The Evolution of Exudativory in Primates, 2010 Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects Series

I first became involved in research into primate behavior and ecology in 1968, over 40 years ago, driven by a quest for a better understanding of the natural context of primate evolution. At that time, it was virtually unknown that primates can exploit exudates as a major food source. I was certainly unaware of this myself. By good fortune, I was awarded a postdoctoral grant to work on lemurs with Jean-Jacques Petter in the general ecology division of the Muséum National d?Histoire Naturelle in Brunoy, France. This provided the launching-pad for my first field study of lesser mouse lemurs in Madagascar, during which I gained my initial inklings of exudate feeding. It was also in Brunoy that I met up with Pierre Charles- Dominique, who introduced me to pioneering observations of exudate feeding he had made during his field study of five lorisiform species in Gabon. This opened my eyes to a key feeding adaptation that has now been reported for at least 69 primate species in 12 families (Smith, Chap. 3) ? almost 20% of extant primate species. So exudativory is now firmly established as a dietary category for p- mates, alongside the long-recognized classes of faunivory (including insectivory), frugivory, and folivory. Soon after I encountered Charles-Dominique, he published the first synthetic account of his Gabon field study in a French language journal (Charles-Dominique 1971).

Introduction: Advances and Remaining Sticky Issues in the Understanding of Exudativory in Primates.- Nutritional and Digestive Challenges to Being a Gum-Feeding Primate.- Exudativory in Primates: Interspecific Patterns.- The Ecology of Exudate Production and Exudate Feeding in Saguinus and Callimico.- Influences on Gum Feeding in Primates.- Gummivory in Cheirogaleids: Primitive Retention or Adaptation to Hypervariable Environments?.- Seasonality in Gum and Honeydew Feeding in Gray Mouse Lemurs.- Comparative Ecology of Exudate Feeding by Lorises (Nycticebus, Loris) and Pottos (Perodicticus, Arctocebus).- Exudativory and Primate Skull Form.- A Comparative Analysis of the Articular Cartilage in the Temporomandibular Joint of Gouging and Nongouging New World Monkeys.- Searching for Dental Signals of Exudativory in Galagos.- A Guide to Galago Diversity: Getting a Grip on How Best to Chew Gum.- Tongue Morphology in Infant and Adult Bushbabies (Otolemur spp.).- Adaptive Profile Versus Adaptive Specialization: Fossils and Gummivory in Early Primate Evolution.

The fourteen chapters effectively review current information from a wide array of disciplines Provides pointers to future research Represents a watershed in our understanding of exudativory in primates Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras