Shape Ontogeny of the Distal Femur in the Hominidae with Implications for the Evolution of Bipedality

PloS One
Melissa Tallman

Abstract

Heterochrony has been invoked to explain differences in the morphology of modern humans as compared to other great apes. The distal femur is one area where heterochrony has been hypothesized to explain morphological differentiation among Plio-Pleistocene hominins. This hypothesis is evaluated here using geometric morphometric data to describe the ontogenetic shape trajectories of extant hominine distal femora and place Plio-Pleistocene hominins within that context. Results of multivariate statistical analyses showed that in both Homo and Gorilla, the shape of the distal femur changes significantly over the course of development, whereas that of Pan changes very little. Development of the distal femur of Homo is characterized by an elongation of the condyles, and a greater degree of enlargement of the medial condyle relative to the lateral condyle, whereas Gorilla are characterized by a greater degree of enlargement of the lateral condyle, relative to the medial. Early Homo and Australopithecus africanus fossils fell on the modern human ontogenetic shape trajectory and were most similar to either adult or adolescent modern humans while specimens of Australopithecus afarensis were more similar to Gorilla/Pan. These results indica...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 2, 2018·Scientific Reports·Naoki MorimotoChristoph P E Zollikofer
Jul 1, 2020·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Brittany Kenyon-FlattNoreen von Cramon-Taubadel
Dec 15, 2018·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Simone SukhdeoTimothy M Ryan
Jun 18, 2017·Journal of Human Evolution·Mélanie A FrelatTimothy M Ryan
May 15, 2018·Journal of Human Evolution·Deborah L CunninghamRobert C McCarthy

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
genetic modification
PCA

Software Mentioned

Procrustes
MorphoJ

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