Skeletal morphology of the lesula ( Cercopithecus lomamiensis ) and the evolution of guenon locomotor behavior

Bibliographic Data

ID8313664
AuthorsJ L Arenson (0000-0002-0956-7826, PhD Program in Anthropology Graduate Center of the City University of New York New York New York, corresponding author), Eric J Sargis (0000-0003-0424-3803, Department of Anthropology Yale University New Haven Connecticut), John A Hart (0000-0002-5800-0156, Division of Vertebrate Zoology Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History New Haven Connecticut), Terese B Hart (0000-0002-8580-8337, Division of Vertebrate Zoology Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History New Haven Connecticut), Kate M Detwiler (0000-0003-4597-133X, Department of Anthropology Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton Florida), Christopher C Gilbert (0000-0001-8768-3171, PhD Program in Anthropology Graduate Center of the City University of New York New York New York)
Year2020
Volume172
Issue1
Pages3-24
Publication date2020-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.24025
PMID32124976
OpenAlexW3009046927
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited94

OBJECTIVES: The guenons (tribe Cercopithecini) are a diverse and primarily arboreal radiation of Old World monkeys from Africa. However, preliminary behavioral observations of the lesula (Cercopithecus lomamiensis), a little-known guenon species described in 2012, report it spending substantial amounts of time on the ground. New specimens allow us to present the first description of lesula postcranial morphology and apply a comparative functional morphology approach to supplement our knowledge of its locomotor behavior. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To infer the substrate use preferences of the lesula, 22 postcranial variables correlated with locomotion were assessed in a sample of 151 adult guenon specimens, including two C. lomamiensis. Using multivariate statistical analyses, we predict the amount of time the lesula spends on the ground relative to the comparative sample. RESULTS: Results suggest that the lesula spends nearly half its time on the ground, and the two available individuals were classified as semiterrestrial and terrestrial with strong support. Comparisons with two outgroup cercopithecid taxa (Colobus guereza and Macaca mulatta) demonstrate that, as a group, guenons retain signals of a generalized, semiterrestrially adapted postcranium compared to specialized arboreal cercopithecids. DISCUSSION: These results corroborate preliminary behavioral observations of the lesula as a semiterrestrial to terrestrial primate and imply multiple evolutionary transitions in substrate use among the guenon radiation. A broader view of cercopithecoid evolution suggests that a semiterrestrial ancestor for extant guenons is more parsimonious than an arboreal one, indicating that the arboreal members of the group are probably recently derived from a more semiterrestrial ancestor

Biology · Evolutionary biology · Morphology (biology) · Zoology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology