{"title":"Corrigendum to “Maxilla of Siamopithecus eocaenus (Anthropoidea, Primates) from the Paleogene of Krabi, Thailand, and its taxonomic status” [J. Hum. Evol. 198 (2025) 103614]","authors":"Yaowalak Chaimanee , Sasidhorn Khansubha , Olivier Chavasseau , Arnaud Mazurier , Jean-Jacques Jaeger","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103701","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"204 ","pages":"Article 103701"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144000027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-08DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103691
Amélie Vialet , Sandrine Prat , Dominique Grimaud-Hervé , Anne-Elisabeth Lebatard , Nicolas Boulbes , Serdar Mayda , Pierre Rochette , Christophe Falguères , Anne-Marie Moigne , Jean-Jacques Bahain , Mehmet Cihat Alçiçek
{"title":"Virtual reconstruction and geometric morphometric analysis of the Kocabaş fossil hominin from Turkey and implications for taxonomy and evolutionary significance: A commentary on Mori et al. (2024)","authors":"Amélie Vialet , Sandrine Prat , Dominique Grimaud-Hervé , Anne-Elisabeth Lebatard , Nicolas Boulbes , Serdar Mayda , Pierre Rochette , Christophe Falguères , Anne-Marie Moigne , Jean-Jacques Bahain , Mehmet Cihat Alçiçek","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103691","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103691","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"204 ","pages":"Article 103691"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143923948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-05-06DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103682
Yeganeh Sekhavati , Thomas Cody Prang , David Strait
Changes in foot morphology have played a crucial role in the evolution of bipedalism. Examining the evolution of pedal characters among hominins makes it possible to identify when and where key anatomical changes required for bipedalism evolved. This study uses ancestral character reconstruction to investigate foot morphology in the Homo + Pan last common ancestor and subsequent nodes in the hominin phylogeny. We explore the pattern of hominin foot evolution and examine the presence of terrestrial and arboreal adaptations at hominin ancestral nodes. In this study, we analyzed 62 discrete pedal characters hypothesized to be functionally significant. Our likelihood-based approach supports the hypothesis of a Pan-like last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. The earliest foot synapomorphies in hominins are related to foot and ankle eversion and midtarsal stability. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that lateral midfoot stability might have evolved before medial midfoot stability. Moreover, several homoplasies were inferred across different taxa, particularly related to features hypothesized to reflect joint mobility and the longitudinal arch. Finally, the Paranthropus and the Australopithecus africanus + Australopithecus sediba clades evolved arboreal characteristics, suggesting adaptations for arboreality. Overall, the results demonstrate how pedal characters evolved in hominins from an African ape–like ancestor.
{"title":"A phylogenetic perspective on the evolution of early hominin foot morphology","authors":"Yeganeh Sekhavati , Thomas Cody Prang , David Strait","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103682","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103682","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Changes in foot morphology have played a crucial role in the evolution of bipedalism. Examining the evolution of pedal characters among hominins makes it possible to identify when and where key anatomical changes required for bipedalism evolved. This study uses ancestral character reconstruction to investigate foot morphology in the <em>Homo</em> + <em>Pan</em> last common ancestor and subsequent nodes in the hominin phylogeny. We explore the pattern of hominin foot evolution and examine the presence of terrestrial and arboreal adaptations at hominin ancestral nodes. In this study, we analyzed 62 discrete pedal characters hypothesized to be functionally significant. Our likelihood-based approach supports the hypothesis of a <em>Pan</em>-like last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees. The earliest foot synapomorphies in hominins are related to foot and ankle eversion and midtarsal stability. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that lateral midfoot stability might have evolved before medial midfoot stability. Moreover, several homoplasies were inferred across different taxa, particularly related to features hypothesized to reflect joint mobility and the longitudinal arch. Finally, the <em>Paranthropus</em> and the <em>Australopithecus africanus</em> + <em>Australopithecus sediba</em> clades evolved arboreal characteristics, suggesting adaptations for arboreality. Overall, the results demonstrate how pedal characters evolved in hominins from an African ape–like ancestor.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 103682"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103680
Reed Coil
