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Russo GA, Prang TC, McGechie FR, Kuo S, Ward CV, Feibel C, Nengo IO. An ape partial postcranial skeleton (KNM-NP 64631) from the Middle Miocene of Napudet, northern Kenya. J Hum Evol 2024; 192:103519. [PMID: 38843697 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
An ape partial postcranial skeleton (KNM-NP 64631) was recovered during the 2015-2021 field seasons at Napudet, a Middle Miocene (∼13 Ma) locality in northern Kenya. Bony elements representing the shoulder, elbow, hip, and ankle joints, thoracic and lumbar vertebral column, and hands and feet, offer valuable new information about the body plan and positional behaviors of Middle Miocene apes. Body mass estimates from femoral head dimensions suggest that the KNM-NP 64631 individual was smaller-bodied (c. 13-17 kg) than some Miocene taxa from eastern Africa, including Ekembo nyanzae, and probably Equatorius africanus or Kenyapithecus wickeri, and was more comparable to smaller-bodied male Nacholapithecus kerioi individuals. Similar to many Miocene apes, the KNM-NP 64631 individual had hip and hallucal tarsometatarsal joints reflecting habitual hindlimb loading in a variety of postures, a distal tibia with a large medial malleolus, an inflated humeral capitulum, probably a long lumbar spine, and a long pollical proximal phalanx relative to femoral head dimensions. The KNM-NP 64631 individual departs from most Early Miocene apes in its possession of a more steeply beveled radial head and deeper humeral zona conoidea, reflecting enhanced supinating-pronating abilities at the humeroradial joint. The KNM-NP 64631 individual also differs from Early Miocene Ekembo heseloni in having a larger elbow joint (inferred from radial head size) relative to the mediolateral width of the lumbar vertebral bodies and a more asymmetrical talar trochlea, and in these ways recalls inferred joint proportions for, and talocrural morphology of, N. kerioi. Compared to most Early Miocene apes, the KNM-NP 64631 individual likely relied on more forelimb-dominated arboreal behaviors, perhaps including vertical climbing (e.g., extended elbow, hoisting). Moreover, the Napudet ape partial postcranial skeleton suggests that an arboreally adapted body plan characterized by relatively large (here, based on joint size) forelimbs, but lacking orthograde suspensory adaptations, may not have been 'unusual' among Middle Miocene apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle A Russo
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
| | - Thomas C Prang
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Faye R McGechie
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix 475 N 5th St, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Sharon Kuo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, MN 55802, USA; Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carol V Ward
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, M263 Medical Sciences Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA; Department of Anthropology, 107 Swallow Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Craig Feibel
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Busch Campus, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA; Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, Douglass Campus, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
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Spear JK, Grabowski M, Sekhavati Y, Costa CE, Goldstein DM, Petrullo LA, Peterson AL, Lee AB, Shattuck MR, Gómez-Olivencia A, Williams SA. Evolution of vertebral numbers in primates, with a focus on hominoids and the last common ancestor of hominins and panins. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103359. [PMID: 37099927 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103359] [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: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
The primate vertebral column has been extensively studied, with a particular focus on hominoid primates and the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. The number of vertebrae in hominoids-up to and including the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees-is subject to considerable debate. However, few formal ancestral state reconstructions exist, and none include a broad sample of primates or account for the correlated evolution of the vertebral column. Here, we conduct an ancestral state reconstruction using a model of evolution that accounts for both homeotic (changes of one type of vertebra to another) and meristic (addition or loss of a vertebra) changes. Our results suggest that ancestral primates were characterized by 29 precaudal vertebrae, with the most common formula being seven cervical, 13 thoracic, six lumbar, and three sacral vertebrae. Extant hominoids evolved tail loss and a reduced lumbar column via sacralization (homeotic transition at the last lumbar vertebra). Our results also indicate that the ancestral hylobatid had seven cervical, 13 thoracic, five lumbar, and four sacral vertebrae, and the ancestral hominid had seven cervical, 13 thoracic, four lumbar, and five sacral vertebrae. The last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees likely either retained this ancestral hominid formula or was characterized by an additional sacral vertebra, possibly acquired through a homeotic shift at the sacrococcygeal border. Our results support the 'short-back' model of hominin vertebral evolution, which postulates that hominins evolved from an ancestor with an African ape-like numerical composition of the vertebral column.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey K Spear
