Development of the supralaryngeal vocal tract in Japanese macaques

Implications for the evolution of the descent of the larynx

Bibliographic Data

ID8312782
AuthorsTakeshi Nishimura (0000-0003-3800-2194, Kyoto University, corresponding author), Takao Oishi (0000-0003-1067-3746, Kyoto University), Juri Suzuki (Kyoto University), Keiji Matsuda (0000-0003-2529-0019, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), Toshimitsu Takahashi (0000-0002-1761-6915, Juntendo University)
Year2008
Volume135
Issue2
Pages182-194
Publication date2008-02-01
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.20719
PMID17960727
OpenAlexW2001726177
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited40

The configuration of the supralaryngeal vocal tract depends on the nonuniform growth of the oral and pharyngeal portion. The human pharynx develops to form a unique configuration, with the epiglottis losing contact with the velum. This configuration develops from the great descent of the larynx relative to the palate, which is accomplished through both the descent of the laryngeal skeleton relative to the hyoid and the descent of the hyoid relative to the palate. Chimpanzees show both processes of laryngeal descent, as in humans, but the evolutionary path before the divergence of the human and chimpanzee lineages is unclear. The development of laryngeal descent in six living Japanese macaque monkeys, Macaca fuscata , was examined monthly during the first three years of life using magnetic resonance imaging, to delineate the present or absence of these two processes and their contributions to the development of the pharyngeal topology. The macaque shows descent of the hyoid relative to the palate, but lacks the descent of the laryngeal skeleton relative to the hyoid and that of the EG from the VL. We argue that the former descent is simply a morphological consequence of mandibular growth and that the latter pair of descents arose in a common ancestor of extant hominoids. Thus, the evolutionary path of the great descent of the larynx is likely to be explained by a model comprising multiple and mosaic evolutionary pathways, wherein these developmental phenomena may have contributed secondarily to the faculty of speech in the human lineage. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Acoustics · Biology · Descent (aeronautics) · Epiglottis · Evolutionary biology · Extant taxon · Geography · Hyoid bone · Larynx · Macaque · Physics · Vocal tract · Anatomy · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Paleontology · Phonetics and Phonology Research · Speech and Audio Processing

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub