Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects – serie

Many of the papers in this volume were first presented at the Third International Great Apes of the World Conference, held July 3-6, 1998 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The editors of this volume, the first in a two-volume series, are world renowned, having dedicated most of their lives to the study of great apes. The world's premiere primatologists, ethologists, and anthropologists present the most recent research on both captive and free-ranging African great apes. These scientists, through deep personal commitment and sacrifice, have expanded their knowledge of chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas. With forests disappearing, many of these studies will never be duplicated. This volume, and all in the Developments in Primatology book series, aim to broaden and deepen the understanding of this valuable cause.

It has been twelve years since a work relating to the long-tailed African monkeys known as the guenons has been published and fifteen years have passed since the last major scientific symposium was held that was solely dedicated to current research on members of this monkey group living in the wild. Since that time, new guenon species and subspecies have been discovered, previously unstudied guenon species have become the subject of long-term research projects, and knowledge of the more well-known guenon species has greatly increased. This volume presents novel information and keen insight on research previously studied and newly discovered. A wide range of topics related to guenon biology is presented, including evolution, taxonomy, biogeography, reproductive physiology, social and positional behavior, ecology, and conservation. Composed of 26 chapters compiled by 47 authors, many of whom are young investigators in their field, The Guenons: Diversity and Adaptation in African Monkeys provides a valuable resource for researchers and scientists in the fields of anthropology, primatology, zoology, and conservation biology.

This book explores afresh the long-standing interest, and emphasis on, the `special' capacities of primates. Some of the recent discoveries of the higher cognitive abilities of other mammals and also birds challenge the concept that primates are special and even the view that the cognitive ability of apes is more advanced than that of nonprimate mammals and birds. It is therefore timely to ask whether primates are, in fact, special and to do so from a broad range of perspectives. Divided into five sections this book deals with topics about higher cognition and how it is manifested in different species, and also considers aspects of brain structure that might be associated with complex behavior.

Several books chronicle attempts, most of them during the last 40 years, to teach animals to communicate with people in a human-designed language. These books have typically treated only one or two species, or even one or a few research projects. We have provided a more encompassing view of this field. We also want to reinforce what other authors, for example Jane Goodall, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Penny Patterson, Birute Galdikas, and Roger and Deborah Fouts, so passionately convey about our responsibility for our closest animal kin. This book surveys what was known, or believed about animal language throughout history and prehistory, and summarizes current knowledge and the controversy around it. The authors identify and attempt to settle most of the problems in interpreting the animal behaviours that have been observed in studies of animal language ability.

Morphometrics has undergone a revolutionary transformation in the past two decades as new methods have been developed to address shortcomings in the traditional multivirate analysis of linear distances, angles, and indices. While there is much active research in the field, the new approaches to shape analysis are already making significant and ever-increasing contributions to biological research, including physical anthropology. Modern Morphometrics in Physical Anthropology highlights the basic machinery of the most important methods, while introducing novel extensions to these methods and illustrating how they provide enhanced results compared to more traditional approaches. Modern Morphometrics in Physical Anthropology provides a comprehensive sampling of the applications of modern, sophisticated methods of shape analysis in anthropology, and serves as a starting point for the exploration of these practices by students and researchers who might otherwise lack the local expertise or training to get started. This text is an important resource for the general morphometric community that includes ecologists, evolutionary biologists, systematists, and medical researchers.

Numerous figures, illustrations, and tables; integration of new literature and concepts into field of primatology; emphasis upon both behavioral and cognitive mechanisms.

Nursery Rearing of Nonhuman Primates in the 21st Century describes how and why nursery rearing of primates can produce adaptable juveniles and adults for research, conservation, and display-educational purposes. The volume details the history of nursery rearing since the mid-19th century, the outcomes of varied nursery rearing methods, the contemporary goals of nursery rearing as well as reference data derived from species commonly reared in nursery or hand-feeding situations.Examples of the changing goals of nursery rearing covered in this volume are the need for biological containment in disease research, the production of specific pathogen-free colonies by removal of neonates from the mother, the production of phenotypes for genetic and molecular biology studies, and the breeding of endangered species for conservation or research purposes.

