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A Primate of Modern Aspect
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- October 16, 2009
- 07:31 AM
- 1,309 views
Genital Morphology and Social System
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
In primates, it has been noticed that if you live in a competitive mating system and you’re a male, you’ll have a very fancy penis. Maybe some spines, or a few ridges here and there. These embellishments are keratinous structures and act to promote rapid ejaculation, which is useful if you’ve got nine other males [...]... Read more »
Seney, M., Kelly, D., Goldman, B., Šumbera, R., & Forger, N. (2009) Social Structure Predicts Genital Morphology in African Mole-Rats. PLoS ONE, 4(10). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007477
- June 2, 2009
- 07:59 PM
- 1,249 views
Miocene Ape: Anoiapithecus brevirostris
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Salvador Moyà-Solà and his colleagues describe a new Miocene Hominoid in this week’s PNAS. They’ve dubbed it Anoiapithecus brevirostris, and it hails from what is now Spain. Like many other Miocene apes, it’s a mix of the primitive and the derived, the unique and the shared. It’s commonly said that apes were as diverse in [...]... Read more »
Moya-Sola, S., Alba, D., Almecija, S., Casanovas-Vilar, I., Kohler, M., De Esteban-Trivigno, S., Robles, J., Galindo, J., & Fortuny, J. (2009) A unique Middle Miocene European hominoid and the origins of the great ape and human clade. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0811730106
- June 21, 2009
- 11:56 AM
- 1,233 views
Knuckle-walking anteaters!
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
I’ve been working on a post about Grehan and Schwartz’s new orangutan paper, but I’ve been getting sidetracked by teaching and doing my own research along the way. To make matters worse, a friend was telling me about an anteater that he saw at the zoo and mentioned that it was a knuckle-walker! I wondered [...]... Read more »
Orr, C. (2005) Knuckle-walking anteater: A convergence test of adaptation for purported knuckle-walking features of african Hominidae. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 128(3), 639-658. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20192
- July 2, 2009
- 02:06 PM
- 1,209 views
Ganlea megacanina: Saki of the Eocene
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Meet the White-faced Saki, Pithecia pithecia. P. pithecia lives in South America, where it scampers about the low canopy eating the seeds of fruit with tough outer shells. To get through those tough outer shells, it has robust, stout canines that are able to pierce the skins and dig out the soft fruit and seeds [...]... Read more »
Beard, K., Marivaux, L., Chaimanee, Y., Jaeger, J., Marandat, B., Tafforeau, P., Soe, A., Tun, S., & Kyaw, A. (2009) A new primate from the Eocene Pondaung Formation of Myanmar and the monophyly of Burmese amphipithecids. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.0836
- July 20, 2009
- 05:30 PM
- 1,190 views
Bats in my house!
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Last night, I was sleeping soundly. I don’t have AC, so the windows were open and my ceiling fan was on. I woke up rather suddenly, and it took me a minute to realize that there was something else in my room… something really flappy and kind of loud. A bat!
I’m doing some work with [...]... Read more »
Ryan, M. (1998) Sexual Selection, Receiver Biases, and the Evolution of Sex Differences. Science, 281(5385), 1999-2003. DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5385.1999
Rodd, F., Hughes, K., Grether, G., & Baril, C. (2002) A possible non-sexual origin of mate preference: are male guppies mimicking fruit?. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 269(1490), 475-481. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2001.1891
- October 2, 2009
- 09:24 PM
- 1,155 views
The feet of Ardipithecus ramidus
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
We’ve already covered Ardi’s hands here, so let’s move on to what is possibly the most interesting aspect of her skeleton: The feet.
As humans, we have pretty special feet. They’re good at dissipating all of the force that comes with walking on only two feet. They’re also good at propelling us forward, since [...]... Read more »
Lovejoy, C., Latimer, B., Suwa, G., Asfaw, B., & White, T. (2009) Combining Prehension and Propulsion: The Foot of Ardipithecus ramidus. Science, 326(5949), 72-72. DOI: 10.1126/science.1175832
- August 27, 2009
- 09:47 PM
- 1,129 views
What microcephalics can tell us about human evolution
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Microcephaly is a disease in which the brain is smaller than normal. A small brain can result from several different developmental conditions. Babies can be born with normal-sized crania and brains which then fail to develop with the rest of the head, in which case it’s indicative of a neurodegenerative disorder that may be caused [...]... Read more »
WOODS, C., BOND, J., & ENARD, W. (2005) Autosomal Recessive Primary Microcephaly (MCPH): A Review of Clinical, Molecular, and Evolutionary Findings. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 76(5), 717-728. DOI: 10.1086/429930
Sherwood, C., Subiaul, F., & Zawidzki, T. (2008) A natural history of the human mind: tracing evolutionary changes in brain and cognition. Journal of Anatomy, 212(4), 426-454. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.00868.x
HOLLOWAY, R. (2004) Posterior lunate sulcus in Australopithecus africanus: was Dart right?*1. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 3(4), 287-293. DOI: 10.1016/j.crpv.2003.09.030
Falk, D. (1983) The Taung endocast: A reply to Holloway. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 60(4), 479-489. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330600410
Weber, J. (2005) Comment on "The Brain of LB1, Homo floresiensis". Science, 310(5746), 236-236. DOI: 10.1126/science.1114789
- July 23, 2009
- 02:24 PM
- 1,120 views
What to beetles, cuttlefish, and orangutans all have in common?
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Alternative mating strategies!
When we learn about sexual selection theory, we usually learn about it as a binary system: Females choose males, and males try to be chosen. Female peahens choose male peacocks with the most and prettiest eyespots because it’s an indicator of their health, and she wants healthy offspring. Female deer choose bucks [...]... Read more »
Mark D. Norman, Julian Finn, & Tom Tregenza. (1999) Female impersonation as an alternative reproductive strategy in giant cuttlefish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 1347-1349.
HARRISON, M., & CHIVERS, D. (2007) The orang-utan mating system and the unflanged male: A product of increased food stress during the late Miocene and Pliocene?. Journal of Human Evolution, 52(3), 275-293. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.09.005
Hunt, J., & Simmons, L. (2001) Status-dependent selection in the dimorphic beetle Onthophagus taurus. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 268(1484), 2409-2414. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2001.1758
- November 11, 2009
- 11:02 AM
- 1,106 views
The third trochanter and gluteus maximus of Ardipithecus
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
The femur can be an extremely informative bone when reconstructing the locomotor behaviors of fossil primates. The head and neck are particularly informative. The morphology of the head can tell you how flexible the hip joint is. If you can get a good CT scan, the distribution of cortical bone at the [...]... Read more »
Lovejoy, C., Suwa, G., Spurlock, L., Asfaw, B., & White, T. (2009) The Pelvis and Femur of Ardipithecus ramidus: The Emergence of Upright Walking. Science, 326(5949), 71-71. DOI: 10.1126/science.1175831
- October 2, 2009
- 07:36 PM
- 1,073 views
Climbing on the branches of the family tree: The hands of Ardipithecus ramidus
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
As everyone has already heard by now, the long-awaited Ardipithecus ramidus has finally been published, and boy is she a beauty! So many “anatomical surprises”! There are so many strange and new things about this skeleton that it took an entire issue of Science to describe them. Clearly then, it will take a few blog [...]... Read more »
Lovejoy, CO., Simpson, S., White, T., Asfaw, B., & Suwa, G. (2009) Careful Climbing in the Miocene: The Forelimbs of Ardipithecus ramidus and Humans Are Primitive. Science, 326(5949), 70-70. DOI: 10.1126/science.1175827
- January 11, 2010
- 12:25 PM
- 986 views
So… Did knuckle walking evolve twice?
