Body mass in comparative primatology

Abstract

Data are presented on adult body mass for 230 of 249 primate species, based on a review of the literature and previously unpublished data. The issues involved in collecting data on adult body mass are discussed, including the definition of adults, the effects of habitat and pregnancy, the strategy for pooling data on single species from multiple studies, and use of an appropriate number of significant figures. An analysis of variability in body mass indicates that the coefficient of variation for body mass increases with increasing species mean mass. Evaluation of several previous body mass reviews reveals a number of shortcomings with data that have been used often in comparative studies.