Bipedal behavior of olive baboons ( Papio anubis ) and its relevance to an understanding of the evolution of human bipedalism

Bibliographic Data

ID8320538
AuthorsM D Rose (University of Nairobi, corresponding author)
Year1976
Volume44
Issue2
Pages247-261
Publication date1976-03-01
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.1330440207
PMID816205
OpenAlexW2039996820
LanguageEN
Citations received37
References cited23

The bipedal behavior of a troop of olive baboons ( Papio anubis ) is described. Bipedalism is relatively rare but nevertheless occurs in a wide variety of situations, although bipedalism during feeding occurs much more frequently than in other situations. The incidence of bipedalism varies between different age‐sex classes and between individuals within age‐sex classes. This pattern of bipedalism occurred within an overall adaptive response, particularly in feeding behavior, which was similar to that of the gelada baboon ( Theropithecus gelada ). The data on bipedalism is used together with an existing model of early hominid differentiation based on T. gelada to indicate the types of bipedal behavior which might have occurred in early hominid small object feeders and to suggest how a bipedal pattern of this type might have served as a basis for the action of selection for a more committedly bipedal pattern at later stages of hominid evolution

Baboon · Biology · Bipedalism · Evolutionary biology · Papio anubis · Primate · Zoology · Anatomy · Animal Behavior and Reproduction · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Ecology · Primate Behavior and Ecology