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Mark Grabowski
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Paleoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK; Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Yeganeh Sekhavati
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Christina E Costa
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
| | - Deanna M Goldstein
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Lauren A Petrullo
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Amy L Peterson
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA
| | - Amanda B Lee
- Data Scientist, Jellyfish, Suite 3033, 220 N Green St, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Asier Gómez-Olivencia
- Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena S/n, 48940 Bilbao, Spain; Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, Zorroagagaina 11, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain; Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación Sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avda. Monforte de Lemos 5 (Pabellón 14), 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA
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Ismail SMY, Murray CM, Stevenson MA, Yen HH, Davies HMS. Observations of different types of sacra in Greyhounds based on the occurrence of sacrocaudal fusion. Anat Histol Embryol 2021; 51:170-179. [PMID: 34918378 DOI: 10.1111/ahe.12775] [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: 04/10/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Little attention has been paid to the normal fusion of the vertebrae of greyhounds despite the common occurrence of sacrocaudal fusion. The current study aimed to investigate and provide data on the morphology of different types of fused sacra (B, C and D) in greyhounds and also to determine the potential association between the sex, body mass and morphology of fused sacra (S. Weight, S. Length and S. Width) in greyhounds. The sacra were collected from 171 greyhounds from Melbourne, Australia. After classifying the sacra based on the occurrence and types of the sacrocaudal fusion, they were measured for weight of the sacrum, length of sacrum and the width of sacrum. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to quantify the association between weight of the sacrum (as the outcome variable) type of sacrum (A, B, C and D), body mass and sex (as explanatory variables). The results proved that there are measurable differences between each type of fused sacra (B, C and D) and the standard sacra (A). In addition, this study showed that sex or body mass do not influence the occurrence of different types of fusion. The results of this study showed that the occurrence of sacrocaudal fusions was independent of body size in this population of greyhounds. Sacrocaudal fusion might affect the biomechanics in greyhounds independently of effects of body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sa'ad M Y Ismail
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Christina M Murray
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mark A Stevenson
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Hung-Hsun Yen
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Helen M S Davies
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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Fu W, Wang C, Ren Y, Wang Y, Qiao M, Wang X, Li B. Laterality of tail wrapping in golden snub-nosed monkeys ( Rhinopithecus roxellana). Laterality 2021; 26:201-212. [PMID: 33616011 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2021.1887208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural laterality in nonhuman primates has been commonly studied in paired limb organs, and studies in unpaired organs such as tails are less common. The very limited investigations on tail laterality have focused on New World primates. We firstly investigated the lateral bias of tail wrapping in an Old World primate. From a wild group of one hundred of golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana), 14 adult monkeys, 7 males and 7 females, were chosen as focus animals. The data of tail wrapping in two different postures that were resting on the ground and climbing the tree trunk were collected and analyzed. The results demonstrated (1) that, when resting on the ground, the focus animals, 3 showed right-side tail-wrapping preference and 11 were ambipreferent; (2) that there was a population-level right tail-wrapping preference in climbing, and 9 of them showed right-side preference, 1 left-side preference and 4 were ambipreferent; (3) and that there were no significant sex differences on the direction and strength of tail wrapping laterality. These findings provide significant evidence for a difference of cerebral asymmetries in tail-wrapping control and would be valuable for further understanding the important function of tails in Old World primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiwei Fu
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengliang Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Yi Ren
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingwen Qiao
- School of Foreign Studies, Weinan Normal University, Weinan, People's Republic
| | - Xiaowei Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Institute of Zoology, Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Baoguo Li
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China.,Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, People's Republic of China
