You are on page 1of 6

Name: ___________________________ Class: ______________________ Date: ____________________

Human Evolution Comparing Primates


Background
According to the theory of evolution, all species are are related and linked to a common ancestor. Species that are
more closely related have common ancestor that existed much more recently, hile species that are distantly related
may have to go !ack hundreds of millions of years to find a common ancestor.
"he closest living relatives to the Homo sapiens, the human species, are primates. "his la! ill compare many of
the physical and !iochemical characteristics !eteen this group of animals.
Comparative Anatomy
#xamine the draings of the hands of five different primates shon !elo. $ill out the ta!le of o!servations.
Source: %iology: "he Dynamics of &ife "ext!ook
Primate Opposable Thumb? Length of Thumb (cm) Claws or Nails?
Written by James Dauray
http://www.docstoc.com/profile/jamesdauray
Page '
Name: ___________________________ Class: ______________________ Date: ____________________
Compare the skeletons of the human and gorilla shon !elo.
Source: %iology: "he (e! of &ife "ext!ook
Characteristic Human Gorilla Eplain of !ifferences
)elvis Shape
*a Si+e
Spine Shape
%one Arrangement of
$eet
,verall -eight
Arms &onger "han &egs
.. (hat similarities do you see !eteen the human and gorilla skeleton/
Name: ___________________________ Class: ______________________ Date: ____________________
Scale draings of skulls of the gorilla, modern humans, and a human ancestor called Australopithecus
africanus are shon !elo. #xamine each skull, paying special attention to the si+e of the !rain cavity, the 0a
si+e, and the 0a angle. 1ecord all measurements on the ta!le.
Name: ___________________________ Class: ______________________ Date: ____________________
Source: %iology: "he Dynamics of &ife "ext!ook
Gorilla "ustralopithecus #o$ern Human
$acial Area 2cm
.
3
2&ength x idth3
Cranial Area 2cm
.
3
2&ength x idth3
1atio of Cranial Area to
$acial Area
Cranial Capacity 2cm
4
3
2.5r3
Angle of *a
&ength of 6ncisors 2cm3
)resence of %ro 1idge
)resence of Sagittal Crest
4. Summari+e the physical differences !eteen the 0as of the gorilla, Australopithecus, and modern human.
(hat does the 0a si+e suggest a!out ho the diets of each species differ/
7. Summari+e the physical differences !eteen the craniums of the gorilla, Australopithecus, and modern
human. (hat does this difference tell you a!out each species/
8. 9iven the comparisons you made !eteen each skull, hich species is most closely related to humans, the
gorilla, or Australopithecus/ *ustify your anser ith specific data.
Name: ___________________________ Class: ______________________ Date: ____________________
Molecular Biology
Animals ith red !lood each have a large protein molecule called hemoglo!in in their !lood cells. -emoglo!in
is needed to transport oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the !ody. -emoglo!in, like all proteins, is made of
amino acids.
%elo is a summary of some of the amino acids of hemoglo!in. )artial se:uences are given for humans,
chimpan+ees, gi!!ons, gorillas, a monkey, and a mouse. Se:uences that are identical for all animals are
skipped.
$or each non;human animal, take a highlighter and mark any amino acids that are different than the human
se:uence. (hen you finish, record ho many differences you found in the ta!le on the next page.
4 5 6 9 ! " # "! "5 ## 4 4# 5! 5 5"
Human T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
Chimpanzee T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
Gibbon T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
Gorilla T P E S A T A V G V F E T P D
New World
Monke
T P E N A T T V G ! F E S P D
Mou"e T D A A A S C S G V # D S A S
54 56 5$ 6$ 69 %! % %" %# %5 %6 %% $! $% !4
Human V G P ! G A F S D ! A H N T $
Chimpanzee V G P ! G A F S D ! A H N T $
Gibbon V G P ! G A F S D ! A H N % $
Gorilla V G P ! G A F S D ! A H N T &
New World
Monke
V G P ! G A F S D ! N H N % &
Mou"e ' G A ' T A F N D ! N H S S $
!9 ! " 5 6 % $ " "5 "6 #! #9
Human V ! C A H H F E P V # N
Chimpanzee V ! C A H H F E P V # N
Gibbon V ! C A H H F E % V # N
Gorilla V ! C A H H F E P V # N
New World
Monke
V ! C A H H F E % V # N
Mou"e M ' ' G H H ! D A A F T
Name: ___________________________ Class: ______________________ Date: ____________________
"nimal Number of "mino "ci$ !ifferences Compare$
to Human Hemoglobin
Chimpan+ee
9i!!on
Ne (orld
<onkey
<ouse
Molecular Biology &ummary 'uestions
=. %ased on the hemoglo!in data, hich organism is most closely related to humans/ (hich is most distantly
related to humans/
Conclusion
"his is a cladogram for the ma0or groups of
primates. %ased on the relationships shon in
this cladogram, anser each of the folloing
:uestions:
>. (hich primate species is most closely related
to humans/
?. (hich primate species is most distantly
related to humans/
@. -o long ago did speciation occur !eteen
tarsiers and the ancestor of all the anthropoids/
'A. According to this cladogram, a!out ho
long ago did the common ancestor !eteen
humans and chimpan+ees exist/
''. #xplain hy the statement B-umans
evolved from monkeysC is incorrect.

You might also like