Research Paper on:
Primate Body Configuration and Locomotion Evolution

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
occurred over the past several million years - from lemurs to tarsiers and monkeys to apes - provides a significantly better realization of how mans locomotive and physical composition have  reached their current status. II. THE GRADES Five of the most consequential attributes that separate primates (and man) from other members of  the animal kingdom, both now and millions of years ago, are the ability to move the four limbs in various directions; grasping power of hands and feet; slip-resistant cutaneous ridges  and the ventral side of hands and feet with tactile sensitive organs; retention of the clavicle to support the pectoral girdle; and flexible vertebral column that allows twisting and turning  (Salgado, no date). Deciphering the grades during with these changes took place is what separates each step of the evolutionary ladder. Lemuroids have been the subject of myriad debates  pertaining to the primate family. Considered a far cry from the higher primates, lemurs have maintained "a suite of physical characteristics" (Anonymous, no date) that quite clearly tie them  more readily to their ancient counterparts than anything of a more recent lineage. The lemurs lower primate status is indicative of these stark differences but in no way precludes  it from being an integral member of the primate family. The most prominent aspects lemurs have in relation to the overall evolution of locomotion and body configuration include smaller  brains compared to body size, stronger sense of smell and "less well-developed powers of manual manipulation" (Anonymous, no date). Tarsiers represent the next  step up the evolutionary ladder with their long tail, large ears, acute vision and rotating heads that can move a full one hundred eighty degrees. Slender arms and legs