| bipedal | Walking on two legs.
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| brachiation | Locomotion by swinging arm-over-arm.
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| cladistics | A classification system based on order of evolutionary branching rather than on present similarities and differences. Compare with phenetic taxonomy.
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| dominance hierarchy | A social pattern among animal species where there are recognized individual differences in power, influence, and access to resources and mating. Found in many primate species.
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| estrus | The period of fertility. The signals indicating this condition.
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| grooming | Cleaning the fur of another animal, which promotes social cohesion. Common among primate groups.
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| intelligence | The relative ability of the brain to acquire, store, retrieve, and process information.
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| notochord | A stiff cartilaginous rod that supports the body and protects the dorsal nerve. The evolutionary precursor of the vertebral column.
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| opposability | The ability to touch (oppose) the thumb to the tips of the other fingers on the same hand.
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| phenetic taxonomy | A classification system based on existing phenotypic features and adaptive traits.
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| postnatal dependency | The period after birth during which offspring require the care of adults to survive.
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| prehensile | Having the ability to grasp.
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| quadrupedal | Walking on all four limbs.
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| shared derived characteristics | Phenotypic features shared by two or more taxonomic groups that are derived from a common ancestor and that are not found in other groups.
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| stereoscopic vision | Three-dimensional vision; depth perception.
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| symbolic | A communication system that uses arbitrary but agreed-upon sounds and signs for meaning
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| taxa | Categories within a taxonomic classification; singular, taxon. See taxonomy.
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| taxonomy | A classification based on similarities and differences. In biology, the science of categorizing organisms and of naming them so as to reflect their relationships. Compare with cladistics and see phenetic taxonomy.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education