Postnatal temporal bone ontogeny in Pan , Gorilla , and Homo , and the implications for temporal bone ontogeny in Australopithecus afarensis

Bibliographic Data

ID8314489
AuthorsClaire E Terhune (0000-0002-5381-2497, Department of Community and Family Medicine Duke University Medical Center Durham NC 27710, corresponding author), William H Kimbel (0000-0002-5082-2307, Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change Arizona State University Tempe AZ 85287‐4101), Charles A Lockwood (Department of Anthropology University College London London WC1E 6BT UK)
Year2013
Volume151
Issue4
Pages630-642
Publication date2013-08-01
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.22318
PMID23868175
OpenAlexW2098734419
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited75

Assessments of temporal bone morphology have played an important role in taxonomic and phylogenetic evaluations of fossil taxa, and recent three‐dimensional analyses of this region have supported the utility of the temporal bone for testing taxonomic and phylogenetic hypotheses. But while clinical analyses have examined aspects of temporal bone ontogeny in humans, the ontogeny of the temporal bone in non‐human taxa is less well documented. This study examines ontogenetic allometry of the temporal bone in order to address several research questions related to the pattern and trajectory of temporal bone shape change during ontogeny in the African apes and humans. We further apply these data to a preliminary analysis of temporal bone ontogeny in Australopithecus afarensis . Three‐dimensional landmarks were digitized on an ontogenetic series of specimens of Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes , Pan paniscus , and Gorilla gorilla . Data were analyzed using geometric morphometric methods, and shape changes throughout ontogeny in relation to size were compared. Results of these analyses indicate that, despite broadly similar patterns, African apes and humans show marked differences in development of the mandibular fossa and tympanic portions of the temporal bone. These findings indicate divergent, rather than parallel, postnatal ontogenetic allometric trajectories for temporal bone shape in these taxa. The pattern of temporal bone shape change with size exhibited by A. afarensis showed some affinities to that of humans, but was most similar to extant African apes, particularly Gorilla . Am J Phys Anthropol 151:630–642, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Australopithecus · Biological evolution · Biology · Evolutionary biology · Geography · Gorilla · Hominidae · Homo sapiens · Ontogeny · Zoology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Morphological variations and asymmetry · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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