The morphology of the European miocene hominid frontal bone: functional, developmental and phylogenetic considerations.
This paper re-interprets the morphology of fossil and extant hominid frontal bones in light of development, functional and phylogenetic considerations. It is argued that the suggested inclusion of Hispanopithecus and Ankarapithecus as members of the Ponginae (which has partly been based on frontal bone morphology) remains problematic as their similarity with other members of the Ponginae is likely the result of distinct developmental processes resulting in Hispanopithecus and Ankarapithecus sharing an anatomical analogy with this subfamily. Whether this can be used to argue against their inclusion within the Ponginae remains debatable, as we still do not appreciate degrees of developmental variability within and between taxa, nor their phylogenetic significance in closely related taxa. The frontal bone morphology as observed in Hispanopithecus and Ankarapithecus, however, suggests that they share a sister-group relationship. In terms of the Homininae, Graecopithecus is supported as a likely member of this subfamily, while Dryopithecus is considered as a primitive member of the Hominidae.
Cameron
David W
DW
Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney, Australia. dwc@anatomy.usyd.edu.au
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005060:Europe; D005580:Fossils; D005624:Frontal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity