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Halenar-Price LB, Klukkert ZS, Almonte-Milán JN, Lehman P, Sims ZR, Cooke SB. Craniomandibular variation in the endemic Hispaniolan primate, Antillothrix bernensis. J Hum Evol 2024; 196:103589. [PMID: 39353263 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2024] [Accepted: 08/28/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024]
Abstract
Here we describe new fossil material of Antillothrix bernensis, a Pleistocene-Holocene primate taxon from Hispaniola. It is now represented by seven crania, five mandibles, and dozens of postcranial elements from several paleontologically rich cave systems. The five adult crania included here share a similar overall profile as well as specific features such as a deep depression at the glabella. The complete anterior dentition of Antillothrix can now be described for the first time; short canine crowns, in the apicobasal dimension, compare well with titi monkeys, but the new crania and mandibles lack the specialized tall-crowned incisors of the extant pitheciids. They do, however, have a diastema between the lateral maxillary incisors and canines, a feature not present in the previously known crania. The new mandibles deepen posteriorly and have a medial inflection of the mandibular ramus, as in some pitheciids, but also share with Xenothrix a significant vertical narrowing of the corpus under P4/M1 not observed among extant taxa. Two of the specimens, a cranium and a mandible that do not fit together, exhibit congenitally absent third molars-a rarity among extant, noncallitrichine taxa. There is an approximately 1-kg range in the estimated body mass among the full Antillothrix sample (from 2.4 to 3.4 kg), as well as a range of approximately 5 cm3 of endocranial volume (from 40 to 45 cm3). With these extended ranges from the new specimens, Antillothrix can no longer be described as a taxon with a brain size smaller than that expected for its body size. Neither of these ranges in the brain size or body size is large enough to indicate a substantial level of sexual dimorphism or to necessitate separating the sample into male and female individuals. Given this, and the similar canine sizes for all specimens where they are present, the sample is consistent with a morphologically variable but monomorphic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren B Halenar-Price
- Department of Biology, Farmingdale State College, 2350 Broadhollow Rd, Farmingdale, NY 11735, USA; NYCEP Morphometrics Group, USA.
| | - Zachary S Klukkert
- NYCEP Morphometrics Group, USA; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, 1111 W. 17 St, Tulsa, OK 74107, USA; Dominican Republic Speleological Society, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Juan N Almonte-Milán
- Museo Nacional de Historia Natural 'Prof. Eugenio de Jesús Marcano', Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte, Calle César Nicolás Penson, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Phillip Lehman
- Dominican Republic Speleological Society, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
| | - Zana R Sims
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 East Monument St, 3rd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Siobhán B Cooke
- NYCEP Morphometrics Group, USA; Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 East Monument St, 3rd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
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Beck RMD, de Vries D, Janiak MC, Goodhead IB, Boubli JP. Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches. J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103293. [PMID: 36493598 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
There have been multiple published phylogenetic analyses of platyrrhine primates (New World monkeys) using both morphological and molecular data, but relatively few that have integrated both types of data into a total evidence approach. Here, we present phylogenetic analyses of recent and fossil platyrrhines, based on a total evidence data set of 418 morphological characters and 10.2 kilobases of DNA sequence data from 17 nuclear genes taken from previous studies, using undated and tip-dating approaches in a Bayesian framework. We compare the results of these analyses with molecular scaffold analyses using maximum parsimony and Bayesian approaches, and we use a formal information theoretic approach to identify unstable taxa. After a posteriori pruning of unstable taxa, the undated and tip-dating topologies appear congruent with recent molecular analyses and support largely similar relationships, with strong support for Stirtonia as a stem alouattine, Neosaimiri as a stem saimirine, Cebupithecia as a stem pitheciine, and Lagonimico as a stem callitrichid. Both analyses find three Greater Antillean subfossil platyrrhines (Xenothrix, Antillothrix, and Paralouatta) to form a clade that is related to Callicebus, congruent with a single dispersal event by the ancestor of this clade to the Greater Antilles. They also suggest that the fossil Proteropithecia may not be closely related to pitheciines, and that all known platyrrhines older than the Middle Miocene are stem taxa. Notably, the undated analysis found the Early Miocene Panamacebus (currently recognized as the oldest known cebid) to be unstable, and the tip-dating analysis placed it outside crown Platyrrhini. Our tip-dating analysis supports a late Oligocene or earliest Miocene (20.8-27.0 Ma) age for crown Platyrrhini, congruent with recent molecular clock analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin M D Beck
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK.
