (pp. 103–114). Dordrecht: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Youlatos, D., & Guillot, D. (2015). Howler monkeys positional behavior. In M. Kowalewski, P. A. Garber, L. Cortés Ortiz, B. Urbani, & D. Youlatos (Eds.), Howler monkeys: Behavior, ecology and conservation (pp. 191–218). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zaluar, M. T., Loguercio, M. F. C., Rangel, C. H., Rocha-Barbosa, O., & Youlatos, D. (2013). Comportamento locomotor e postural de Callithrix jacchus (Linnaeus, 1758). In F. C. Passos & J. M. D. Miranda (Eds.), A Primatologia no Brasil 13 (pp. 290–301). Curitiba: Sociedade Brasileira de Primatologia.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dionisios Youlatos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Youlatos, D. (2022). Platyrrhine Locomotion. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1826

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Navigation