Primatology and Comparative Primate Behaviour
Primatology studies the behaviour, ecology and evolution of prosimians, monkeys and apes. Kerala's Western Ghats make this a live field: lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri langurs, bonnet macaques and slender lorises are local examples.
Primate traits and classification
Forward-facing eyes with stereoscopic vision, grasping hands and feet, nails instead of claws, reduced olfaction, large brains and long parental care. Strepsirrhines (lemurs, lorises) retain a moist rhinarium and dental comb; haplorhines include tarsiers, monkeys and apes. Old World monkeys are catarrhines (2-1-2-3 dental formula, downward nostrils); New World monkeys are platyrrhines (2-1-3-3, sideways nostrils), many with prehensile tails.
Social behaviour
Dominance hierarchies reduce overt fighting; grooming maintains alliances; kin selection favours relatives; reciprocal altruism favours non-relatives who return favours; allomothering is care by females other than the mother. Communication uses calls, facial displays, gestures and scent. Tool use occurs in chimpanzees, capuchins and some macaques.
Worked example
Two unrelated adult female bonnet macaques groom each other daily; when one is threatened, the other intervenes. Because they are not close kin, kin selection does not explain it. The pattern fits reciprocal altruism, provided the grooming and support are exchanged over time. If the same support were given to a sister, kin selection (inclusive fitness) would be the better explanation.
Traps
Do not call apes 'monkeys'; do not explain every behaviour by group selection; avoid anthropomorphism-claiming the animals 'know' they will be repaid; do not confuse dominance with aggression; do not treat all primates as fruit-eaters.