Numerous extrinsic hypotheses explaining Out of Africa I (OoA I), like faunal turnover and hominins following fauna, have been rejected based on paleoecological models. Others have explored the importance of the hominin intrusion into the carnivore guild. Here, I build on this latter research by proposing the complementary carnivore guild flexibility hypothesis (CGFH). In eastern Africa, carnivore richness peaked around 3 Ma and declined gradually until shortly after 2 Ma. This timeline coincides with the development of early lithic technologies and initial evidence of the butchery of large mammals, thus implying that increased hominin carnivory impacted endemic carnivore diversity through the transition from passive to confrontational scavenging. The CGFH posits that the relatively stable carnivore diversity and richness in Eurasia permitted hominin range expansion into Eurasian habitats after 2 Ma due to scavenging opportunities along continuously overlapping carnivore ranges. This study tests the CGFH by examining carnivore richness at African and Eurasian sites covering intervals before, during, and after the initial OoA I dispersals. This study builds on previous hypotheses about the role of carnivore guilds in hominin dispersals while tying in theoretical models on modes of early hominin carnivory and actualistic research on scavenging opportunities resulting from carnivore guild composition. In support of the CGFH, carnivore richness in Eurasia is higher than in Africa, which likely facilitated range expansion by hominins during OoA I. Furthermore, decreases in carnivore richness are evident in Eurasia at the end of the Early Pleistocene, which happen within a few hundred thousand years of sustained hominin presence in certain regions, like southwestern Europe and eastern Asia.
{"title":"The effects of carnivore diversity on scavenging opportunities and hominin range expansion during Out of Africa I","authors":"Reed Coil","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103680","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103680","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Numerous extrinsic hypotheses explaining Out of Africa I (OoA I), like faunal turnover and hominins following fauna, have been rejected based on paleoecological models. Others have explored the importance of the hominin intrusion into the carnivore guild. Here, I build on this latter research by proposing the complementary carnivore guild flexibility hypothesis (CGFH). In eastern Africa, carnivore richness peaked around 3 Ma and declined gradually until shortly after 2 Ma. This timeline coincides with the development of early lithic technologies and initial evidence of the butchery of large mammals, thus implying that increased hominin carnivory impacted endemic carnivore diversity through the transition from passive to confrontational scavenging. The CGFH posits that the relatively stable carnivore diversity and richness in Eurasia permitted hominin range expansion into Eurasian habitats after 2 Ma due to scavenging opportunities along continuously overlapping carnivore ranges. This study tests the CGFH by examining carnivore richness at African and Eurasian sites covering intervals before, during, and after the initial OoA I dispersals. This study builds on previous hypotheses about the role of carnivore guilds in hominin dispersals while tying in theoretical models on modes of early hominin carnivory and actualistic research on scavenging opportunities resulting from carnivore guild composition. In support of the CGFH, carnivore richness in Eurasia is higher than in Africa, which likely facilitated range expansion by hominins during OoA I. Furthermore, decreases in carnivore richness are evident in Eurasia at the end of the Early Pleistocene, which happen within a few hundred thousand years of sustained hominin presence in certain regions, like southwestern Europe and eastern Asia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 103680"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103679
Séverine L.D. Toussaint , Vincent D'Amato , Joanna Desmidt , Mélanie Berthet , Benoît Quintard , François Druelle
The relative elongation of the digits on the autopods has long been considered as an adaptation for an arboreal lifestyle shared by several tetrapods. In primates, this morphological adaptation constitutes one of the defining characters of the order and is correlated to their enhanced manual and pedal grasping capabilities. However, primates are highly diversified in terms of body mass and locomotor repertoire, and it remains unclear to what extent the elongation of proximal and intermediate phalanges relative to metapodials (i.e., the phalangeal index) correlates with body mass or grasping performances during arboreal locomotion. In this study, we tested the effect of body mass, grasping performance, and phylogeny on the manual and pedal phalangeal indexes in 58 species of nonhuman primates, including strepsirrhines, platyrrhines, and catarrhines. We computed a grasping score as a proxy for grasping performance based on the known locomotor repertoire of each species. We found that body mass negatively correlates with the intrinsic digit proportions of the hand, whereas the grasping score positively correlates with the intrinsic digit proportions of both the hand and foot. Our results highlight the different functional roles of the hand and foot in nonhuman primates. The hand is more influenced by changes in body size (allometric constraints), while the foot primarily functions to anchor to arboreal supports. Moreover, finger elongation appears most critical for enhancing grasping performance in species weighing over 5 kg as the general decrease in power-to-weight ratio and the specific postural adaptations in larger species likely increase locomotor constraints on the forelimb. By building a finer model of the morphofunctional complexes of the hand and foot in primates, linking phalangeal index, body mass, and locomotor repertoire, this comparative study will also help to better understand the evolution of autopodial adaptations in other arboreal models such as in rodents and marsupials.
{"title":"Functional and behavioral variation in intrinsic hand and foot digit proportions in primates","authors":"Séverine L.D. Toussaint , Vincent D'Amato , Joanna Desmidt , Mélanie Berthet , Benoît Quintard , François Druelle","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103679","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103679","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The relative elongation of the digits on the autopods has long been considered as an adaptation for an arboreal lifestyle shared by several tetrapods. In primates, this morphological adaptation constitutes one of the defining characters of the order and is correlated to their enhanced manual and pedal grasping capabilities. However, primates are highly diversified in terms of body mass and locomotor repertoire, and it remains unclear to what extent the elongation of proximal and intermediate phalanges relative to metapodials (i.e., the phalangeal index) correlates with body mass or grasping performances during arboreal locomotion. In this study, we tested the effect of body mass, grasping performance, and phylogeny on the manual and pedal phalangeal indexes in 58 species of nonhuman primates, including strepsirrhines, platyrrhines, and catarrhines. We computed a grasping score as a proxy for grasping performance based on the known locomotor repertoire of each species. We found that body mass negatively correlates with the intrinsic digit proportions of the hand, whereas the grasping score positively correlates with the intrinsic digit proportions of both the hand and foot. Our results highlight the different functional roles of the hand and foot in nonhuman primates. The hand is more influenced by changes in body size (allometric constraints), while the foot primarily functions to anchor to arboreal supports. Moreover, finger elongation appears most critical for enhancing grasping performance in species weighing over 5 kg as the general decrease in power-to-weight ratio and the specific postural adaptations in larger species likely increase locomotor constraints on the forelimb. By building a finer model of the morphofunctional complexes of the hand and foot in primates, linking phalangeal index, body mass, and locomotor repertoire, this comparative study will also help to better understand the evolution of autopodial adaptations in other arboreal models such as in rodents and marsupials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 103679"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143881317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103678
Zacchariah M. Apolito , Kevin G. Palmisano , Nicholas B. Holowka
Hominins evolved in a vast diversity of natural environments with terrains that pose different biomechanical challenges, including uneven surfaces that can impact balance control during bipedal walking. Previous experimental research has identified an ‘ankle strategy’ for maintaining balance, wherein motion at the human ankle joint complex (AJC; the subtalar and talocrural joints) is used to help position the foot under the body. However, the role of the ankle strategy during uneven surface walking is currently unknown, and elucidating this role could help us understand the evolution of the hominin AJC and its potential adaptive function in bipedal walking on natural terrains. Here, we collected three-dimensional kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic data from 17 human participants who walked barefoot on a flat, even surface and on an uneven surface consisting of tiered blocks of ethylene-vinyl acetate foam, with a repeating 0.8–2.4 cm height variation. We developed linear mixed-effect models, incorporating participant identity as a random effect and walking surface condition as a fixed effect. Type 3 analyses of variance were employed to evaluate differences across surface conditions. On the uneven surface, participants averaged 38% and 28% greater AJC frontal plane ranges of motion and joint moments, respectively, during the first half of the stance phase (p < 0.001) and had greater coactivation between the fibularis longus and tibialis anterior muscles during single-limb support (p < 0.02). These results suggest that AJC mobility is critical for balance on uneven surfaces, and therefore, hominins may have experienced selective pressure to maintain some of the joint compliance of more arboreally adapted ancestors. However, this retained mobility comes with the trade-off of susceptibility to joint injury, meaning that hominins must rely on muscles like the fibularis longus to stabilize the ankle when walking on natural terrains.
{"title":"The adaptive function of the human ankle joint complex during walking on uneven terrains with implications for hominin locomotion","authors":"Zacchariah M. Apolito , Kevin G. Palmisano , Nicholas B. Holowka","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103678","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103678","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hominins evolved in a vast diversity of natural environments with terrains that pose different biomechanical challenges, including uneven surfaces that can impact balance control during bipedal walking. Previous experimental research has identified an ‘ankle strategy’ for maintaining balance, wherein motion at the human ankle joint complex (AJC; the subtalar and talocrural joints) is used to help position the foot under the body. However, the role of the ankle strategy during uneven surface walking is currently unknown, and elucidating this role could help us understand the evolution of the hominin AJC and its potential adaptive function in bipedal walking on natural terrains. Here, we collected three-dimensional kinematic, kinetic, and electromyographic data from 17 human participants who walked barefoot on a flat, even surface and on an uneven surface consisting of tiered blocks of ethylene-vinyl acetate foam, with a repeating 0.8–2.4 cm height variation. We developed linear mixed-effect models, incorporating participant identity as a random effect and walking surface condition as a fixed effect. Type 3 analyses of variance were employed to evaluate differences across surface conditions. On the uneven surface, participants averaged 38% and 28% greater AJC frontal plane ranges of motion and joint moments, respectively, during the first half of the stance phase (<em>p</em> < 0.001) and had greater coactivation between the fibularis longus and tibialis anterior muscles during single-limb support (<em>p</em> < 0.02). These results suggest that AJC mobility is critical for balance on uneven surfaces, and therefore, hominins may have experienced selective pressure to maintain some of the joint compliance of more arboreally adapted ancestors. However, this retained mobility comes with the trade-off of susceptibility to joint injury, meaning that hominins must rely on muscles like the fibularis longus to stabilize the ankle when walking on natural terrains.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 103678"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103666
Nicole Torres-Tamayo , Markus Bastir , Caroline VanSickle , Antonio García-Tabernero , Marco de la Rasilla , Antonio Rosas
The Neanderthal pelvis exhibits distinctive features compared to modern humans, including wider and more flared iliac blades, a more anteriorly positioned sacrum, and a longer and thinner, outwardly oriented pubic bone. Each new addition to the pelvic fossil record is significant for enhancing our understanding of Neanderthal morphology and variation. Here, we present SD-1663, the most complete adult os coxae fragment recovered from the El Sidrón site in Asturias (Spain), dated to approximately 49 ka. We carried out a detailed description and quantitative analysis of SD-1663 within a comparative framework that includes other notable pelvic fossil specimens. Utilizing traditional and three-dimensional morphometric techniques, we assessed the morphological characteristics of SD-1663 focusing on dimensions and anatomical landmarks that distinguish Neanderthal pelves from those of other hominins. The analyses reveal that SD-1663 was a young adult male with features and size that clustered with other Neanderthals in our comparative sample. However, SD-1663 also shares significant morphological affinities with earlier Pleistocene Homo specimens such as KNM-ER 3228 (Homo erectus), suggesting a broader range of pelvic variation within Neanderthals than previously recognized. This discovery contributes to expanding the Neanderthal range of anatomical diversity, indicating that the Neanderthal pelvis may have been more variable than the current fossil record suggests. It also underscores the importance of continued excavation and analysis of Neanderthal remains to fully comprehend the scope of their anatomical adaptations and evolutionary history. SD-1663 thus represents a valuable addition to the fossil record, offering new perspectives on Neanderthal pelvis morphology and its variation.