| | - Dorien de Vries
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
| | - Mareike C Janiak
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
| | - Ian B Goodhead
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
| | - Jean P Boubli
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
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Brzobohatá H, Krajíček V, Velemínský P, Velemínská J. Three-dimensional geometry of human tibial anterior curvature in chronologically distinct population samples of Central Europeans (2900 BC - 21 st century AD). Sci Rep 2019; 9:4234. [PMID: 30862871 PMCID: PMC6414627 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40625-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Several lines of bioarchaeological research have confirmed the gradual decline in lower limb loading among past human populations, beginning with the transition to agriculture. The goal of this study was to assess whether human tibial curvature reflects this decline, with a special emphasis on the time-span during which the pace of technological change has been the most rapid. Our study is the first (1) to apply longitudinal curvature analysis in the antero-posterior (A–P) and medio-lateral (M–L) planes to the human tibia, and (2) that incorporates a broad temporal population sample including the periods of intensification of agriculture, urbanization and industrialization (from 2900 BC to the 21st century AD; N = 435) within Czech territories. Using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics, we investigated whether anterior tibial curvature mirrors assumed diminishing lower limb loading between prehistoric and industrialized societies and explored its shape in all three dimensions. Results showed the continuous trend of A–P straightening of the shaft. This straightening was associated with a relative sigmoidal curve accentuation in the M-L plane. Given the timescale involved and the known phenomenon of declining mobility, such adaptive changes in bone geometry can be interpreted in terms of the diminishing biomechanical demands on the tibia under different living conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Brzobohatá
- Department of Prehistorical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Václav Krajíček
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Velemínský
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Velemínská
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Brzobohatá H, Krajíček V, Velemínský P, Velemínská J. Three-dimensional geometry of human tibial anterior curvature in chronologically distinct population samples of Central Europeans (2900 BC - 21 st century AD). Sci Rep 2019. [PMID: 30862871 DOI: 10.1038/s41598−019−40625−3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Several lines of bioarchaeological research have confirmed the gradual decline in lower limb loading among past human populations, beginning with the transition to agriculture. The goal of this study was to assess whether human tibial curvature reflects this decline, with a special emphasis on the time-span during which the pace of technological change has been the most rapid. Our study is the first (1) to apply longitudinal curvature analysis in the antero-posterior (A-P) and medio-lateral (M-L) planes to the human tibia, and (2) that incorporates a broad temporal population sample including the periods of intensification of agriculture, urbanization and industrialization (from 2900 BC to the 21st century AD; N = 435) within Czech territories. Using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics, we investigated whether anterior tibial curvature mirrors assumed diminishing lower limb loading between prehistoric and industrialized societies and explored its shape in all three dimensions. Results showed the continuous trend of A-P straightening of the shaft. This straightening was associated with a relative sigmoidal curve accentuation in the M-L plane. Given the timescale involved and the known phenomenon of declining mobility, such adaptive changes in bone geometry can be interpreted in terms of the diminishing biomechanical demands on the tibia under different living conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Brzobohatá
- Department of Prehistorical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Václav Krajíček
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Velemínský
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Velemínská
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Halenar-Price L, Tallman M. Investigating the effect of endocranial volume on cranial shape in platyrrhines and the relevance of this relationship to interpretations of the fossil record. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:12-30. [PMID: 30802306 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2018] [Revised: 12/31/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Fossils have been linked to Alouatta based on shared cranial morphology and small brain size. However, the relationship between endocranial volume and cranial shape is unclear; it is possible that any platyrrhine with a small brain may exhibit "Alouatta-like" features due to being "de-encephalized." We test two hypotheses: (a) there are aspects of cranial shape related to encephalization common to all platyrrhines; (b) it is these cranial traits that unite the small-brained "Alouatta-like" fossils. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three-dimensional cranial shape and endocranial volume (ECV) were measured on 350+ extant platyrrhine crania, Cartelles, Paralouatta, and Antillothrix. Encephalization quotient (EQ) was calculated using regressions of ECV on cranial centroid size. Multivariate regressions were performed using the shape coordinates and EQ and shape changes associated with EQ were visualized. Cranial shape was predicted for a hypothetical primate with an EQ matching the fossils and this shape was compared to the Alouatta mean. RESULTS There is a significant proportion of cranial shape variation explained by EQ in some taxa. The aspects of shape that are correlated with EQ are shared by several taxa and some have parallel regression vectors, but there is no overall pattern of shape change common to all platyrrhines. However, all taxa look more similar to Alouatta when their EQ is decreased, particularly Pithecia. DISCUSSION Given that a decrease in encephalization can cause a more Alouatta-like cranial shape in many extant platyrrhines, it should not be automatically assumed that Alouatta-like cranial traits in a small-brained fossil are evidence of a phylogenetic link to the alouattin clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Halenar-Price
