Form and Function
The Mucaca mulatta or more common name known as the Rhesus Monkey has adapted to many environments. They thrive in Asia as well as Afghanistan to India; Also they have adapted in regions from Thailand to southern China. They have become dubious in many regions of the world and that is because of the evolution of their form and functions.
These monkeys have developed a diet that has proven worthy of
wide ranges of habitats. Their omnivorous diet provides them with a
wide range of food which gives them a better chance at survival in
many areas. A loss in one food source would not mean that they would
starve or have to change location. In fact a low resource in
foraging or prey can lead to the survival mechanism of stealing. The
Rhesus monkey has been known to steal from local food shops and raid
farm crops. In addition to this source of sustenance is the tourists
or locals that feed the monkeys. The Rhesus monkey uses humans as a
tool for their own sustenance. (Lang 2005)
Another fascinating evolved trait of the Rhesus monkey that has
facilitated its successful environment associated omnipresence are
its abilities to move. The Macaca mulatta has
developed over many years to run, climb, and swim. In which it is
best at climbing and swimming over running. The long lanky arms
provide it with a excellent ability to climb trees and obstacles
with easy. Also, It has a small body to haul around making it even
easier to swing across vines and stay on high branches that
predators cannot reach. The swimming comes in handy for any
cross-island traveling if the monkey decides to attain a different
resource
there, or to escape a predator that is not able to swim. Amazingly, a two day old Rhesus monkey has the ability to swim and
this evolution could be due to the fact that if a baby monkey falls
off of the tree and there is a predator, then it may only be able to
get away if in water, since it may be too weak to climb. (Lang 2005)
Another trait that assists the Mucaca mulatta
for escaping predators is its compound eyes (Timmins 2008). They
increase its perceptive view and also assist in depth perception.
Also the organisms stereoscopic vision morphology assists in its
ability to be a predator and capture prey because of the increased
ability to perceive depth. The prey of Rhesus monkeys are smaller
organisms like birds and insects which it can easily overpower. The
con of having stereoscopic vision as opposed to monocular vision
which brings in a better field of view of the environment and
predators around them.
If the Rhesus Monkey’s ability to see large ranges fails, then it still has its large 3-inch long and sharp fangs (Seinfeld 2000). These fangs act as a last line of defense in a life or death situation. Such as if a larger predator catches them such as a human they can bite them in hopes to be released. Also the fangs can bite open hard nuts or dig into the flesh of small animals like birds.
Another adaption for the Rhesus Monkey’s survival is its large
brain (seinfeld 2000). The large brain provides it with the ability
to outsmart less intelligent predators which increases its ability
to survive. The increased survival from this is that the rhesus
monkey will have the opportunity to steal from other organisms, and
it can out maneuver its predators by understanding them. Such as,
the rhesus monkey knows that a leopard is not as good a climber as
it is, so it can climb up a tree to divert from the leopard. Also it
can figure out that the
leopard cannot go on the flimsy higher
branches
so it will
pick a thinner or taller tree.
The Macaca mulatta or “Rhesus Monkey” has developed these complex features through natural selection. The small mutations in each of its morphologies at a time which led to the animals exceptional ability to thrive in a wide range of environments. The brain size of the organism has given it the intelligence to acquire sustenance and survive from predators. The Rhesus monkey was naturally formed to fit many environment through the process of natural selection and the monkey continues to thrive in many areas.