Humeral correlates of forelimb elevation in four West African cercopithecid monkeys

Bibliographic Data

ID8317454
AuthorsNoah T Dunham (0000-0003-0299-7281, Department of Anthropology The Ohio State University 4034 Smith Laboratory, 174 West 18th Ave Columbus Ohio 43210‐1106, corresponding author), Erin Kane (0000-0002-8786-4762, The Ohio State University), Erin E Kane (Department of Anthropology The Ohio State University 4034 Smith Laboratory, 174 West 18th Ave Columbus Ohio 43210‐1106), W S Mcgraw (0000-0003-1986-7408, The Ohio State University)
Year2017
Volume162
Issue2
Pages337-349
Publication date2017-02-01
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.23123
PMID27804125
OpenAlexW2546492983
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited64

OBJECTIVES: We previously found that differing degrees of forelimb flexion, elevation, and abduction during nonlocomotor foraging activities covaried with scapular morphology among four sympatric cercopithecids. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether features of the proximal humerus are similarly related to forelimb elevation during foraging. METHODS: Our sample consists of humeri (n = 42) of adult Cercocebus atys, Cercopithecus diana, Colobus polykomos, and Piliocolobus badius collected from Côte d'Ivoire's Taï National Park. Features of the proximal humerus known to correspond with varying degrees of forelimb mobility were examined using a combination of 2-dimensional caliper-based indices and 3-dimensional analyses. RESULTS: Some features of the proximal humerus are consistent with the varying frequencies of forelimb elevation during foraging. For instance, the red colobus (P. badius) has a variety of features consistent with more pronounced shoulder mobility and forelimb flexibility including a wider, more distally projecting deltoid plane, greater tuberosity positioned below the humeral head articular surface, and larger intertuberosity angle. CONCLUSIONS: The colobines, particularly P. badius, display a number of humeral and scapular features indicative of greater arm flexion, elevation, and abduction compared to the two cercopithecines. We conclude that idiosyncrasies in forelimb use during foraging are reflected in functionally relevant features of the cercopithecid proximal humerus, highlighting that postural behavior, in additional to locomotor behavior, can exert selective pressures on primate skeletal form. This result should provide for more informed reconstructions of the full positional repertoires in fossil taxa

Biology · Foraging · Forelimb · Humerus · Primate · Anatomy · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology