Wu Yonghua, Fan Longcheng, Bai Lu, Li Qingqing, Gu Hao, Sun Congnan, Jiang Tinglei, Feng Jiang
School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, 5268 Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China.
Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China.
Sci Adv. 2022 Sep 16;8(37):eabn6248. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn6248. Epub 2022 Sep 14.
Primates of modern aspect (euprimates) are characterized by a suite of characteristics (e.g., convergent orbits, grasping hands and feet, reduced claws, and leaping), but the selective pressures responsible for the evolution of these euprimate characteristics have long remained controversial. Here, we used a molecular phyloecological approach to determine the diet of the common ancestor of living primates (CALP), and the results showed that the CALP had increased carnivory. Given the carnivory of the CALP, along with the general observation that orbital convergence is largely restricted to ambush predators, our study suggests that the euprimate characteristics could have been more specifically adapted for ambush predation. In particular, our behavior experiment further shows that nonclaw climbing can significantly reduce noises, which could benefit the ancestral euprimates' stalking to ambush their prey in trees. Therefore, our study suggests that the distinctive euprimate characteristics may have evolved as their specialized adaptation for ambush predation in arboreal environments.
具有现代特征的灵长类动物（真灵长类）具有一系列特征（例如，双眼眶汇聚、手脚抓握、爪子退化和善于跳跃），但导致这些真灵长类特征进化的选择压力长期以来一直存在争议。在这里，我们使用分子系统生态学方法来确定现存灵长类动物共同祖先（CALP）的饮食，结果表明CALP的食肉性增强。鉴于CALP的食肉性，以及双眼眶汇聚在很大程度上仅限于伏击捕食者这一普遍观察结果，我们的研究表明，真灵长类特征可能更具体地适应了伏击捕食。特别是，我们的行为实验进一步表明，不使用爪子攀爬可以显著减少噪音，这可能有利于原始真灵长类动物在树上悄悄接近猎物进行伏击。因此，我们的研究表明，独特的真灵长类特征可能是作为它们在树栖环境中伏击捕食的特殊适应方式而进化的。
