Gibbons to Gorillas: Allometric Issues in Hominoid Cranial Evolution

Leslie, Erin; Shea, Brian T.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-5614-2_9

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Perhaps as a result of this new phylogenetic clarity, hylobatids became less frequently invoked for addressing questions in hominin evolution. Although hylobatids are currently not used as extensively as great apes to serve as extant analogs for extinct hominins, increasingly, they are becoming better studied, and there is a growing recognition that this group may be under‐utilized or overlooked . Simultaneously, as additional hominin fossil specimens are discovered, and existing specimens are analyzed in new ways, the taxonomic diversity and evolutionary complexity of this radiation has grown dramatically .…”

Section: Hylobatid and Hominin Evolutionary Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, to understand the effects of allometry on small bodied hominin morphology, comparative analyses that include hylobatids could provide a lower range of body sizes not captured by the great apes alone. This helps mitigate the problem of comparing large apes to small hominins, and is relevant to both cranial and postcranial analyses . For example, hylobatids were included in a phylogenetically broad comparative sample in recent work on the femur of Orrorin tugensis .…”

Section: Hylobatid and Hominin Evolutionary Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The family Hylobatidae is composed of four genera and up to 20 species, or 14 by conservative estimates. [21][22][23] This taxonomic diversity greatly exceeds extant hominids, and is within the range of the number of proposed extinct hominin genera (4-7), and species (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). 24 Extant members of the family Hominidae include four genera (Homo, Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo), and up to eight different species.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Although hylobatids are currently not used as extensively as great apes to serve as extant analogs for extinct hominins, increasingly, they are becoming better studied, and there is a growing recognition that this group may be under-utilized or overlooked. [13][14][15] Simultaneously, as additional hominin fossil specimens are discovered, and existing specimens are analyzed in new ways, the taxonomic diversity and evolutionary complexity of this radiation has grown dramatically. [16][17][18][19][20] This article considers the following issue: how can new information on the extant hylobatids help address emerging questions in hominin evolution?…”

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confidence: 99%

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Look in the trees: Hylobatids as evolutionary models for extinct hominins

Zichello

2018

Evolutionary Anthropology

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Studying extant apes is of central importance to paleoanthropology. This approach is informative in inferring how hominin skeletal morphology reflects phylogeny, behavior, development, and ecological context. Traditionally, great apes have dominated the paleoanthropological literature as extant analogs for extinct hominins, to the exclusion of their phylogenetic sister group, the hylobatids. Phylogenetic proximity, large body size, and high encephalization quotients may have contributed to decisions to use great apes as models for hominins. However, if we reexamine hylobatids as extant models for extinct hominins-using modern phylogenetic, behavioral, and ecological data-this clade is uniquely poised to inform future frameworks in paleoanthropology. The following features make hylobatids strong analogs for extinct hominins: taxonomic diversity, the timing of diversification, hybridization between species, small body size, and reduced sexual dimorphism. Based on these shared features, hylobatids offer future opportunities to paleoanthropology, and provide a much richer extant analog than is currently recognized.

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Section: Hylobatid and Hominin Evolutionary Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hylobatid and Hominin Evolutionary Comparisonmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 98%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Look in the trees: Hylobatids as evolutionary models for extinct hominins

Zichello

2018

Evolutionary Anthropology

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“…Conversely, allometry can be one of the factors explaining these interspecific differences as its influence is not entirely removed in the computation of the ratios, even if cranial size is taken into account. It may explain the distinctions between taxa with great size differences such as Hylobatidae and great apes (Leslie and Shea, 2016), or Pan paniscus and the other great apes (Shea, 1983;Lieberman et al, 2007). Another reason, advanced by Ruth et al (2016) for the temporal fossa and molar ratios, is that other cranial morphological structures, not located in the basicranium, may influenced the computed values.…”

Section: Objective #1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between foramen magnum position and locomotion in extant and extinct hominoids

Neaux

Bienvenu

Guy

et al. 2017

Journal of Human Evolution

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From the Miocene Sahelanthropus tchadensis to Pleistocene Homo sapiens, hominins are characterized by a derived anterior position of the foramen magnum relative to basicranial structures. It has been previously suggested that the anterior position of the foramen magnum in hominins is related to bipedal locomotor behavior. Yet, the functional relationship between foramen magnum position and bipedal locomotion remains unclear. Recent studies, using ratios based on cranial linear measurements, have found a link between the anterior position of the foramen magnum and bipedalism in several mammalian clades: marsupials, rodents, and primates. In the present study, we compute these ratios in a sample including a more comprehensive dataset of extant hominoids and fossil hominins. First, we verify if the values of ratios can distinguish extant humans from apes. Then, we test whether extinct hominins can be distinguished from non-bipedal extant hominoids. Finally, we assess if the studied ratios are effective predictors of bipedal behavior by testing if they mainly relate to variation in foramen magnum position rather than changes in other cranial structures. Our results confirm that the ratios discriminate between extant bipeds and non-bipeds. However, the only ratio clearly discriminating between fossil hominins and other extant apes is that which only includes basicranial structures. We show that a large proportion of the interspecific variation in the other ratios relates to changes in facial, rather than basicranial, structures. In this context, we advocate the use of measurements based only on basicranial structures when assessing the relationship between foramen magnum position and bipedalism in future studies.

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Hominoid Cranial Evolution

Schroeder

Cramon‐Taubadel

2020

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Extant hominoid cranial variability, although marked, represents only a remnant of a temporally and geographically expansive evolutionary history. Attempts to reconstruct the evolutionary processes that have played a role in the morphological divergence of this superfamily have been complicated by a sparse hominoid fossil record, and ambiguity related to phylogenetic relationships. Moreover, morphological variation in the cranium is influenced by a complex combination of functional, developmental and architectural constraints, complicating our ability to tease apart specific evolutionary pressures. However, due to advances in the field of evolutionary quantitative genetics, recent studies of extant hominoid taxa have reconstructed the potential evolutionary processes that have generated cranial diversity. Collectively, these studies have shown that directional selection, although identified in the evolutionary path to hominins, was not the major driving force behind this divergence. Rather, it is a combination of genetic drift and stabilising selection that characterises the evolution of the hominoid cranium. Key Concepts Morphological diversity in the hominoid cranium is extensive. Cranial diversity is influenced by evolutionary, developmental, functional, structural forces and constraints. Extant hominoids are a small fraction of all hominoids that have ever lived. The hominoid fossil record is fragmentary and phylogenetic relationships are ambiguous. Quantitative genetic analyses indicate a combination of evolutionary processes have shaped the hominoid cranium.

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Gibbons to Gorillas: Allometric Issues in Hominoid Cranial Evolution

Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

Look in the trees: Hylobatids as evolutionary models for extinct hominins

Look in the trees: Hylobatids as evolutionary models for extinct hominins

Relationship between foramen magnum position and locomotion in extant and extinct hominoids

Hominoid Cranial Evolution

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