arboreal

Examples of arboreal in the following topics:

• Primates

  • Primates evolved from arboreal ancestors and share many characteristics, including flexible skeletons, large brains, and vision reliance.
  • Many primate characteristics represent adaptations to living this arboreal lifestyle.
  • The first major morphological change was the evolution of a bipedal locomotor adaptation from an arboreal or semi-arboreal one (upright walking capabilities), with all its attendant adaptations (a valgus knee, long legs relative to the arms, reduced upper-body strength).
  • For this reason, most primates are at least partially arboreal.

• Characteristics and Evolution of Primates

  • This arboreal heritage of primates has resulted in adaptations that include, but are not limited to: 1) a rotating shoulder joint; 2) a big toe that is widely separated from the other toes and thumbs, that are widely separated from fingers (except humans), which allow for gripping branches; and 3) stereoscopic vision, two overlapping fields of vision from the eyes, which allows for the perception of depth and gauging distance.
  • The New World monkeys are all arboreal, whereas Old World monkeys include arboreal and ground-dwelling species.
  • The very arboreal gibbons are smaller than the great apes; they have low sexual dimorphism (that is, the genders are not markedly different in size); and they have relatively longer arms used for swinging/brachiating through trees.

• Evolution of Birds

  • Two main theories exist: the arboreal ("tree") hypothesis and the terrestrial ("land") hypothesis.
  • The arboreal hypothesis posits that tree-dwelling precursors to modern birds jumped from branch to branch using their feathers for gliding before becoming fully capable of flapping flight.

• Tropical Wet Forest and Savannas

  • Some organisms live several meters above ground, having adapted to this arboreal lifestyle.