American Scientist

Old World Monkeys. Paul F. Whitehead and Clifford J. Jolly (eds.). xii + 528 pp. Cambridge University Press, 2000. $115.

It has been 30 years since the publication of John and Prue Napier's book of the same title, which focused on the Old World monkeys as worthy of study in their own right, not merely as the relatives of humans. This volume is a welcome continuation of that perspective. The Old World monkeys make up the most widespread, common and diverse family of extant nonhuman primates. They are in many respects the most intensively studied primates, as this diverse collection of chapters covering many different areas of research reflects.

This volume is clearly aimed at primatologists, physical anthropologists and advanced students interested in the biology of Old World monkeys, and it should serve this audience well. Although it is not comprehensive, which would require much more space, it does successfully survey many areas of active research, some of which did not exist or were in their infancy when the Napier volume was published. Subjects covered include systematics, evolutionary history and adaptation, the fossil record, functional and comparative morphology, cognition, ecology, socioendocrinology, and social and locomotor behavior. A few chapters comment on conservation status, but this area of research is only lightly represented and could use a more thorough review.

Many contributions are surveys that cover the latest information in a particular field and provide excellent springboards to the literature for researchers who may not be specialists in a particular area, or for students interested in pursuing a particular topic. Todd R. Disotell thoroughly summarizes most of the current molecular analyses, as well as some pertinent morphological studies, of the evolutionary relationships among the genera in the family. Jeffrey Rogers surveys studies of population genetics in baboons. Thomas Gundling and Andrew Hill provide a summary of the fossil record for the family in East Africa, reviewing a large, scattered and often confusing literature. Matthew J. Ravosa and Lorna P. Profant cover cranial morphology, especially its relationship to mechanical function and ontogenetic scaling.

Carey P. Yeager and Karen Kool survey Asian colobine social behavior as it relates to ecology, particularly the issue of whether food is a limiting factor for population density. Thomas T. Struhsaker analyzes the effects of raptor predation on group size and multispecies associations in African monkeys. Irwin S. Bernstein reviews studies of cognitive ability in Old World monkeys, with a great deal of skepticism for some claims. Patricia L. Whitten surveys research into the two-way relationship between behavior and hormone levels. Fred B. Bercovitch focuses on the effects of ecology (particularly food) and hormone levels (in response to social stress and other factors) on reproductive biology. Lynn A. Fairbanks looks at the investment of mothers in their older juvenile and adult offspring and its effect on reproductive success.

Other chapters present new data or analyses, which will be most appreciated by specialists. Colin P. Groves provides a morphologically based analysis of evolutionary relationships of one subfamily, the Cercopithecinae, as well as a smaller analysis focused on the African guenons. Unfortunately, he uses a taxonomy that elevates all divisions in rank relative to the taxonomy used throughout the rest of the book, and this can be a bit confusing. Wolfgang Maier presents a thorough study of the development and morphology of the nasal capsule in Old World monkeys relative to apes, other primates and mammals in general. Brenda R. Benefit reconstructs the niche of original Miocene Old World monkeys in contrast to that of contemporary fossil apes and discusses several aspects of later evolution and diversification in the family. Karen Hiiemae describes the feeding sequence involved in moving food through the mouth to the throat, focusing on the tongue and the hyoid apparatus. Marina Cords presents new information on agonistic behavior in blue monkeys. Daniel L. Gebo and Colin A. Chapman present data on positional and locomotor behavior in five species from Kibale forest in Uganda. John F. Oates and colleagues analyze male vocalizations of black-and-white colobus monkeys and report new data on roaring behavior in two species of colobus monkeys in the Ituri Forest. Jane E. Phillips-Conroy and colleagues provide a quantitative analysis of rates of molar wear in Ethiopian and Tanzanian baboons, and use these data both to estimate the age of individuals and to compare populations and sexes with regard to habitat and feeding differences.

This book is an excellent reference for researchers and advanced students in this field. Unfortunately, the $115 price tag, although it is in line with what is charged for similar books, may be prohibitive for many.—Stephen Frost, Anthropology, City University of New York, and Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City