当前位置： SCI文献检索 > AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY期刊下所有文献 > Torso morphology and locomotion in Proconsul nyanzae.

Torso morphology and locomotion in Proconsul nyanzae.

Abstract：

:A new partial skeleton of Proconsul nyanzae from Mfangano Island, Kenya (KNM-MW 13142) includes five lumbar vertebrae, a partial sacrum, and nearly complete hipbone. Until recently, little was known of the axial and pelvic skeletons of Proconsul, or any early Miocene hominoid. Because torso morphology directly reflects locomotor behavior, these elements provide important new information about posture and locomotion of P. nyanzae. Two basic patterns of locomotor behavior and corresponding torso morphology exist among extant anthropoids. Monkeys have long, flexible spines with powerful epaxial muscles and mediolaterally narrow thoraces. This morphology represents a response to the mechanical requirements of habitual pronograde quadrupedalism. In contrast, hominoids, particularly great apes, have shorter, stiffer spines and broader torsos than do monkeys. The hominoid pattern reflects an emphasis on forelimb abduction-adduction, and on stability and control of the lower back during forelimb-dominated arboreal locomotion. KNM-MW 13142 had craniocaudally elongate vertebral bodies, and probably six lumbar vertebrae, reflecting a long, flexible vertebral column. The narrow, laterally facing iliac blades of KNM-MW 13142 imply the presence of a mediolaterally narrow, dorsoventrally deep thorax. Its wide iliac tuberosities, ventrally located lumbar transverse processes, and distinct accessory processes suggest that Proconsul nyanzae also had strap-like epaxial muscles similar to those characterizing most monkeys. Axial and pelvic morphology of KNM-MW 13142 indicate that P. nyanzae had not undergone an ape-like rearrangement of its torso to adapt to forelimb-dominated arboreality. Instead, P. nyanzae probably retained a more primitive pattern of pronograde quadrupedalism. This morphology indicates that the extant hominoid pattern of torso anatomy arose subsequent to the establishment of the hominid clade.

journal_name

Am J Phys Anthropol

journal_title

American journal of physical anthropology

authors

Ward CV

doi

10.1002/ajpa.1330920306

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

1993-11-01 00:00:00

pages

291-328

issue

eissn

0002-9483

issn

1096-8644

journal_volume

pub_type

历史文章,杂志文章

在线工具

Torso morphology and locomotion in Proconsul nyanzae.