Abstract
Adaptations that have occurred throughout the course of primate evolution and those that are ultimately thought to ‘make us human’ hold a fascination for many. Tool use, language, large brain size and enhanced visual acuity are among such traits that are studied extensively by anthropologists, but it is the latter that is the focus of The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent. The author's research interests in social dispersal led her to the discovery that Asian primates have a retrovirus closely related to that carried by the venomous Russell's viper [ 1 Anderson P.R. et al. Evolutionary relatedness of viper and primate endogenous viruses. Science. 1979; 204: 318-321 Crossref PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar ], indicating a shared antagonistic history. So began a ten-year investigation into the influence of snakes on primate evolution in general and primate visual adaptations in particular.
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