Allometry of facial mobility in anthropoid primates

Implications for the evolution of facial expression

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8317442
AutoresSeth D Dobson (Dartmouth College, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Volumen138
Número1
Páginas70-81
Fecha de publicación2009-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.20902
PMID18711735
OpenAlexW2051202151
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas55

Body size may be an important factor influencing the evolution of facial expression in anthropoid primates due to allometric constraints on the perception of facial movements. Given this hypothesis, I tested the prediction that observed facial mobility is positively correlated with body size in a comparative sample of nonhuman anthropoids. Facial mobility, or the variety of facial movements a species can produce, was estimated using a novel application of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). I used FACS to estimate facial mobility in 12 nonhuman anthropoid species, based on video recordings of facial activity in zoo animals. Body mass data were taken from the literature. I used phylogenetic generalized least squares (PGLS) to perform a multiple regression analysis with facial mobility as the dependent variable and two independent variables: log body mass and dummy‐coded infraorder. Together, body mass and infraorder explain 92% of the variance in facial mobility. However, the partial effect of body mass is much stronger than for infraorder. The results of my study suggest that allometry is an important constraint on the evolution of facial mobility, which may limit the complexity of facial expression in smaller species. More work is needed to clarify the perceptual bases of this allometric pattern. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Allometry · Biology · Evolutionary biology · Facial expression · Zoology · Communication · Ecology · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Face Recognition and Perception · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Psychology