The purpose of this volume is to present a comprehensive overview of recent advances in primate field research, ecology, and conservation biology in Mesoamerica. The overall goal of each contribution is to integrate newly collected field data with theoretical perspectives drawn from evolutionary biology, socioecology, biological anthropology, and conservation to identify how our current knowledge of primate behavior and ecology has moved beyond more traditional approaches. A corollary to this, and an important goal of the volume is to identify geographical regions and species for which we continue to lack sufficient information, to develop action plans for future research, and to identify areas for immediate conservation action. Despite many decades of primate research in Mesoamerica, much is still unknown concerning the basic ecology and behavior of these species, demography, current distribution, and conservation status of local populations, and the effectiveness of conservation policies on primate survivorship. Four major areas of research are the focus of the volume: Evolutionary Biology and Biogeography; Population Demography and Ecology; Behavior; and Conservation and Management Policies.

Advances in fossil studies relating to the origin of Homo sapiens have strengthened the hypothesis that our direct ancestors originated on the African continent. Most researchers also agree that the time when prehumans diverged from the last common ancestor was in the early part of the Late Miocene epoch. Focus must now shift from determining the times and places of hominid origins to clarifying hominid evolutionary problems, such as the selective factors and acquisition processes of hominid bipedalism. In March of 2003, researchers from Africa, Europe, Japan and the United States convened in Kyoto for a symposium on Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds, an interdisciplinary effort to consider these evolutionary puzzles, to report current research and to exchange thoughts towards better understanding the relationship among environmental changes, adaptive mechanisms and human origins. This book is the result of that symposium, and includes a diverse and unique set of papers on topics such as hominid evolution, dispersal and morphology, and the origins of bipedalism.

Biogeography is a vital component in many aspects of Primatology, including studies of evolution, speciation systematics, population genetics, and community ecology. Despite its integral position in studies of primate evolution and ecology and the broad representation of research on this subject in journals, field guides, and edited volumes on different regions of the world, Primate Biogeography is a subject that is rarely addressed as a discipline in its own right. This comprehensive source introduces the reader to Primate Biogeography as a discipline, highlights the many factors that may influence the distribution of primates, and reveals the wide range of approaches that are available to understanding the distribution of this order.

This book provides a novel focus on adaptive explanations for cranial and postcranial features and functional complexes, socioecological systems, life history patterns, etc. in early primates. It further offers a detailed rendering of the phylogenetic affinities of such basal taxa to later primate clades as well as to other early/recent mammalian orders. Thus, in addition to the strictly paleontological or systemic questions regarding Primate Origins, the editors plan to concentrate on the adaptive significance of primate characteristics. In this way the book provides the broadest possible perspective on early primate phylogeny and the adaptive uniqueness of the Order Primates. The volume is timely because it capitalizes on an increasing and important degree of novel independent museum, field and laboratory based research on many of the important outstanding issues regarding primate origins.

The editors will address the questions of life history and reproduction by attempting to isolate the various components of reproductive success and fitness in baboons. This requires assembling research interests in morphology, behavior, ecology, and endocrinology of the five subspecies of Papio baboons. By synthesizing studies of reproduction, life history, growth, parenting, ecology, mate choice, and mating success, this volume will shed light on general features of life history traits and reproductive strategies that have made baboons successful. These findings have broad applications to understanding the evolution of complex life history adaptations, such as those characteristic of other primates, and humans in particular. Many of the top researchers on the field are contributing to this volume.

From galagos to gorillas, the primates of western Uganda comprise a very di­ verse collection of species. Western Uganda has a long history of primatological research extending back to the publications of the Uganda Virus Institute in 1947 and even to the notable first encounters of Count Beringe with moun­ tain gorillas in 1913. Many forested areas of Uganda (Figure i) have been the focus of research continuously since 1970, and thus western Uganda has a cen­ tral place in primatology that it maintains to the present day. In this book, we present a series of new, unpublished scientific accounts of a selection of the species in the region, each chapter focusing on one or more particular charac­ teristics of the species concerned. The book falls naturally into four sections. First, we introduce the primates of western Uganda, with a chapter on their tax­ onomy. We have left authors to follow the taxonomic terminology with which they are most comfortable, but present this first chapter to reflect recent devel­ opments in the understanding of taxonomic relationships among the Ugandan primates. Second, we present a section with an ecological focus, followed by a collection of chapters on behavior and physiology. Finally the focus shifts to conservation. Chimpanzees and gorillas have always attracted a lot of interest both among the general public and among researchers; consequently, this interest is reflected in the present volume.