- Department of Biology, Farmingdale State College (SUNY), Farmingdale, New York.,NYCEP Morphometrics Group, New York, New York
| | - Melissa Tallman
- NYCEP Morphometrics Group, New York, New York.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan
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Outomuro D, Johansson F. A potential pitfall in studies of biological shape: Does size matter? J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:1447-1457. [PMID: 28699246 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The number of published studies using geometric morphometrics (GM) for analysing biological shape has increased steadily since the beginning of the 1990s, covering multiple research areas such as ecology, evolution, development, taxonomy and palaeontology. Unfortunately, we have observed that many published studies using GM do not evaluate the potential allometric effects of size on shape, which normally require consideration or assessment. This might lead to misinterpretations and flawed conclusions in certain cases, especially when size effects explain a large part of the shape variation. We assessed, for the first time and in a systematic manner, how often published studies that have applied GM consider the potential effects of allometry on shape. We reviewed the 300 most recent published papers that used GM for studying biological shape. We also estimated how much of the shape variation was explained by allometric effects in the reviewed papers. More than one-third (38%) of the reviewed studies did not consider the allometric component of shape variation. In studies where the allometric component was taken into account, it was significant in 88% of the cases, explaining up to 87.3% of total shape variation. We believe that one reason that may cause the observed results is a misunderstanding of the process that superimposes landmark configurations, i.e. the Generalized Procrustes Analysis, which removes isometric effects of size on shape, but not allometric effects. Allometry can be a crucial component of shape variation. We urge authors to address, and report, size effects in studies of biological shape. However, we do not propose to always remove size effects, but rather to evaluate the research question with and without the allometric component of shape variation. This approach can certainly provide a thorough understanding of how much size contributes to the observed shaped variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Outomuro
- Section for Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Frank Johansson
- Section for Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Cooke SB, Mychajliw AM, Southon J, MacPhee RDE. The extinction of Xenothrix mcgregori, Jamaica’s last monkey. J Mammal 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyw165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Halenar LB, Cooke SB, Rosenberger AL, Rímoli R. New cranium of the endemic Caribbean platyrrhine, Antillothrix bernensis, from La Altagracia Province, Dominican Republic. J Hum Evol 2017; 106:133-153. [PMID: 28434537 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2016] [Revised: 01/28/2017] [Accepted: 02/12/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent paleontological collection in submerged caves in the eastern Dominican Republic has yielded new specimens of Antillothrix bernensis. Here we describe a complete cranium of an adult individual (MHD 20) and provide phenetic comparisons to other endemic Caribbean taxa and extant mainland platyrrhines using three-dimensional geometric morphometric methods (3DGM). Qualitative and quantitative comparisons support conclusions based on other recently described fossil material: Antillothrix has a dentition lacking clear dietary specialization, an elongated brain case with strong temporal lines, and a vertically oriented nuchal plane. MHD 20 shares a combination of traits with a previously published subadult specimen (MHD 01) including a deep depression at glabella, dorsoventrally elongated orbits, and a relatively large face. This shared morphology reinforces the taxonomic affinity of the two specimens, with differences between the two likely reflecting the younger ontogenetic age of MHD 01. Comparisons to the extant platyrrhines paint a complicated picture as the results of between-group principal components analyses (bgPCA) indicate that Antillothrix does not share a suite of morphological features exclusively with any one genus. Depending on which bgPC axes are visualized, and which subset of landmarks is included (i.e., only those describing the shape of the face/palate for inclusion of Xenothrix), MHD 20 is most similar in shape to the atelids, Alouatta, Lagothrix, and Brachyteles, or an otherwise "empty" region of shape space. It groups neither with Cebus nor Callicebus, two taxa that Antillothrix has been associated with in previous studies based on much less complete material. The Antillothrix cranium does not exhibit any of the derived characters classically used to diagnose or define any single clade; rather its morphology shares features with multiple platyrrhine groups. This is consistent with the interpretation that Antillothrix preserves a primitive morphology, which accords with the hypothesis positing an early arrival of platyrrhines in the Caribbean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren B Halenar
- Department of Biology, Farmingdale State College (SUNY), 2350 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale, NY 11735, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology Morphometrics Group (NMG), USA.
| | - Siobhán B Cooke
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology Morphometrics Group (NMG), USA; Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1830 E Monument Street, Room 305A, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Alfred L Rosenberger
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), Department of Anthropology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History, 79th St at Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Renato Rímoli
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), Ciudad Universitária, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Museo del Hombre Dominicano, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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Stem members of Platyrrhini are distinct from catarrhines in at least one derived cranial feature. J Hum Evol 2016; 100:16-24. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Revised: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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