Evolution of femur and tibia in higher primates: Adaptive morphological patterns and phylogenetic diversity

Autor: Václav Vančata
Rok vydání: 1991
Předmět:
Zdroj: Human Evolution. 6:1-47
ISSN: 1824-310X
0393-9375
DOI: 10.1007/bf02435605
Popis: Seventy six metrical traits measured on the femur and tibia of three higher primate groups —Ceboidea, Cercopithecoidea, Hominoidea have been processed by various univariate and multivariate statistical methods to survey the process of evolution of the morphology of the femur and tibia in higher primates. Intragroup and intergroup variability, similarity and differences as well as various aspects of scaling and sexual dimorphism have been analyzed to study adaptive trends and phylogenetic diversity in higher primates, in individual superfamilies and to explore the adaptive morphological pattern of early hominids and basic differences between hominids and pongids. Two basic morphotypes of the femur and tibia in higher primates have been determined. They are (1) advanced hominoid morphotype (hominids and pongids) and (2) ancestral higher primate morphotype (platyrrhine and cattarrhine monkeys, early hominoids, and hylobatids). Cebid lower limb bones are adapted to arboreal quadrupedalism with antipronograde features while femur and tibia of cercopithecid monkeys are basically adapted to the semi-arboreal locomotion. Early hominoids (Proconsul) and hylobatids are morphologically different from pongids; some features are close toAteles or other monkey species. Pongids and hominids are taken as one major morphological group with different scaling and some functional and morphological similarities. Numerous analogous features were described on the lower limb skeleton ofPan andPongo showing analogous ecological parameters in their evolution. Major morphological and biomechanical trends are analyzed. It is argued that early advanced hominoid morphology is ancestral both to the pongids and to early hominids. The progressive morphological trend in early hominids has been found fromA. afarensis with ancestral hominid morphology, toH. habilis with an elongated femur and structural features similar to advanced hominids. A detailed phylogenetic analysis of higher primate femur and tibia is also presented.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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