This book is a truly international collaboration, with editors based on four con- nents and first authors from Canada, France, Japan, Madagascar, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Clearly, there is something attractive about studying Lemur catta, the ringtailed lemur. Perhaps it is the lemurs themselves! Why study ringtailed lemurs? Because lemurs are a separate radiation of p- mates from the monkeys, apes, and humans. Because ringtails live in the largest social groups of any known lemur and therefore offer the closest comparison with other social primates, including ourselves. And also because ringtails have become the flagship species of Madagascar. Some 70 species or subspecies of lemurs inhabit Madagascar. Each kind has its own fascinating story, but ringtails are the ones that everyone thinks they know. That black-and-white tail adorns tourist brochures and school notebooks and banknotes. All the same, after 40 years of field study, we don’t know nearly enough. In this book, we make a first estimate on how many might be alive today, but we do not know how many ri- tailed lemurs and how many southern forests will survive. This book explores part of what we do know. Its four sections are (I) Distribution: Ringtailed Lemurs in Madagascar, (II) Ringtails and Their Forests: Feeding and Ranging Behavior, (III) Social Behavior Within and Between Troops, and finally (IV) Health and Disease. Of course, all these issues are int- related.

Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation brings together information from recent research, and provides new insight into the study of lemur origins, and the ecology and adaptation of both extant and recently extinct lemurs. In addition, it addresses issues of primate behavioral ecology and how environment can play a major role in explaining species variation. Moreover, in a larger context, the information contained in this volume expands our knowledge of primate ecology and allows us further insight into mammalian adaptations to unusual and often harsh environmental conditions that arise from both natural and anthropogenic factors.The book is divided into two sections. The first section is a background to lemurs and their ecology and it includes chapters on origins of lemurs, history of ecological studies on lemurs in Madagascar, theories relating to the evolution of lemur traits, and ecology of the recently extinct (sub-fossil) lemurs. Section two is comprised of chapters focusing on the ecology and adaptations of many species of extant lemurs to the diverse habitats found on Madagascar, and in some cases, adaptations to extreme climatic variability and natural disasters.

Since the 1960s, primatologists have recognized the impact of predation on the evolution of morphology, the social systems and cognitive behavior of monkeys and apes, but few studies considered its impact on the prosimians - lemurs, lorises, galagos and tarsiers. This comprehensive volume, written by experts in the field, narrows this gap by highlighting the effect of predation on the order Primates in general. Theoretical approaches to understanding how primates perceive predation threat, as well as proximate and ultimate causes to address threat and attack, are considered across the primate order. Although this volume concentrates on the least known group in this theoretical area - the prosimians - contributions by researchers on numerous primate taxa across four major geographical regions make this a novel and exciting contribution to students interested in primate evolution and ecology.

Like other fields of science, wildlife conservation is a changing field. Threats facing wild populations of apes and other species, say 20 years ago, are likely not the same ones most pressing today, and even where threats have remained unchanged, more effective means of addressing them may be available now. Conservation scientists have learned from many years of experience, and both theoretical and technological advances today provide conservation tools not available in the past. This volume identifies the primary problems faced in conserving wild populations of gorillas throughout Africa, pinpointing new approaches to solving these problems and outlining the increased role that zoos can play in gorilla conservation. It includes expertise of field scientists in a variety of disciplines to discuss current conservation threats, novel approaches to conservation, and potential solutions.

