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Size distributions of living and fossil primate faunas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

John G. Fleagle
John G. Fleagle*
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomical Sciences, Health Sciences Center, State University of New York; Stony Brook, New York 11794
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Abstract

Size distributions, based on molar length, are presented for various groups of living and fossil primates. I examine (1) the extent to which particular taxonomic groups with distinctive morphological and behavioral attributes are characterized by distinctive size ranges or distributions and (2) the way in which size ranges and distributions are affected by the presence or absence of other primates within the same geographical area and time. Distinctive behavioral and ecological “adaptive zones” are characterized by distinctive size ranges and behavioral and morphological parallelism or convergence among living and fossil primate taxa usually results in similar size distributions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , Winter 1978 , pp. 67 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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