Humans as inverted bats: A comparative approach to the obstetric conundrum

American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council
Nicole D S GrunstraPhilipp Mitteroecker

Abstract

The narrow human birth canal evolved in response to multiple opposing selective forces on the pelvis. These factors cannot be sufficiently disentangled in humans because of the limited range of relevant variation. Here, we outline a comparative strategy to study the evolution of human childbirth and to test existing hypotheses in primates and other mammals. We combined a literature review with comparative analyses of neonatal and female body and brain mass, using three existing datasets. We also present images of bony pelves of a diverse sample of taxa. Bats, certain non-human primates, seals, and most ungulates, including whales, have much larger relative neonatal masses than humans, and they all differ in their anatomical adaptations for childbirth. Bats, as a group, are particularly interesting in this context as they give birth to the relatively largest neonates, and their pelvis is highly dimorphic: Whereas males have a fused symphysis, a ligament bridges a large pubic gap in females. The resulting strong demands on the widened and vulnerable pelvic floor likely are relaxed by roosting head-down. Parturition has constituted a strong selective force in many non-human placentals. We illustrated how the demands on pelvic morp...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 6, 2020·Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution·Charles C RosemanJames M Cheverud
Aug 31, 2020·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Nicole Torres-TamayoMarkus Bastir
Jun 11, 2020·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Jeanelle UyCaroline VanSickle
Mar 27, 2021·Nature Ecology & Evolution·Barbara FischerPhilipp Mitteroecker
Apr 16, 2021·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Ekaterina StansfieldNicole D S Grunstra
May 21, 2021·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Martin HaeuslerNicole M Webb
Jul 1, 2021·Journal of Ethnopharmacology·Lindiwe SibekoLorraine S Cordeiro
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Oct 12, 2021·PloS One·Jeanelle Uy, Natalie M Laudicina
Oct 13, 2021·BMC Biology·Ekaterina StansfieldPhilipp Mitteroecker

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