Golden Snub-nosed Monkey

Welcome to my blog! This is my first STEAM action project as a sophomore. The STEAM class this term is called Population. In this class, we discussed set theory, taxonomy, Venn diagrams, dichotomous keys, and how all of these let us organize facts about organisms, which helps us learn more about them. In this action project, I was asked to replicate an image of one of my favorite animals into a photo collage. The animal I used for my project is the golden snub-nosed monkey. Along with the photo collage, I included the taxonomy of the monkey. I also compared some of the animals that my classmates were assigned with. Collectively, we created a Venn diagram, a dichotomous key, and some set theory. I wanted to tell a story about a monkey while including the different categories listed above. Below you will find the story of Sebastian, a Golden snub-nosed monkey. The story tells you what it is like living as a Golden snub-nosed monkey. This includes the behaviors, diets, sizing, and other facts about Sebastian’s species. While reading you will also find links to the blogs of Sebastian’s friends. Enjoy!

There once was a golden snub-nosed monkey named Sebastian. He was born in China and lives there with his sister, Samantha,  and the rest of his family. When he was born, after living and growing inside his mother for about 6 and a half months, he weighed about 15 lbs. 15 lbs is a little under the average weight for a newborn golden snub-nosed monkey but when he came to full growth, he weighed around 85 lbs. Sebastian is a herbivore, so he ate eat mostly seeds, leaves, and/or flowers. We know Sebastian is a golden snub-nosed monkey because of his taxonomy. The following will explain each taxonomic level and the relation they have to Sebastian:

The kingdom he belongs to is animalia. We know this because Sebstian is a multicellular organism.

The phylum he belongs to is chordata. We know this because Sebastian has a spinal cord.

The class he belongs to is mammalia. We know this because Sebastian has hair/fur.

The order he belongs to is primate. We know this because Sebastian has opposable thumbs.

The family he belongs to is cercopithecidae. We know this because Sebastian has cheek pouches, this lets him carry much food around in his mouth.

The genus he belongs to is rhinopithecus. We know this because Sebastion has a flattened nose with forward facing nostrils.

Through all of this information, we know that the species and scientific name of Sebastian is Rhinopithecus roxellana, also known as a golden snub-nosed monkey.

 

(Daniel Blue/Golden snub-nosed monkey 2013)

(KH/Monkey photo college 2020)

We have learned about the things that make Sebastian a golden snub-nosed monkey. We now will discuss some of his far away friends and what makes him unique from them. The animals we will look at are the highland cattle, giant panda, african lion, sea bunny, and the velociraptor . (Click on the animal you would like to learn more about.) One way we can learn more about Sebastian and his friends is with set theory. Set theory allows us to mathematically compare and contrast objects into categories, making it easier to understand the differences life has to offer.  

Set theory:

U = {golden snub-nosed monkey, highland cow, african lion, sea bunny, giant panda, velociraptor}

We must first identify our universe. This means the only objects we are talking about, all other objects are excluded. The universal set, or the only elements that we are going to look at, are the following: golden snub-nosed monkey, highland cattle, african lion, sea, bunny, giant panda, and velociraptor.

Endangered species = {golden snub-nosed monkey, african lion}

The endangered species included in the universal set are the golden snub-nosed monkey and the African lion.

Flight ability = {Ø}

None of the animals in our universe have the ability to fly, therefore the set of flight ability is a null set, also known as an empty set. 

golden snub-nosed monkey, giant panda ∈ Opposable thumbed creatures

The golden snub-nosed monkey and the Giant panda have opposable thumbs. This makes them both elements of opposable thumbed creatures. 

giant panda, golden snub-nosed monkey ∈ China habitat

Both the golden snub-nosed monkey and the Giant panda live in China. This makes them both elements of creatures who live in China.

To get into more specific information, below is Venn diagram. This shows both the similarities and differences between the golden snub-nosed monkey, the Highland cattle, and the Giant panda.

I enjoyed the process that I went through to create this action project. I thought including the photo college added an interesting artist perspective that was archived well. It probably would have been less entertaining had there been now artistic future in my opinion. I was happy to work with my peers for a big portion of this assignment. If I had more time to work on this project i would have wanted to add more detail and a better flow of information related to the Venn diagram and the set theory.

I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling me your thoughts!