Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Jump into a Barrel of Monkeys (NSFW: Graphic images!)

Capuchin Pre-Mortem.
 Paleontologists typically deal more with bones than with the icky fleshy bits, but accurate reconstruction of their morphology and ecology is impossible if you know nothing about anatomy of the gross bits too. Amy took Primate Anatomy this fall and dissected a capuchin monkey (Genus: Cebus)  over the course of 15 weeks with her lab partner Katie. Amy is now very assured that her future is in fossilized bones and not dissecting monkey boners, but she also learned a lot and is now going to share all that with you, including many different gag-worthy photos (turns out monkey dissections are the creepiest dissections).  So fair warning: MOST OF THESE PHOTOS ARE SUPER DUPER GROSS BUT ALSO REALLY COOL.