Skull morphology and locomotor behavior: an adaptation to arboreal environment? - Archive ouverte HAL
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

Skull morphology and locomotor behavior: an adaptation to arboreal environment?

Laura Bento da Costa
  • Fonction : Auteur
  • PersonId : 1202142
  • IdRef : 257322647

Résumé

The structural variations of the Cercopithecoidea and Hominoidea (Primates) skulls have been in the center of numerous studies, notably on the areas linked to vision or diet. However, few associations between their morphologies and lifestyle (arboreal and/or terrestrial) have been made. Morphometric analyses realized in rodents (34 species, N=112) and some primates (8 species, N=21) supported the presence of a locomotor signal in the skull, showed by a thinner and shorter rostrum in arboreal rodents (Protoxerus stangeri, Ratufa affinis), also observed in the sampled arboreal primates (Nycticebus bengalensis, Galago senegalensis) (Bento Da Costa et al., submitted). Thus, a similar signal could be present in Cercopithecoidea and Hominoidea at a larger scale, yielding to this problematic: Could a shorter face be linked to an arboreal lifestyle? First results based on landmark acquisition (3D specimens) show a discrimination between the locomotor groups in function of the skull morphology, in particular in the elongation of the rostrum, separating groups having different degrees of arboreality and terrestriality (55 species, N=189). Indeed, the rostrum is shorter in most of the arboreal species, except for the Strepsirrhine primates such as Varecia variegate (black-and-white ruffed lemur) and Otolemur crassicaudatus (brown greater galago). This preliminary study needs to be pursued, considering the influence of other parameters such as the phylogeny by the use of Phylogenetical Flexible Discriminant Analysis, which will highlight the possibility of different evolutive scenarios between Strepsirrhines and Catarhines Primates.
Fichier non déposé

Dates et versions

hal-04241653 , version 1 (13-10-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04241653 , version 1

Citer

Laura Bento da Costa, Brigitte Senut, Dominique Gommery. Skull morphology and locomotor behavior: an adaptation to arboreal environment?. 3rd Virtual Conference for Women, Virtual Congress of the Association for early-career Women Archaeologists and Paleontologists (VCWAP), Mar 2023, Virtuel - Online, France. page.53. ⟨hal-04241653⟩
23 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Partager

More