Latitudinal and insular variation of skull size in crab‐eating macaques (Primates, Cercopithecidae

(Macaca fascicularis )

Bibliographic Data

ID8311686
AuthorsJack Fooden (Field Museum of Natural History, corresponding author), Gene H Albrecht (University of Southern California)
Year1993
Volume92
Issue4
Pages521-538
Publication date1993-12-01
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.1330920409
PMID8296879
OpenAlexW2029911103
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited22

Macaca fascicularis is broadly distributed in Southeast Asia across 30° of latitude and 35° of longitude (Indochinese Peninsula, Isthmus of Kra, Malay Peninsula, Greater and Lesser Sunda Islands, Philippine Islands, and numerous small, neighboring islands). The range is divisible into 1) a core area comprised of mainland Southeast Asia, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java (large land masses interconnected during the last glacial maximum, 18,000 B. P.); 2) shallow‐water fringing islands, which are smaller islands connected to the core area during the last glacial maximum; and 3) deep‐water fringing islands, which are peripheral islands not connected to the core area during the last glacial maximum. Skull length was used to study effects of latitude and insularity on patterns of size variation. The data are from 802 adult M. fascicularis specimens from 140 core‐area localities, 63 shallow‐water islands, and 29 deep‐water islands. Sex‐specific polynomial regressions of skull length on latitude were used to describe skull length variation in the core area. These regressions served as standards for evaluating variation among samples from shallow‐water and deep‐water islands. The core area exhibits Bergmannian latitudinal size clines through most of the species range. Thus, skull length decreases from about 8°S (Java) to the equator (Sumatra and Borneo), then increases as far north as about 13°N (Isthmus of Kra). Farther north, to the northernmost Indochinese localities at about 17°N, skull length in M. fascicularis decreases with increasing latitude, contrary to Bergmann's rule. Latitudinal size variation in shallow‐water fringing islands generally parallels that in the core area. However, skull length tends to be smaller than in the core area at similar latitudes. Deep‐water fringing islands are markedly more variable, with relatively small specimens in the Lesser Sunda Islands and relatively large specimens in the Nicobar Islands. These analyses illustrate how a primate species may vary in response to latitudinal temperature variation and to isolation. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Archaeology · Geography · Glacial period · Latitude · Longitude · Mainland · Peninsula · Physical geography · Range (aeronautics) · Skull · Amphibian and Reptile Biology · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Geology · Paleontology · Primate Behavior and Ecology

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