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Almost certainly.
We had lots of clues that this was the case before Ardi, but now that we’ve got Ardi- the palmigrade extraordinaire, we know that humans did not go through a knuckle-walking phase, and that chimpanzee knuckle-walking has evolved since the split with our last common ancestor with them. Which would also means that it [...]... Read more »
Lovejoy, C., Simpson, S., White, T., Asfaw, B., & Suwa, G. (2009) Careful Climbing in the Miocene: The Forelimbs of Ardipithecus ramidus and Humans Are Primitive. Science, 326(5949), 70-70. DOI: 10.1126/science.1175827
- December 21, 2009
- 10:20 PM
- 962 views
Miocene “Monkey”: Pliopithecus canmatensis
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
What could possibly be a better Christmas present than a new fossil primate? Nothing, that’s what!
The most recent addition to our family bush is a Pliopithecine from Spain named Pliopithecus canmatensis. Pliopithecoids are gibbon-like in many ways, including their long limbs, large hands, and maybe the ability to brachiate. However, the pliopithecoids are much too [...]... Read more »
Alba, D., Moyà-Solà, S., Malgosa, A., Casanovas-Vilar, I., Robles, J., Almécija, S., Galindo, J., Rotgers, C., & Mengual, J. (2009) A new species of Gervais, 1849 (Primates: Pliopithecidae) from the Middle Miocene (MN8) of Abocador de Can Mata (els Hostalets de Pierola, Catalonia, Spain) . American Journal of Physical Anthropology. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21114
- August 14, 2009
- 07:05 PM
- 909 views
Did knuckle-walking evolve twice?
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Knuckle-walking is a pretty special mode of locomotion. Amongst primates, only the African apes do it habitually, and anteaters are the only other mammal who does it. It would seem, then, that the most parsimonious explanation for such a specialized form of locomotion would be that the African apes all share a common [...]... Read more »
Kivell, T., & Schmitt, D. (2009) Independent evolution of knuckle-walking in African apes shows that humans did not evolve from a knuckle-walking ancestor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0901280106
RENDALL, D., & DIFIORE, A. (2007) Homoplasy, homology, and the perceived special status of behavior in evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, 52(5), 504-521. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.11.014
Dainton, M., & Macho, G. (1999) Did knuckle walking evolve twice?. Journal of Human Evolution, 36(2), 171-194. DOI: 10.1006/jhev.1998.0265
- October 17, 2009
- 08:42 AM
- 891 views
Skepticism is good, but…
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Well-informed skepticism is the best!
Earlier this week, Eric Michael Johnson drew my attention to a post by psychologist Christopher Ryan at his blog Sex At Dawn. Ryan attacks Lovejoy’s monogamous humans model by citing many different lines of evidence.
I became so distracted by the reported testes:body mass ratio of 1/160 in humans that I couldn’t [...]... Read more »
Zingeser, M. (1969) Cercopithecoid canine tooth honing mechanisms. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 31(2), 205-213. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330310210
Lovejoy, C. (2009) Reexamining Human Origins in Light of Ardipithecus ramidus. Science, 326(5949), 74-74. DOI: 10.1126/science.1175834
Frisch, J. (1963) Sex-differences in the canines of the gibbon (Hylobates lar). Primates, 4(2), 1-10. DOI: 10.1007/BF01659148
Leutenegger, W., & Kelly, J. (1977) Relationship of sexual dimorphism in canine size and body size to social, behavioral, and ecological correlates in anthropoid primates. Primates, 18(1), 117-136. DOI: 10.1007/BF02382954
- February 21, 2010
- 10:07 AM
- 792 views
Eating Disorders, Oxytocin, and Vasopressin
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
February 21-27 is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. I have a history of some pretty disordered eating which landed me in the hospital a few years back, but it’s not something that I’m extremely comfortable talking about. In the spirit of “awareness,” I’ve decided that it’s something I should talk about more. In my personal [...]... Read more »
Frank, G. (2000) CSF oxytocin and vasopressin levels after recovery from bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, bulimic subtype. Biological Psychiatry, 48(4), 315-318. DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3223(00)00243-2
Kaye, W. (1996) Neuropeptide abnormalities in anorexia nervosa. Psychiatry Research, 62(1), 65-74. DOI: 10.1016/0165-1781(96)02985-X
- March 22, 2010
- 07:52 AM
- 792 views
Adaptation and Anthropoid origins
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Blythe Williams, Richard Kay, and Christopher Kirk have published a new article in the PNAS which does a very nice job in synthesizing some new fossils and new genetic data with current hypotheses for the origins of anthropoids, the group which includes old world monkeys (catarrhines), new world monkeys (platyrrhines) and apes (hominoids).