Elwyn Simons has held professional appointments at Yale University (1960-1977), Duke University (1977-present), and was the Director of the Duke Primate Center (1977-1991) and Scientific Director (1991-2001). He has authored nearly 300 scientific publications and is the holder of many high honors. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, as well as many other professional associations. He was elected a "Knight of the National Order" by the government of Madagascar and has been the recipient of many awards including the prestigious Charles R. Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.For nearly a half century, Dr. Simons has dominated the study of primate evolution. The volume aims to summarize the current state of knowledge in many aspects of primate and human evolution that have been studied by Simons and his colleagues and place it in a broader paleontological and historical perspective. The volume will contain the results of new research and reviews of many of the critical issues in primate and human evolution during the last half of the twentieth century and well as aspects of African paleontology and primate conservation in Madagascar. The authors are an extremely distinguished group of international authorities on all aspects of primate and human evolution and primate behavior.Although linked primarily by their connection to Simons’ own career, the chapters will include a wide range of important new works that will be valuable contributions to the field of physical anthropology and paleontology and are certain to be widely cited and used in teaching. Several of the papers (Simons et al., Wing et al., Seiffert et al., Gingerich, O’Conner) will be broad reviews of the history of research and discoveries in the fossil deposits of the Fayum, Egypt that have formed the background of our understanding of anthropoidevolution for over a century and will be important researchers for students and researchers in primate evolution and African paleontology. Similarly, broad reviews of the history of primate paleontology and human evolution (Rasmussen, Pilbeam, Wood; Sussman and Hart) will be essential reading in courses in primate and human evolution as well as the history of physical anthropology. Other authors will describe new research results on early anthropoid fossils from Egypt (Kay and Simons) Tanzania (Stevens) and Myanmar (Gunnell and Ciochon). The chapter by John Oakley, Professor of Law at the University of California addresses the challenges to the teaching of evolution in schools- both public and universities world wide. Another major focus of several chapters will be the primates of Madagascar. Two chapters will be reviews of the extraordinary radiation of fossil lemurs (Godfrey et al, Jungers et al.). Two will review the behavior and conservation of living lemurs (Taylor and Wright) and the chapter by Tattersall will bridge the two major sections of the book by discussing about the biogeographic history of Malagasy mammals.

Among all great ape species, the bonobo is still the least studied in both captivity and the wild. Nevertheless we have observed a considerable increase in knowledge across various fields of bonobo research in recent years. In part due to the ongoing peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo, research and conservation activities on the bonobo have resumed and multiplied since 2001. Part One of The Bonobos: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation focuses on scientific research. Behavioral studies in captivity propose to answer why bonobos have some unique characteristics such as high social status of females and flexible social relationships. The outcomes present important aspects to be investigated in running field studies. In the wild, analysis of population genetics across the bonobo's distribution range illuminates the species' evolutionary path and contributes to a global management plan. Site specific analysis reveals how genetics are used to re-identify individuals after an extended interruption of long-term research. Ecological studies at three independent sites, two in Salonga National Park, as well as one in the Luo Scientific Reserve, provide valuable information for the comprehension of ecological adaptation of bonobos. With the application of recent methods of mammalian feeding ecology as well as comparative approaches in other great ape species, these studies allow us to draw conclusions on ape ecological adaptation and evolution. Part Two of The Bonobos: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation focuses on conservation. In overview, local and global aspects of the factors threatening the wild bonobo population are reviewed. Here the outcomes of large-scale efforts within the functioning ecosystem conservation paradigm focus on three landscapes within the range of the bonobo: the Salonga-Lukenie-Sankuru Landscape, the Maringa-Lopori-Wamba Landscape, and the Lac Télé-Lac Tumba Swamp Forest Landscape, are presented. Papers in thispart include the different aspects of various stakeholders and discuss the unique threats and actions taken to ensure bonobo survival. Pioneering the way, details from the first comprehensive assessment of bonobos in the Salonga National Park reveal a baseline from which to monitor future trends. Concerned about the indigenous' peoples aspects of conservation, an ethnographic study documents cultural, social, and economic practices for the purpose of reviving the local traditional knowledge to exemplify possible applications at the national level. To be inclusive of all aspects of range country concerns, the contributions of Kinshasa's bonobo sanctuary to national conservation efforts are presented. The outcome of these contributions taken together not only illuminate the current status of the bonobo but allow for critically designing the next steps for the continuation of its future.

