Lemurs are indigenous to Madacascar, off the southeast coast of Africa. Madacascar is 1650 km long and is divided into two parts by a mountain chain that runs north to south. Each side of the mountain chain has a different climate, topography and vegetation. The southeastern portion of the island ranges from sea level to 8530 ft. and is full of various forests and rain forests. The southwestern part of the island gets very little rainfall and is primarily desert. Winter typically lasts from May to September and summer from December to March.
Spider monkeys reside in tropical rainforests
typically located in Central and South America (some even being found to live
as far north as Mexico). They reside in tree tops or “upper canopy” of trees
and very rarely come down to ground level.
Baboons live in Africa or Arabia. They prefer savanna
and other semi-arid habitats. Some baboons can be found in moist evergreen
forests but the majority of baboons can be found living in open woodlands, grasslands
and rocky hill country ranging from sea level to 2600 meters.
Gibbons prefer to live in tropical and subtropical
rainforests. They can be found from northeast India to Indonesia and north to southern
China. Gibbons are another of the tree dwelling primates, living only in the
moist wetlands of southeast Asia.
Because Chimpanzee’s are easily adaptable
they can be found throughout Africa. Their natural habitat is the rainforest, however,
they also dwell in the savannas, woodlands, and bamboo forests.
Dentition Patterns
Lemurs have unusually rapid dental development and have
a tooth pattern of 2-1-3-3. The toothcomb of a lemur normally consists of six
teeth (four incisors and two canines). By the time Lemurs are weaned, they have
acquired their full permanent teeth. They have thin tooth enamel compared to
other primates which may cause premature tooth decay and loss.
Spider Monkeys have large incisors and small molars
with low rounded cusps. They also have a tooth pattern of 2-1-3-3.
Baboons have heavy, powerful jaws with sharp canine
teeth. Their tooth pattern is 2-1-2-3. Their canines can grow as long as two
inches and are often used by the male of the species for intimidation.
Gibbons have teeth similar to great apes with rounded
cusps and large canines in the upper and lower jaw. They have a tooth pattern
of 2-1-2-3.
Chimpanzee’s have a 2-1-2-3 tooth pattern
and are characterized by having large canines.
All
five of these primates use their teeth for being able to bite into and chew
their diets of fruit, grass, bark, and in some cases, small insects. In the
case of baboons, gibbons and chimpanzees, their teeth are also used for
intimidation against others of their kind. Being as all of the above mentioned
primates are tree dwelling at least half the time (up to and including
exclusively) it would only stand to reason that that the dentition of these
animals would need to be capable of being able to ingest anything found in the
trees in which they reside.