{"title":"New insights into the Neanderthal pelvis morphology based on a partial os coxae from El Sidrón (Asturias, Spain)","authors":"Nicole Torres-Tamayo , Markus Bastir , Caroline VanSickle , Antonio García-Tabernero , Marco de la Rasilla , Antonio Rosas","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103666","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Neanderthal pelvis exhibits distinctive features compared to modern humans, including wider and more flared iliac blades, a more anteriorly positioned sacrum, and a longer and thinner, outwardly oriented pubic bone. Each new addition to the pelvic fossil record is significant for enhancing our understanding of Neanderthal morphology and variation. Here, we present SD-1663, the most complete adult os coxae fragment recovered from the El Sidrón site in Asturias (Spain), dated to approximately 49 ka. We carried out a detailed description and quantitative analysis of SD-1663 within a comparative framework that includes other notable pelvic fossil specimens. Utilizing traditional and three-dimensional morphometric techniques, we assessed the morphological characteristics of SD-1663 focusing on dimensions and anatomical landmarks that distinguish Neanderthal pelves from those of other hominins. The analyses reveal that SD-1663 was a young adult male with features and size that clustered with other Neanderthals in our comparative sample. However, SD-1663 also shares significant morphological affinities with earlier Pleistocene <em>Homo</em> specimens such as KNM-ER 3228 (<em>Homo erectus</em>), suggesting a broader range of pelvic variation within Neanderthals than previously recognized. This discovery contributes to expanding the Neanderthal range of anatomical diversity, indicating that the Neanderthal pelvis may have been more variable than the current fossil record suggests. It also underscores the importance of continued excavation and analysis of Neanderthal remains to fully comprehend the scope of their anatomical adaptations and evolutionary history. SD-1663 thus represents a valuable addition to the fossil record, offering new perspectives on Neanderthal pelvis morphology and its variation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 103666"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143867972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103681
Megan Malherbe , Nicole Webb , Magdalena Palisson-Kramer , Emmanuel K. Ndiema , David R. Braun , Martin Haeusler , Frances Forrest
This research presents a new method of ecological morphology (ecomorphology) analysis using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to quantify shape variation in extant bovid metapodials with known habitat preferences. Extant data were used to create a model for classifying bones into distinct habitat categories and to test functional hypotheses related to locomotor behavior in different habitats. The model was then applied to fossils from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya, to assess the environmental context during important events in hominin evolution. The use of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics demonstrates significant improvement over traditional methods using caliper measurements. Discriminant function analysis successfully classified 94% of metacarpals and 93% of metatarsals into their correct habitat categories for modern specimens. The protocol was reduced to a subset of landmarks focused on the distal epiphyses. This model produced greater overlap, but classification success rates remained high, with 82% and 83% correct classification for modern metacarpals and metatarsals, respectively. We applied the reduced model to metapodials from Upper Burgi (1.98–1.87 Ma), KBS (1.87–1.56 Ma), and Okote (1.56–1.38 Ma) members in the Koobi Fora Formation. This location is important to understanding human evolution, fossil diversity, and paleoecology. Moreover, previous studies on faunal abundance, paleosol carbonates, and carbon isotopes provide a robust framework to compare the findings of this study. Our analyses classified the majority of fossil specimens as open-habitat dwellers, with a few specimens grouped as closed-adapted, the highest number of these falling within the Okote Member sample. This suggests that open and likely xeric environments dominated the East Turkana region during the Early Pleistocene. These findings are consistent with many previous reconstructions, though with a more open signal for the Okote Member than expected based on bovid abundance research.
