what are some adaptive traits a monkey might develop while living in a swampy environment?

Question

how might they evolve in this situation?

Answer 1

i see what your getting at. upright posture, loss of body hair, a rich diet of mollusks, slight webbing between the fingers and toes. i believe there is already a theory about chimps or bonobos taking up an aquatic lifestyle in the past that may have led to us. try to see the BBC series Congo. they show lowland gorillas and macaques living in the wetlands, it sends a tingle down your spine and you can see the possibility of where we came from.

Answer 2

What would give them a better chance at surviving to adulthood?

Webbed feet? - I don't think so - their diet would be predominantly vegetarian or shellfish (if near the sea). They would most likely live in trees.

Thick skin and/or fur - probably - to lower the chance of getting an insect-borne disease like Malaria, this would be a distinct advantage. Any monkeys that carry a mutation for thicker skin will have a greater chance of survival to produce offspring.

Oily skin - probably - this would stop skin from retaining moisture and reducing fungal infections. Some secretions ahve insect repellant properties, so this might help.

Lighter body proportions - more time in the trees means that being lighter would be an advantage.

Net making - an inate ability to make fishing equipment would increase the chances of survival - OK I'm joking here. But an increase in intelligence would help to develop tools like sharpened sticks etc for catching food without leaving the trees or touching the ground, And to develop crude shelter (some monkeys already use banana leaves as umbrellas in the tropics.

Good question.

Answer 3

They would learn to use scuba gear.

No, really, there have been other good answers so far. Basically, think about the problems a swamp would pose to a monkey not adapted to it: where to sleep, what to eat, how to get around if the ground is all wet. How to avoid swamp-based predators. Would all that moisture cause a problem?

For instance, if formerly the monkeys would mostly eat fruit that had fallen to the ground...what would they now eat? Monkeys that could exist happily on a diet of unripe fruit or leaves would stand a better chance of survival.

Answer 4

There are monkeys who live in swampy environments. None have developed web feet, but there are less obvious adaptations. The proboscis monkey walks up right in the water, which has required an adaptation in the structure of their pelvis, hips and knees. They also swim quite well.

Answer 5

The primary model of evolution employed in the "aquatic ape" theory is that apes developed an upright posture and, as a result of that, an ability to consciously control the diaphram and breathing. This would allow them to dive for food, and would later evolve into an ability for language. An interesting alternative than the usual model... but most scientists laugh at the idea, as do I.

Answer 6

I have seen swamp monkeys catching crabs with their tails!

Answer 7

Learning how to get his tuchus away from the alligators!

Answer 8

THEY MIGHT LEARN TO HANG FROM TREES, HANG BY THEIR TAILS, JUMP FROM TREE TO TREE, SWING ON VINES, AND NOT TOUCH THE GROUND ---- EXCEPT TO GATHER FOOD RATHER THAN BE GATHERED AS THE FOOD!

PON

Answer 9

webbed feet