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Urciuoli A, Zanolli C, Beaudet A, Pina M, Almécija S, Moyà-Solà S, Alba DM. A comparative analysis of the vestibular apparatus in Epipliopithecus vindobonensis: Phylogenetic implications. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102930. [PMID: 33422741 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Pliopithecoids are an extinct group of catarrhine primates from the Miocene of Eurasia. More than 50 years ago, they were linked to hylobatids due to some morphological similarities, but most subsequent studies have supported a stem catarrhine status, due to the retention of multiple plesiomorphic features (e.g., the ectotympanic morphology) relative to crown catarrhines. More recently, some morphological similarities to hominoids have been noted, raising the question of whether they could be stem members of this clade. To re-evaluate these competing hypotheses, we examine the morphology of the semicircular canals of the bony labyrinth of the middle Miocene pliopithecid Epipliopithecus vindobonensis. The semicircular canals are suitable to test between these hypotheses because (1) they have been shown to embed strong phylogenetic signal and reliably discriminate among major clades; (2) several potential hominoid synapomorphies have been identified previously in the semicircular canals; and (3) semicircular canal morphology has not been previously described for any pliopithecoid. We use a deformation-based (landmark-free) three-dimensional geometric morphometric approach to compare Epipliopithecus with a broad primate sample of extant and extinct anthropoids. We quantify similarities in semicircular canal morphology using multivariate analyses, reconstruct ancestral morphotypes by means of a phylomorphospace approach, and identify catarrhine and hominoid synapomorphies based on discrete characters. Epipliopithecus semicircular canal morphology most closely resembles that of platyrrhines and Aegyptopithecus due to the retention of multiple anthropoid symplesiomorphies. However, Epipliopithecus is most parsimoniously interpreted as a stem catarrhine more derived than Aegyptopithecus due to the possession of a crown catarrhine synapomorphy (i.e., the rounded anterior canal), combined with the lack of other catarrhine and any hominoid synapomorphies. Some similarities with hylobatids and atelids are interpreted as homoplasies likely related to positional behavior. The semicircular canal morphology of Epipliopithecus thus supports the common view that pliopithecoids are stem catarrhines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Urciuoli
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa; Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
| | - Marta Pina
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, 176 Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Sergio Almécija
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79(th) Street, New York, NY 10024, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, USA; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Moyà-Solà
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain; Unitat d'Antropologia (Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus de la UAB s/n, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David M Alba
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
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Runestad Connour J, Glander KE. Sexual dimorphism and growth in Alouatta palliata based on 20+ years of field data. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:545-566. [PMID: 32474912 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Revised: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Alouatta palliata patterns of growth and sexual dimorphism are evaluated using 20 plus years of field data. Comparisons are made to other species of Alouatta and other New World primates. MATERIALS AND METHODS Records of 92 A. palliata from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, were used to generate growth curves for body mass and linear measurements. Timing of growth for the properties was compared, and males and females were contrasted. Slopes and elevations for periods of rapid growth were evaluated. Growth allometry and proportion ratios were also explored. RESULTS Body mass growth is rapid during the first 2 years. Males and females begin to diverge around a year of age as male growth increases and female growth slows. Adult mass for both is reached about 4 years of age. Linear measurements show rapid growth the first 18 months for both sexes. Differences develop as males continue the same rate of linear growth while female growth slows. Adult size is reached for head and body length around 3 years, and for hind-foot and tail lengths around 2 years. DISCUSSION A. palliata males grow in mass more rapidly than females, while both grow similarly in linear dimensions, so that dimorphism is more pronounced in mass. This pattern is seen in other dimorphic New World primates. Male A. palliata may grow more rapidly than A. seniculus, reflecting earlier emigration for A. palliata males. Linear dimensions reach adult proportions earlier than body mass. For hind-foot and tail, this is probably an adaptation for gripping.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kenneth E Glander
- Evolutionary Anthropology Department, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
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Mincer ST, Russo GA. Substrate use drives the macroevolution of mammalian tail length diversity. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192885. [PMID: 32019445 PMCID: PMC7031669 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
External length is one of the most conspicuous aspects of mammalian tail morphological diversity. Factors that influence the evolution of tail length diversity have been proposed for particular taxa, including habitat, diet, locomotion and climate. However, no study to date has investigated such factors at a large phylogenetic scale to elucidate what drives tail length evolution in and across mammalian lineages. We use phylogenetic comparative methods to test a priori hypotheses regarding proposed factors influencing tail length, explore possible interactions between factors using evolutionary best-fit models, and map evolutionary patterns of tail length for specific mammalian lineages. Across mammals, substrate use is a significant factor influencing tail length, with arboreal species maintaining selection for longer tails. Non-arboreal species instead exhibit a wider range of tail lengths, secondarily influenced by differences in locomotion, diet and climate. Tail loss events are revealed to occur in the context of both long and short tails and influential factors are clade dependent. Some mammalian groups (e.g. Macaca; primates) exhibit elevated rates of tail length evolution, indicating that morphological evolution may be accelerated in groups characterized by diverse substrate use, locomotor modes and climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah T. Mincer
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - Gabrielle A. Russo
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
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Wakamori H, Hamada Y. Skeletal determinants of tail length are different between macaque species groups. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1289. [PMID: 30718761 PMCID: PMC6362266 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37963-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Macaques (genus Macaca) are known to have wide variation in tail length. Within each species group tail length varies, which could be associated with a phylogenetic trend seen in caudal vertebral morphology. We compared numbers and lengths of caudal vertebrae in species of the fascicularis group, M. assamensis (sinica group), M. nemestrina (silenus group), and those obtained from reports for an additional 11 species. Our results suggest different trends in number and lengths. The caudal vertebral length profiles revealed upward convex patterns for macaques with relative tail lengths of ≥15%, and flat to decreasing for those with relative tail lengths of ≤12%. They varied between species groups in terms of the lengths of proximal vertebrae, position and length of the longest vertebra, numbers and lengths of distal vertebrae, and total number of vertebrae. In silenus and sinica group, the vertebral length is the major skeletal determinant of tail length. On the other hand, the vertebral number is the skeletal determinant of tail length in the fascicularis group. Tail length variation among species groups are caused by different mechanisms which reflect the evolutionary history of macaques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hikaru Wakamori
- Primate Research Institute, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan.
| | - Yuzuru Hamada
- Primate Research Institute, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan
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Russo GA. Trabecular Bone Structural Variation in the Proximal Sacrum Among Primates. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2018; 302:1354-1371. [PMID: 30315635 DOI: 10.1002/ar.23978] [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: 05/31/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The sacrum occupies a functionally important anatomical position as part of the pelvic girdle and vertebral column. Sacral orientation and external morphology in modern humans are distinct from those in other primates and compatible with the demands of habitual bipedal locomotion. Among nonhuman primates, however, how sacral anatomy relates to positional behaviors is less clear. As an alternative to evaluation of the sacrum's external morphology, this study assesses if the sacrum's internal morphology (i.e., trabecular bone) differs among extant primates. The primary hypothesis tested is that trabecular bone parameters with established functional relevance will differ in the first sacral vertebra (S1) among extant primates that vary in positional behaviors. Results for analyses of individual variables demonstrate that bone volume fraction, degree of anisotropy, trabecular number, and size-corrected trabecular thickness differ among primates grouped by positional behaviors to some extent, but not always in ways consistent with functional expectations. When examined as a suite, these trabecular parameters distinguish obligate bipeds from other positional behavior groups; and, the latter three trabecular bone variables further distinguish knuckle-walking terrestrial quadrupeds from manual suspensor-brachiators, vertical clingers and leapers, and arboreal quadrupeds, as well as between arboreal and terrestrial quadrupeds. As in other regions of the skeleton in modern humans, trabecular bone in S1 exhibits distinctively low bone volume fraction. Results from this study of extant primate S1 trabecular bone structural variation provide a functional context for interpretations concerning the positional behaviors of extinct primates based on internal sacral morphology. Anat Rec, 302:1354-1371, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle A Russo
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York
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Functional and Systematic Implications of the Postcranial Anatomy of a Late Miocene Feline (Carnivora, Felidae) from Batallones-1 (Madrid, Spain). J MAMM EVOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-017-9414-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Nishimura AC, Russo GA. Does cortical bone thickness in the last sacral vertebra differ among tail types in primates? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 162:757-767. [PMID: 28075029 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2016] [Revised: 11/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The external morphology of the sacrum is demonstrably informative regarding tail type (i.e., tail presence/absence, length, and prehensility) in living and extinct primates. However, little research has focused on the relationship between tail type and internal sacral morphology, a potentially important source of functional information when fossil sacra are incomplete. Here, we determine if cortical bone cross-sectional thickness of the last sacral vertebral body differs among tail types in extant primates and can be used to reconstruct tail types in extinct primates. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cortical bone cross-sectional thickness in the last sacral vertebral body was measured from high-resolution CT scans belonging to 20 extant primate species (N = 72) assigned to tail type categories ("tailless," "nonprehensile short-tailed," "nonprehensile long-tailed," and "prehensile-tailed"). The extant dataset was then used to reconstruct the tail types for four extinct primate species. RESULTS Tailless primates had significantly thinner cortical bone than tail-bearing primates. Nonprehensile short-tailed primates had significantly thinner cortical bone than nonprehensile long-tailed primates. Cortical bone cross-sectional thickness did not distinguish between prehensile-tailed and nonprehensile long-tailed taxa. Results are strongly influenced by phylogeny. Corroborating previous studies, Epipliopithecus vindobonensis was reconstructed as tailless, Archaeolemur edwardsi as long-tailed, Megaladapis grandidieri as nonprehensile short-tailed, and Palaeopropithecus kelyus as nonprehensile short-tailed or tailless. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that, in the context of phylogenetic clade, measures of cortical bone cross-sectional thickness can be used to allocate extinct primate species to tail type categories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail C Nishimura
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794
| | - Gabrielle A Russo
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, 11794
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Sandel AA, Miller JA, Mitani JC, Nunn CL, Patterson SK, Garamszegi LZ. Assessing sources of error in comparative analyses of primate behavior: Intraspecific variation in group size and the social brain hypothesis. J Hum Evol 2016; 94:126-33. [PMID: 27178464 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Phylogenetic comparative methods have become standard for investigating evolutionary hypotheses, including in studies of human evolution. While these methods account for the non-independence of trait data due to phylogeny, they often fail to consider intraspecific variation, which may lead to biased or erroneous results. We assessed the degree to which intraspecific variation impacts the results of comparative analyses by investigating the "social brain" hypothesis, which has provided a framework for explaining complex cognition and large brains in humans. This hypothesis suggests that group life imposes a cognitive challenge, with species living in larger social groups having comparably larger neocortex ratios than those living in smaller groups. Primates, however, vary considerably in group size within species, a fact that has been ignored in previous analyses. When within-species variation in group size is high, the common practice of using a mean value to represent the species may be inappropriate. We conducted regression and resampling analyses to ascertain whether the relationship between neocortex ratio and group size across primate species persists after controlling for within-species variation in group size. We found that in a sample of 23 primates, 70% of the variation in group size was due to between-species variation. Controlling for within-species variation in group size did not affect the results of phylogenetic analyses, which continued to show a positive relationship between neocortex ratio and group size. Analyses restricted to non-monogamous primates revealed considerable intraspecific variation in group size, but the positive association between neocortex ratio and group size remained even after controlling for within-species variation in group size. Our findings suggest that the relationship between neocortex size and group size in primates is robust. In addition, our methods and associated computer code provide a way to assess and account for intraspecific variation in other comparative analyses of primate evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron A Sandel
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
| | - Jordan A Miller
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - John C Mitani
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Charles L Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology and the Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Samantha K Patterson
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, 41092, Seville, Spain
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Nowak MG, Reichard UH. Locomotion and Posture in Ancestral Hominoids Prior to the Split of Hylobatids. DEVELOPMENTS IN PRIMATOLOGY: PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-5614-2_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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