{"title":"Ecomorphology in Kenya's Koobi Fora Formation: Reconstructing Early Pleistocene hominin paleoenvironments with 3D geometric morphometric analyses of bovid metapodials","authors":"Megan Malherbe , Nicole Webb , Magdalena Palisson-Kramer , Emmanuel K. Ndiema , David R. Braun , Martin Haeusler , Frances Forrest","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103681","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103681","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research presents a new method of ecological morphology (ecomorphology) analysis using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to quantify shape variation in extant bovid metapodials with known habitat preferences. Extant data were used to create a model for classifying bones into distinct habitat categories and to test functional hypotheses related to locomotor behavior in different habitats. The model was then applied to fossils from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya, to assess the environmental context during important events in hominin evolution. The use of three-dimensional geometric morphometrics demonstrates significant improvement over traditional methods using caliper measurements. Discriminant function analysis successfully classified 94% of metacarpals and 93% of metatarsals into their correct habitat categories for modern specimens. The protocol was reduced to a subset of landmarks focused on the distal epiphyses. This model produced greater overlap, but classification success rates remained high, with 82% and 83% correct classification for modern metacarpals and metatarsals, respectively. We applied the reduced model to metapodials from Upper Burgi (1.98–1.87 Ma), KBS (1.87–1.56 Ma), and Okote (1.56–1.38 Ma) members in the Koobi Fora Formation. This location is important to understanding human evolution, fossil diversity, and paleoecology. Moreover, previous studies on faunal abundance, paleosol carbonates, and carbon isotopes provide a robust framework to compare the findings of this study. Our analyses classified the majority of fossil specimens as open-habitat dwellers, with a few specimens grouped as closed-adapted, the highest number of these falling within the Okote Member sample. This suggests that open and likely xeric environments dominated the East Turkana region during the Early Pleistocene. These findings are consistent with many previous reconstructions, though with a more open signal for the Okote Member than expected based on bovid abundance research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 103681"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143864814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-04-22DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103674
Miguel López-Cano , Markus Bastir
Serial morphology is the study of repeating, sequentially arranged structures in organisms, focusing on their development, organization, and evolutionary significance. Manual digits in primates, exhibiting proximodistal and radioulnar homology, can be analyzed using a serial morphological approach. This method offers a potential tool for reconstructing serial elements of hominin fossil record. Therefore, this study aims to analyze serial homology in proximal and intermediate phalanges of extant and extinct Hominini species to validate a novel methodology for reconstructing missing bones within the hand. For this purpose, we designed a template (27 true landmarks and 128 curve semilandmarks) for proximal and intermediate phalanges of digits II–V, applied to Homo sapiens (n = 125), Homo neanderthalensis (n = 9), Homo naledi (n = 9), Australopithecus sediba (n = 2), and Pan troglodytes (n = 122). Missing data were estimated using bilateral symmetry or geometric estimation methods. We used principal component analysis to quantify and examine morphological variability for each phalanx. Each serially reconstructed phalanx was validated by comparing the estimated to the original morphology using generalized Procrustes analysis and Procrustes distances, principal component analysis, and the Mann-Whitney U test. The results highlight both similarities and differences in serial homology between Pan and hominins, reflecting a shared developmental ‘blueprint’ alongside interspecific morphological variations influenced by genetic and functional factors. Finally, serial reconstruction with homologous elements is possible in the proximal and intermediate manual phalanges of Hominini, being more accurate with a proximal-proximal or intermediate-intermediate disposition, offering potential for reconstructing missing fossil hominin manual phalanges.
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Pub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2025.103676
Xue Wang , Marc R. Meyer , Scott A. Williams
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