Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MOSAIC (Evolution of the Ape Forelimb: Evidence from Internal Bone Structure)
Berichtszeitraum: 2016-06-01 bis 2018-05-31
The Miocene apes are the direct ancestors of the living apes and exhibit “mosaic morphology”, i.e. they display both primitive (or generalised) and derived (or living ape-like) features that together create combinations of morphologies not found in any living primate, and are characterized by a generalized locomotor repertoire (i.e. arboreal quadrupedalism). There is no consensus among the paleoanthropological community regarding the locomotor behaviour exhibited by the last common ancestor between humans and chimpanzees, and the Miocene apes, with their more generalised morphology, may provide a better ancestral model from which bipedal fossil humans (hominins) – our direct ancestors – evolved.
Thus, the objective of this project is to use the internal structure of multiple forelimb bones to reconstruct the locomotor behaviour of several associated skeletons of Miocene apes, namely: Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (12 Ma, Europe), Hispanopithecus laietanus (9 Ma, Europe), Rudapithecus hungaricus (10 Ma, Europe) and Nacholapithecus kerioi (15 Ma, Africa). The capacity of the trabecular (or cancellous) bone to remodel in response to the loading regime during locomotor behaviours may reflect what the animals were actually doing during their lifetime, rather than what they were capable of doing, thus providing a more direct insight into function and how a bone was used during life.