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Meyer MR, Jung JP, Spear JK, Araiza IF, Galway-Witham J, Williams SA. Knuckle-walking in Sahelanthropus? Locomotor inferences from the ulnae of fossil hominins and other hominoids. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103355. [PMID: 37003245 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Because the ulna supports and transmits forces during movement, its morphology can signal aspects of functional adaptation. To test whether, like extant apes, some hominins habitually recruit the forelimb in locomotion, we separate the ulna shaft and ulna proximal complex for independent shape analyses via elliptical Fourier methods to identify functional signals. We examine the relative influence of locomotion, taxonomy, and body mass on ulna contours in Homo sapiens (n = 22), five species of extant apes (n = 33), two Miocene apes (Hispanopithecus and Danuvius), and 17 fossil hominin specimens including Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo. Ulna proximal complex contours correlate with body mass but not locomotor patterns, while ulna shafts significantly correlate with locomotion. African apes' ulna shafts are more robust and curved than Asian apes and are unlike other terrestrial mammals (including other primates), curving ventrally rather than dorsally. Because this distinctive curvature is absent in orangutans and hylobatids, it is likely a function of powerful flexors engaged in wrist and hand stabilization during knuckle-walking, and not an adaptation to climbing or suspensory behavior. The OH 36 (purported Paranthropus boisei) and TM 266 (assigned to Sahelanthropus tchadensis) fossils differ from other hominins by falling within the knuckle-walking morphospace, and thus appear to show forelimb morphology consistent with terrestrial locomotion. Discriminant function analysis classifies both OH 36 and TM 266 with Pan and Gorilla with high posterior probability. Along with its associated femur, the TM 266 ulna shaft contours and its deep, keeled trochlear notch comprise a suite of traits signaling African ape-like quadrupedalism. While implications for the phylogenetic position and hominin status of S. tchadensis remain equivocal, this study supports the growing body of evidence indicating that S. tchadensis was not an obligate biped, but instead represents a late Miocene hominid with knuckle-walking adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc R Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737, USA.
| | - Jason P Jung
- Department of Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Isabella Fx Araiza
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Julia Galway-Witham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Melin AD, Veilleux CC, Janiak MC, Hiramatsu C, Sánchez-Solano KG, Lundeen IK, Webb SE, Williamson RE, Mah MA, Murillo-Chacon E, Schaffner CM, Hernández-Salazar L, Aureli F, Kawamura S. Anatomy and dietary specialization influence sensory behaviour among sympatric primates. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220847. [PMID: 35975434 PMCID: PMC9382214 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Senses form the interface between animals and environments, and provide a window into the ecology of past and present species. However, research on sensory behaviours by wild frugivores is sparse. Here, we examine fruit assessment by three sympatric primates (Alouatta palliata, Ateles geoffroyi and Cebus imitator) to test the hypothesis that dietary and sensory specialization shape foraging behaviours. Ateles and Cebus groups are comprised of dichromats and trichromats, while all Alouatta are trichomats. We use anatomical proxies to examine smell, taste and manual touch, and opsin genotyping to assess colour vision. We find that the frugivorous spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) sniff fruits most often, omnivorous capuchins (Cebus imitator), the species with the highest manual dexterity, use manual touch most often, and that main olfactory bulb volume is a better predictor of sniffing behaviour than nasal turbinate surface area. We also identify an interaction between colour vision phenotype and use of other senses. Controlling for species, dichromats sniff and bite fruits more often than trichromats, and trichromats use manual touch to evaluate cryptic fruits more often than dichromats. Our findings reveal new relationships among dietary specialization, anatomical variation and foraging behaviour, and promote understanding of sensory system evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,German Primate Research Center, Gottingen, Germany
| | - Carrie C Veilleux
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Mareike C Janiak
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.,School of Science, Engineering & Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
| | - Chihiro Hiramatsu
- Department of Human Science, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 815-8540, Japan
| | | | - Ingrid K Lundeen
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Shasta E Webb
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Rachel E Williamson
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Megan A Mah
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Filippo Aureli
- Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Veracruz, México.,Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Shoji Kawamura
- Department of Integrative Biosciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
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Casado A, Cuesta-Torralvo E, Pastor JF, De Diego M, Gómez M, Ciurana N, Potau JM. 3D geometric morphometric analysis of the distal radius insertion sites of the palmar radiocarpal ligaments indicates a relationship between wrist anatomy and unique locomotor behavior in hylobatids. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 178:647-654. [PMID: 36790696 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The objective of this study is to explore the anatomical differences in the insertion sites of the palmar radiocarpal ligaments between hylobatids and other hominoids that may be related to their different locomotor behaviors. MATERIALS AND METHODS The morphology of the insertion sites of the palmar radiocarpal ligaments was analyzed with three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (3D GM) in the distal radial epiphysis of 44 hylobatids, 25 Pan, 31 Gorilla and 15 Pongo. RESULTS Relative to other hominoids, hylobatid insertion sites of the palmar radiocarpal ligaments were relatively larger and the insertion site of the short radiolunate ligament had a palmar orientation. DISCUSSION Larger palmar radiocarpal ligaments in hylobatids can help stabilize the wrist during the radial and ulnar displacement that occurs in ricochetal brachiation, the characteristic locomotor behavior of hylobatids, and compensate for the large traction loads on the wrist during extended-elbow vertical climbing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aroa Casado
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elisabeth Cuesta-Torralvo
- Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Marina De Diego
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mónica Gómez
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Neus Ciurana
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep Maria Potau
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, Spain
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Florkiewicz B, Campbell M. Chimpanzee facial gestures and the implications for the evolution of language. PeerJ 2021. [DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Great ape manual gestures are described as communicative, flexible, intentional, and goal-oriented. These gestures are thought to be an evolutionary pre-cursor to human language. Conversely, facial expressions are thought to be inflexible, automatic, and derived from emotion. However, great apes can make a wide range of movements with their faces, and they may possess the control needed to gesture with their faces as well as their hands. We examined whether chimpanzee facial expressions possess the four important gesture properties and how they compare to manual gestures. To do this, we quantified variables that have been previously described through largely qualitative means. Chimpanzee facial expressions met all four gesture criteria and performed remarkably similar to manual gestures. Facial gestures have implications for the evolution of language. If other mammals also show facial gestures, then the gestural origins of language may be much older than the human/great ape lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Florkiewicz
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Matthew Campbell
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, United States of America
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