Evidence of hominid-like precision grip capability in the hand of the Miocene ape Oreopithecus.
Functional and allometric analyses of the hand of the late Miocene ape Oreopithecus bambolii (Tuscany, Italy) reveal a series of features that reflect an improved grasping capability including firm pad-to-pad precision gripping that apes are unable to perform. Related features such as hand length, relative thumb length, a deep and large insertion area for the tendon of the long thumb flexor, and the form of the metacarpal 2/capitate articulation are not present in extant or fossil apes. In these features, the Oreopithecus hand closely matches the pattern of early hominids, presumably as a response to similar functional demands.
Moyá-Solá
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Institut de Paleontologia M. Crusafont, c/Escola Industrial, 23, 08201 Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.
Köhler
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Rook
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D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D018070:Biological Specimen Banks; D001133:Bones of Upper Extremity / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005385:Fingers / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005580:Fossils; D006225:Hand / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018737:Hand Strength; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D013045:Species Specificity