ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the general features of the anthropoids. The descriptions of anthropoids behavior are arranged under four headings: ecology, sociality, life cycle, and cognition. Anthropoids, the third major primate lineage, contrast with strepsirrhines in being diurnal and sexually dimorphic. The leading functional explanation for color vision is the Fruit Foraging Hypothesis. A higher degree of sexual dimorphism in body mass and canine size typically distinguishes anthropoids from other primates. The complexity of social grooming is related to the fact that anthropoids typically live in relatively large troops, most of them cohesive, which entails diverse and dynamic relationships. Though partly hygienic, allogrooming is more of a social activity in anthropoids than in other primates. Facial communication is more elaborate and important than in strepsirrhines. Heterosexual activities are not limited to an estrus period and isosexual behavior occurs. Life history revolves around single births and very slow maturation. Anthropoids exceed strepsirrhines in measures of cognitive ability, including tool use.
