Diet and Primate Evolution

Diet and Primate Evolution Variation in the choices of food on a daily, seasonal, and yearly basis is one of the greatest differences between primate species. Primate diets have generally been divided into three main food categories-fruit, leaves and fauna (including insects, spiders, and bird's eggs for the most part). The different diets also are referred to as Frugivores, Folivores, and Insectivores (fruits, leaves and insects respectively). These gross dietary categories are correlated with aspects …

…fruits, insects, and even meat. Although the majority of primate species tend to emphasize some food items or others, most eat a combination of fruit, leaves, and insects. Many obtain animal protein from birds and amphibians as well. Some (baboon and, especially, chimpanzees) occasionally kill and eat small mammal, including other primates. Others, such as African colobus monkeys and the leaf-eating monkey (langus) of Southeast Asia, have become more specialized and subsist primarily on leaves.