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Primate Traits

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Primates share traits supporting an arboreal ancestry: forward-facing eyes for depth perception, grasping hands, and, in most lineages, nails rather than claws.

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A primate's forward-facing eyes give overlapping visual fields, supporting the depth perception useful for judging distances between branches.

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These traits reflect an arboreal history — not every living primate species spends most of its time in trees today.