One of the [...]... Read more »
Williams, B., Kay, R., & Kirk, E. (2010) New perspectives on anthropoid origins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(11), 4797-4804. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0908320107
- January 28, 2010
- 11:14 AM
- 782 views
Is Homo floresiensis really that strange?
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
BMC Biology has recently published a paper (It’s Open Access!) which explores trends in brain size in the Primates. A trend toward a larger brain is usually considered one of the “hallmarks” of the Primates, but Stephen Montgomery and his colleagues have shown that in many lineages, there is a trend towards secondarily “shrunken” brains.
The [...]... Read more »
Montgomery, S., Capellini, I., Barton, R., & Mundy, N. (2010) Reconstructing the ups and downs of primate brain evolution: implications for adaptive hypotheses and Homo floresiensis. BMC Biology, 8(1), 9. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-8-9
- March 5, 2010
- 03:09 AM
- 748 views
What makes a Haplorrhine a Haplorrhine?
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
Williams, Richard Kay, Christopher Kirk and Callum Ross have published a new paper in the Journal of Human Evolution reassessing the phylogenetic placement of Darwinius masillae, the much-hyped Adapid fossil published last summer. Brian Switek at Laelaps and Eric Michael Johnson at The Primate Diaries have written some excellent posts summarizing the most recent [...]... Read more »
Williams, B., Kay, R., Christopher Kirk, E., & Ross, C. (2010) Darwinius masillae is a strepsirrhine—a reply to Franzen et al. (2009). Journal of Human Evolution. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.01.003
Franzen, J., Gingerich, P., Habersetzer, J., Hurum, J., von Koenigswald, W., & Smith, B. (2009) Complete Primate Skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: Morphology and Paleobiology. PLoS ONE, 4(5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0005723
- April 22, 2010
- 08:24 PM
- 723 views
How old was the Olduvai Hominid?
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
In 1960, Mary Leaky discovered a set foot bones composed of seven tarsals (in your ankle) and five metatarsals (in the area between your ankle and your toes). These bones are those of a biped, with the joints reflecting an in-line big toe. For these bones, the surrounding debate hasn’t been over whether or not [...]... Read more »
DeSilva, J., Zipfel, B., Van Arsdale, A., & Tocheri, M. (2010) The Olduvai Hominid 8 foot: Adult or subadult?. Journal of Human Evolution. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.03.004
- May 16, 2010
- 09:02 AM
- 671 views
Of Brains and Faces
by zinjanthropus in A Primate of Modern Aspect
A new paper in the Journal of Human Evolution discusses the effect of both brain size and facial size on the basicranium. I am excited to see it because it talks about an old hypothesis by one of my favorite Great Anatomists, Josef Biegert. The basicranium is basically the bottom of your skull. When you [...]... Read more »
Bastir, M., Rosas, A., Stringer, C., Manuel Cuétara, J., Kruszynski, R., Weber, G., Ross, C., & Ravosa, M. (2010) Effects of brain and facial size on basicranial form in human and primate evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, 58(5), 424-431. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.03.001
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