Nonhuman primates have played critical roles in biomedical research, and they are among the few animals whose use in research continues to increase. The scienti?c value of nonhuman primates derives from their close phylogenetic proximity to man and their consequent anatomic, physiologic, and genetic similarities to man. Only nonhuman primates can provide adequate models for many complex physiological and disease processes of humans. The baboon is a relative newcomer to the repertoire of nonhuman primates used in biomedical research. However, in less than 50 years since its ?rst use in the U. S. , it has become one of the most popular laboratory primate species. It is larger than the other widely used monkey species, making it advantageous for many types of experiments and technological developments. It is extraordinarily hardy and highly fecund in captivity. It closely resembles humans in a variety of physiological and disease processes, such as cholesterol metabolism, early stages of atherosclerosis, and alcoholic liver disease. Its chromosomes closely resemble those of humans, and many genes of the two species lie in the same chromosomal order. Among all primates, baboons are the most widely used models for the genetics of susceptibility to complex diseases and they are the ?rst nonhuman primate for which a framework genetic linkage map was established. In addition, the baboon genome is currently being sequenced, and as a result the utility of this species for biomedical research will be dramatically increased.

Primate Craniofacial Function and Biology is an integrative volume with broad coverage of current research on primate craniofacial biology and function. Topic headings include: the mammalian perspective on primate craniofacial form and function, allometric and comparative morphological studies of primate heads, in vivo research on primate mastication, modeling of the primate masticatory apparatus, primate dental form and function, and palaeoanthropologic studies of primate skulls.Additionally, the volume includes introductory chapters discussing how primatologists study adaptations in primates and a discussion of in vivo approaches for studying primate performance. At present, there are no texts with a similar focus on primate craniofacial biology and no sources that approach this topic from such a wide range of research perspectives. This breadth of research covered by leaders in their respective fields make this volume a unique and innovative contribution to biological anthropology.

This will be the first time a volume will be compiled focusing on South American monkeys as models to address and test critical issues in the study of nonhuman primates. In addition, the volume will serve an important compliment to the book on Mesoamerican primates recently published in the series under the DIPR book series. The book will be of interest to a broad range of scientists in various disciplines, ranging from primatology, to animal behavior, animal ecology, conservation biology, veterinary science, animal husbandry, anthropology, and natural resource management. Moreover, although the volume will highlight South American primates, chapters will not simply review particular taxa or topics. Rather the focus of each chapter is to examine the nature and range of primate responses to changes in their ecological and social environments, and to use data on South American monkeys to address critical theoretical questions in the study of primate behavior, ecology, and conservation. Thus, we anticipate that the volume will be widely read by a broad range of students and researchers interested in prosimians, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, apes, humans, as well as animal behavior and tropical biology.

It is a great honor to be asked to introduce this exciting new volume, having been heavily involved in the first comprehensive synthesis in the early 1980s. Gibbons are the most enthralling of primates. On the one hand, they are the most appealing animals, with their upright posture and body shape, facial markings, dramatic arm-swinging locomotion and suspensory postures, and devastating duets; on the other hand, the small apes are the most diverse, hence biologically valuable and informative, of our closest relatives. It is hard for me to believe that it is 40 years to the month since I first set foot on the Malay Peninsula to start my doctoral study of the siamang. I am very proud to have followed in the footsteps of the great pioneer of primate field study, Clarence Ray Carpenter (CR or Ray, who I was fortunate to meet twice, in Pennsylvania and in Zurich), first in Central America (in 1967) and then in Southeast Asia. It is 75 years since he studied howler monkeys on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone. It is 70 years since he studied the white-handed gibbon in Thailand.

