Sexual dimorphism in canine shape among extant great apes

Bibliographic Data

ID8318232
AuthorsJay Kelley (0000-0001-5186-5563, University of Illinois Chicago, corresponding author)
Year1995
Volume96
Issue4
Pages365-389
Publication date1995-04-01
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.1330960405
PMID7604892
OpenAlexW2026599021
LanguageEN
Citations received33
References cited47

There have been numerous attempts to sex fossil specimens using the canine dentition. Whether focused on canine size or canine shape, most of these efforts share two deficiencies: lack of quantification of male‐female differences in the adopted criteria and a failure to adequately explore among extant species the discriminatory power of these criteria. Here, canine shape indices relating to relative canine height, upper canine root/crown proportionality, and relative length of the lower canine mesial ridge were calculated for males and females of all species and subspecies of extant great apes and two species of gibbons. The accuracy of these indices for identifying the sex of the extant ape specimens was investigated through discriminant analysis and the use of bivariate plots of the two upper and two lower canine indices. The indices were found to be highly accurate in identifying the sex of great ape individuals, not only in single‐species and subspecies samples but in mixed‐species samples as well; assignment error rates were mostly between 0 and 4%. Accuracy was lowest in Pan (error rates as high as 15%) and highest in Pongo (one error). In most cases, error rates were lower in the upper canines. The effectiveness of these shape indices for sexing might be related to the degree of absolute canine size dimorphism; the indices did not effectively segregate males and females among minimally canine‐dimorphic gibbons. The mixed‐species results reveal that same‐sex index values are remarkably concordant across great ape species, as are the patterns of spatial segregation of males and females in the bivariate plots. Results suggest that, while the indices can be used with some confidence to sex individual fossil specimens, their greatest utility will be for identifying the sex of groups of canines united by size and morphology. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Biology · Bivariate analysis · Dentition · Evolutionary biology · Extant taxon · Sexing · Sexual dimorphism · Statistics · Subspecies · Zoology · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Mathematics · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

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