This extra credit consists of a two-page, double-spaced, typed report on your visit to the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo at their Northwest Campus (3000 NW 83^rd St., Gainesville). Here's a link to their webpage.  Use your observations and the information provided below to help assist you in the research for your report. There are four different primates at the Zoo: red ruffed lemurs (N=2), squirrel monkeys (N=2), capuchin monkeys (N=3), and gibbons (N=2).  Santa Fe Community College is very generous in letting UF students observe the primates in their care.

The Zoo gets very busy this time of year and there are explicit restrictions and rules.  Because it is a teaching zoo, the only times you will be able to visit the zoo is Monday - Friday, 9:00 - 10:45 am (see below OPTION 1).  Please call Anita ahead of time to schedule your visit -- sometimes the zoo gets swamped with school groups, etc. -- her number is (352) 395-5601.  Tell her you're with this class as we have a special arrangement for our students to observe the primates under these conditions.  You need to contact Anita to sign up and schedule yourself for a tour, if you choose this method of observing primates at the zoo (see below Option 2).  [FYI -- The general zoo number is (352) 395-5604].

There are two options in terms of visiting the zoo.

Option 1:  Monday - Friday between 9:00 - 10:45 am,  you may observe primates without doing the requisite tour (which is offered by their students who are in training).   YOU MUST CALL 395-5601 TO ALERT THEM THAT YOU ARE COMING.   Focus (i.e., take notes) on the different primate species as you proceed, focusing on one or two species more than the other two present.  Note key morphological and behavioral features discussed below, in class/lab, and in your book.

Option 2:  Everyday, essentially, between 9:00 - 2:00 pm, attend the tours conducted by their staff and take notes of all animals in the zoo.  YOU MUST CALL 395-5601 TO SIGN UP FOR A TOUR.  Be respectful to the tour guide and staff and stay with the tour at all times (No lingering!).  Ask questions!  Since you will focus your data collection on the primates, you will need to apply ad lib methods for behavioral sampling.

Here is a map to get to Santa Fe Community College

and a link outlining detailed directions to get to the zoo.

GET STAMPED! After your visit, get the first page stamped by Zoo personnel with the official seal of the Santa Fe Community College Zoo.  We need to have proof of your visit for you to get full credit.

DEADLINE:  The due date for this Extra Credit is in lab during the week of April 12th. You will get 0 points for attending the zoo but you must get a Stamp documenting your attendance. 10 points will be graded for report mechanics (creativity, mechanics, style, etc.) -- Sloppy reports and those that show little effort will receive no more than 5 points.  Late papers will not receive full credit.

REPORT TIPS:

Your report should consist of a discussion comparing and contrasting at least two primate species, but you may also opt to discuss all. You are a primatologist describing these animals to your peers who know nothing of primates. It should be well written and thoughtful, emphasizing salient characteristics of each species you observe. Be certain to describe your methods of behavioral sampling.  You may use web sources, but you must cite them when you do. One good link to check out is:

http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/infores.html

Use the information provided below as you observe and prepare your written report. Do not simply re-hash information provided to you. Use your sense of observation at the zoo to distinguish between the different species of primates, as regards their behaviors and their morphology.  Click here for more info on these species.

I. Lemurs Varecia variegata (Red Ruffed Lemur).

There are two distinctive subspecies, but only one species in this genus: V. v. variegata (black & white form) and V. v. rubra, the red ruffed lemur that you see here.

Geographic distribution:

• Madagascar

Skeleton:

• 2-1-3-3 dental formula with tooth comb in lower jaw
• no postorbital closure
• metopic suture on frontal bone (top of skull) unfused
• mandibular symphysis (midline) unfused
• grooming ("toilet") claw on 2^nd digit of foot

• long, thick tuft of hair on ears – gives them their name "ruffed"
• digits act together in a power grip
• moist rhinarium (nose)
• immobile upper lip and inexpressive face
• tendency for vertical clinging and leaping
• multiple pairs of breasts (3 in Varecia)
• emphasis on auditory and olfactory senses
• specialized and unspecialized scent glands
• retina lacks fovea (a small retinal area, characteristic of anthropoids)
• multimale, multifemale (promiscuous) mating.
• distinctive loud alarm bark

There are several other species/subspecies within this genus. This is the "common" squirrel monkey.

Geographic Distribution:

• Amazon Basin (South America)

Skeleton:

• 2-1-3-3 dental formula -- tiny M3s (third molars)
• sexually dimorphic canines
• curved nails on all digits
• short face
• narrow nose

• oval nostrils that are widely separated (Platyrrhine condition)
• prehensile tail only in infancy
• primitive frontal lobe sulcal pattern
• distinctive look (pink face, black muzzle, white goggle-shaped markings around eyes)
• multimale, multifemale (promiscuous & polygamous) mating.
• urine wash

These monkeys were not out when I visited the zoo, but they are now and they have a new enclosure that you should admire. They are one of several species within the genus Cebus.

Geographic Distribution:

NW South America and Central America (Ecuador to Honduras)

Characteristics:

Skeleton:

• very similar to squirrel monkeys (above). One key feature of capuchins, is their very large brain size relative to body weight

• Again, similar to squirrel monkeys in many ways, but also quite different
• Prehensile tail
• They have a white/yellowish throat, head, and shoulders with black back and tail
• Hair on the crown forms a "V"
• They are fairly large bodied, and group size differes from squirrel monkeys in the wild, with smaller numbers in groups typically. Males defend the territory
• multimale, multifemale (promiscuous & polygamous) mating.
• This species associates frequently with black-handed spider monkeys (other Cebus species associate with Saimiri but not this one here).
• They jump up and down and shake branches as a threat display
• urine wash

There is only one genus of gibbons, which contains upwards of 9+ species. Typically gibbon species do not overlap, except with the siamang.

Geographic Distribution:

Mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand mainly)

Characteristics:

Skeleton:

• 2-1-2-3 dental formula
• saber-like canines in both sexes
• small, gracile skeleton -- lack of sexual dimorphism in body size
• extremely long forelimbs & thumbs

• strictly arboreal
• good precision grips
• ischial callosities (specialized "butt" pads attached to bony pelvis)
• lack of sexual swellings in females
• asexually dichromatic (males and females can be different colors)
• vocal duetting to maintain territory and reinforce monogamous pairing
• monogamous (some extra-pair copulations noted)