Reviewers have characterized Paul Naour's A Dialogue Between Sociobiology and Radical Behaviorism, which includes brief introductions by E.O. Wilson and B.F. Skinner's elder daughter, Julie Vargus, as an idea book. The work will undoubtedly have a significant academic market and provide students and scholars in biology, ethology, psychology, anthropology, sociology and economics a strong foundation in twentieth century history and systems.Praise for A Dialogue Between Sociobiology and Radical Behaviorism:- E.O. Wilson says of the book: ". . . excellent, an outstanding addition to the history of ideas. It will put Fred Skinner back in the pantheon and, providing context, serve as an excellent introduction to the content and central truths in radical behaviorism. Needless to say, I'm also grateful to have my work following Sociobiology given proper attention."-David Sloan Wilson, author of Darwin’s Cathedral writes: "E.O. Wilson and B.F. Skinner agreed that the human capacity for change is both a product of genetic evolution and an evolutionary process in its own right. Yet, the paradigms of sociobiology and radical behaviorism went in very different directions. Paul Naour's insightful analysis of a taped conversation between Wilson and Skinner goes beyond the historical significance of the conversation and helps to integrate the two paradigms for the future."-Carl Haywood writes: "The present question is whether evolution by natural selection is a useful set of concepts for the development of psychology.  Naour’s proposed confluence of radical behaviorism and sociobiology suggests not only that it is, but also that radical behaviorism shares with sociobiology a debt and an allegiance to Darwinism."

The marmosets and callimicos are diminutive monkeys from the Amazon basin and Atlantic Coastal Forest of South America. The marmosets are the smallest anthropoid primates in the world, ranging in size from approximately 100 to 350 g (Hershkovitz 1977; Soini 1988; Ford and Davis 1992; Araujo et al. 2000); calli- cos are not much bigger, at around 350-540 g (Ford and Davis 1992; Encarnacion and Heymann 1998; Garber and Leigh 2001). Overwhelming genetic evidence, from both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, now indicates that these taxa represent a unified clade within the callitrichid radiation of New World monkeys, a finding that was unthinkable to all but a few geneticists a decade ago (see review in Cortes- Ortiz, this volume Chap. 2). With increasing evidence that the earliest anthropoids were themselves small bodied (under the 0. 8-1 kg threshold that marks all other living anthropoids; see Ross and Kay 2004), the ecology, behavior, reproductive stresses, and anatomical adaptations of the marmosets and callimicos provide the best living models with which to assess the types of adaptations that may have characterized early anthropoids.When Anthony Rylands' Marmosets and Tamarins: Systematics, Behaviour and Ecology was published in 1993, contributions focused almost entirely on tamarins due to the scarcity of data on marmoset behavior and the almost total lack of kno- edge about the enigmatic callimicos. Fortunately, this has changed (see Fig. 1).

Primate locomotion has typically been studied from two points of view. Laboratory-based researchers have focused on aspects like biomechanics and energetics, whereas field-based researchers have focused on (locomotor) behaviour and ecology. Unfortunately, to date, there is relatively little scientific exchange between both groups. With a book, which will be the result of a symposium on the 2008 Meeting of the International Primatological Society in Edinburgh, we would like to bring together laboratory and field-based primate locomotion studies. We are convinced this will be beneficial for both research lines. For example, biomechanists might wonder how frequently the locomotor style they study in the lab actually occurs in nature, and field workers might use calculated costs of locomotion to understand why certain locomotor behaviours are favoured under specific conditions. Thus, on the one hand, an established link between both groups may help interpret the results by using each other’s findings. On the other hand, recent technological advances (e.g. portable high-speed cameras) make it possible to bridge the gap between lab-based and field-based research by actually collecting biomechanical data in situ. Again, communication between both groups is necessary to identify the specific needs and start up achievable and successful research projects in the field. In order to generate a wide interest, we have invited biomechanists, ecologists, and field-based researchers who combine both disciplines, and we hope their combined contributions will facilitate lasting cooperation between the mentioned disciplines and stimulate innovative research in Primatology.We are convinced that the most appropriate format to publish the different symposium contributions is a conference volume within an existing book series. Firstly, the chapters will not only contain new data but will also review existing data and elaborate on potential future work – more so than can bedone in a journal article.Secondly, the combination of chapters will form an entity that is more valuable than the sum of the separate chapters and therefore they need to be presented together. Lastly, this volume will benefit from the typically long "shelf life" of a book in a renowned series, allowing it to be used as reference book for both researchers and students.

