John Fleagle has improved on his 1988 text by reconceptualizing chapters and by bringing new findings in functional and evolutionary approaches to bear on his synthesis of comparative primate data. The Second Edition provides a foundation upon which students can develop an understanding of our primate heritage. It features up-to-date information gained through academic training, laboratory experience and field research. This beautifully illustrated volume provides a comprehensive introductory text explaining the many aspects of primate biology and human evolution. Key Features * Provides up-to-date information about many aspects of primate biology and evolution * Contains a completely new chapter on primate communities * Presents totally revised chapters on primate origins, early anthropoids, and fossil platyrrhines * Includes an updated glossary, new illustrations, and a revised Classification of Order Primates * Succeeds as the best introductory text on primate evolution because it synthesizes and allows access to primary literature

Primate Adaptation and Evolution, Fourth Edition provides key features of extant families and references to more detailed texts. The book sets the scene and creates space for a thorough updating of exciting developments in primate paleontology and a reconstruction through early hominid species of our own human origins. This updated version covers recent developments in primate paleontology, the latest taxonomy, and includes new visuals, including helpful illustrations and evolutionary trees. It is an ideal text for undergraduate and post-graduate students studying the evolution and functional ecology of primates and early fossil hominids.The book retains its grounding in the extant primate groups as the best way to understand the fossil trail and evolution of these modern forms. However, this coverage is now more streamlined, referring to the many new and excellent books on living primate ecology and adaptation – a field that has burgeoned since this book’s first publication. Includes over 200 new illustrations and revised evolutionary trees Offers the latest information on primate physiology, isotopes and genetics Discusses life history and dispersal patterns among species Provides new genera and data on the behavior and ecology of New World monkeys Presents the newest fossil discoveries, including platyrrhine and primitive catarrhine origins