Odd-nosed monkey scapular morphology converges on that of arm-swinging apes.

Odd-nosed monkeys 'arm-swing' more frequently than other colobines. They are therefore somewhat behaviorally analogous to atelines and apes. Scapular morphology regularly reflects locomotor mode, with both arm-swinging and climbing anthropoids showing similar characteristics, especially a mediolaterally narrow blade and cranially angled spine and glenoid. However, these traits are not expressed uniformly among anthropoids. Therefore, behavioral convergences in the odd-nosed taxa of Nasalis, Pygathrix, and Rhinopithecus with hominoids may not have resulted in similar structural convergences. We therefore used a broad sample of anthropoids to test how closely odd-nosed monkey scapulae resemble those of other arm-swinging primates. We used principal component analyses on size-corrected linear metrics and angles that reflect scapular size and shape in a broad sample of anthropoids. As in previous studies, our first component separated terrestrial and above-branch quadrupeds from clambering and arm-swinging taxa. On this axis, odd-nosed monkeys were closer than other colobines to modern apes and Ateles. All three odd-nosed genera retain glenoid orientations that are more typical of other colobines, but Pygathrix and Rhinopithecus are closer to hominoids than to other Asian colobines in mediolateral blade breadth, spine angle, and glenoid position. This suggests that scapular morphology of Pygathrix may reflect a significant reliance on arm-swinging and that the morphology of Rhinopithecus may reflect more reliance on general climbing. As 'arm-swinging' features are also found in taxa that only rarely arm-swing, we hypothesize that these features are also adaptive for scrambling and bridging in larger bodied anthropoids that use the fine-branch component of their arboreal niches.

Evolution of the hominoid scapula and its implications for earliest hominid locomotion.

OBJECTIVES: The higher primate scapula has been subject to many explanations of the putative "adaptive value" of its individual traits. However, the shift from the bone's position in above branch quadrupeds to its more posterolateral position in recent hominoids obviously required fundamental changes to its general form. We hypothesize that most features argued to be individually adaptive are more likely secondary consequences of changes in its fundamental bauplan, a view more consistent with modern developmental biology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We tested this hypothesis with scapular metrics and angles from a broad anthropoid sample. RESULTS: Our results support our hypothesis. Contrary to earlier predictions, vertebral border length differs little relative to body size in anthropoids, inferior angle position primarily reflects mediolateral scapular breadth, and supraspinous and infraspinous fossa sizes largely reflect scapular spine orientation. Suspensory taxa have cranially oriented glenoids, whereas slow clamberers and humans do not. Australopithecus most closely resembles the latter. DISCUSSION: Most scapular features can be explained by only two primary changes: (1) reduction in mediolateral breadth and (2) change in the glenoid position relative to the vertebral border with increased reliance on suspension, which led to a more cranially angled scapular spine. Virtually all other scapular traits appear to be byproducts of these two changes. Based on fossil morphology, hominids1 were derived from a last common ancestor primarily adapted for clambering and not for suspension. Scapular form in early hominids such as Australopithecus is therefore primitive and largely reflects the genus's general clambering heritage.

Modern Medical Consequences of the Ancient Evolution of a Long, Flexible Lumbar Spine.

Modern human bipedality is unique and requires lumbar lordosis, whereas chimpanzees, our closest relatives, have short lumbar spines rendering them incapable of lordosis. To facilitate lordosis, humans have longer lumbar spines, greater lumbosacral angle, dorsally wedged lumbar vertebral bodies, and lumbar zygapophyseal joints with both increasingly coronal orientation and further caudal interfacet distances. These features limit modern lower lumbar spine and lumbosacral joint ailments, albeit imperfectly. The more coronal zygapophyseal orientation limits spondylolisthesis, while increasing interfacet distance may limit spondylolysis. Common back pain, particularly in people who are obese or pregnant, may result from increased lumbar lordosis, causing additional mass transfer through the zygapophyseal joints rather than vertebral bodies. Reduction in lumbar lordosis, such as in flatback syndrome from decreased lumbosacral angle, can also cause back pain. Human lumbar lordosis is necessary for placing the trunk atop the pelvis and presents a balancing act not required of our closest primate relatives.

The Functional Anatomy of the Carpometacarpal Complex in Anthropoids and Its Implications for the Evolution of the Hominoid Hand.

Previously, we described several features of the carpometacarpal joints in extant large-bodied apes that are likely adaptations to the functional demands of vertical climbing and suspension. We observed that all hominids, including modern humans and the 4.4-million-year-old hominid Ardipithecus ramidus, lacked these features. Here, we assess the uniqueness of these features in a large sample of monkey, ape, and human hands. These new data provide additional insights into the functional adaptations and evolution of the anthropoid hand. Our survey highlights a series of anatomical adaptations that restrict motion between the second and third metacarpals (MC2 and MC3) and their associated carpals in extant apes, achieved via joint reorganization and novel energy dissipation mechanisms. Their hamate-MC4 and -MC5 joint surface morphologies suggest limited mobility, at least in Pan. Gibbons and spider monkeys have several characters (angled MC3, complex capitate-MC3 joint topography, variably present capitate-MC3 ligaments) that suggest functional convergence in response to suspensory locomotion. Baboons have carpometacarpal morphology suggesting flexion/extension at these joints beyond that observed in most other Old World monkeys, probably as an energy dissipating mechanism minimizing collision forces during terrestrial locomotion. All hominids lack these specializations of the extant great apes, suggesting that vertical climbing was never a central feature of our ancestral locomotor repertoire. Furthermore, the reinforced carpometacarpus of vertically climbing African apes was likely appropriated for knuckle-walking in concert with other novel potential energy dissipating mechanisms. The most parsimonious explanation of the structural similarity of these carpometacarpal specializations in great apes is that they evolved independently.