Indonesia possesses the second largest primate population in the world, with over 33 different primate species. Although Brazil possesses more primate species, Indonesia outranks it in terms of its diversity of primates, ranging from prosimians (slow lorises and tarsiers), to a multitude of Old World Monkey species (macaques, langurs, proboscis moneys) to lesser apes (siamangs, gibbons) and great apes (orangutans). The primates of Indonesia are distributed throughout the archipelago.Partly in response to the number of primates distributed throughout the Indonesian archipelago, Indonesia is classified as the home of two biodiversity hotspots (Wallacea and Sundaland). In order to be classified as a hotspot, an area must have a large proportion of endemic species coupled with a high degree of threat including having lost more than 70% of its original habitat. Two areas within Indonesia meet these criteria. The tremendous diversity of primates in Indonesia, in conjunction with the conservation issues facing the primates of this region, created a need for this volume.

From galagos to gorillas, the primates of western Uganda comprise a very di­ verse collection of species. Western Uganda has a long history of primatological research extending back to the publications of the Uganda Virus Institute in 1947 and even to the notable first encounters of Count Beringe with moun­ tain gorillas in 1913. Many forested areas of Uganda (Figure i) have been the focus of research continuously since 1970, and thus western Uganda has a cen­ tral place in primatology that it maintains to the present day. In this book, we present a series of new, unpublished scientific accounts of a selection of the species in the region, each chapter focusing on one or more particular charac­ teristics of the species concerned. The book falls naturally into four sections. First, we introduce the primates of western Uganda, with a chapter on their tax­ onomy. We have left authors to follow the taxonomic terminology with which they are most comfortable, but present this first chapter to reflect recent devel­ opments in the understanding of taxonomic relationships among the Ugandan primates. Second, we present a section with an ecological focus, followed by a collection of chapters on behavior and physiology. Finally the focus shifts to conservation. Chimpanzees and gorillas have always attracted a lot of interest both among the general public and among researchers; consequently, this interest is reflected in the present volume.

Elwyn Simons has held professional appointments at Yale University (1960-1977), Duke University (1977-present), and was the Director of the Duke Primate Center (1977-1991) and Scientific Director (1991-2001). He has authored nearly 300 scientific publications and is the holder of many high honors. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, as well as many other professional associations. He was elected a "Knight of the National Order" by the government of Madagascar and has been the recipient of many awards including the prestigious Charles R. Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists.For nearly a half century, Dr. Simons has dominated the study of primate evolution. The volume aims to summarize the current state of knowledge in many aspects of primate and human evolution that have been studied by Simons and his colleagues and place it in a broader paleontological and historical perspective. The volume will contain the results of new research and reviews of many of the critical issues in primate and human evolution during the last half of the twentieth century and well as aspects of African paleontology and primate conservation in Madagascar. The authors are an extremely distinguished group of international authorities on all aspects of primate and human evolution and primate behavior.Although linked primarily by their connection to Simons’ own career, the chapters will include a wide range of important new works that will be valuable contributions to the field of physical anthropology and paleontology and are certain to be widely cited and used in teaching. Several of the papers (Simons et al., Wing et al., Seiffert et al., Gingerich, O’Conner) will be broad reviews of the history of research and discoveries in the fossil deposits of the Fayum, Egypt that have formed the background of our understanding of anthropoidevolution for over a century and will be important researchers for students and researchers in primate evolution and African paleontology. Similarly, broad reviews of the history of primate paleontology and human evolution (Rasmussen, Pilbeam, Wood; Sussman and Hart) will be essential reading in courses in primate and human evolution as well as the history of physical anthropology. Other authors will describe new research results on early anthropoid fossils from Egypt (Kay and Simons) Tanzania (Stevens) and Myanmar (Gunnell and Ciochon). The chapter by John Oakley, Professor of Law at the University of California addresses the challenges to the teaching of evolution in schools- both public and universities world wide. Another major focus of several chapters will be the primates of Madagascar. Two chapters will be reviews of the extraordinary radiation of fossil lemurs (Godfrey et al, Jungers et al.). Two will review the behavior and conservation of living lemurs (Taylor and Wright) and the chapter by Tattersall will bridge the two major sections of the book by discussing about the biogeographic history of Malagasy mammals.