Preliminary analysis of Nacholapithecus scapula and clavicle from Nachola, Kenya.
The Miocene ape Nacholapithecus is known from rather complete skeletons; some of them preserve the shoulder joint, identified by three scapulae and one clavicle. Comparisons made with other Miocene and living apes ( Proconsul, Equatorius, Ugandapithecus) suggest that the mobility of the scapulohumeral joint was important, and scapular features such as the morphology and position of the spine and the morphology of the acromion and axillary border resemble those of climbing arboreal primates except for chimpanzees, gorillas, or orang-utans. From the size of the scapula (male Nasalis size), it is clear that the animal is smaller than an adult chimpanzee, but the clavicle is almost as relatively long as those of chimpanzees. Some features closer to colobine morphology reinforce the hypothesis that Nacholapithecus was probably a good climber and was definitely adapted for an arboreal life.
Département d'Histoire de la Terre du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 5143 et PICS 1048, CNRS, 8, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France. bsenut@mnhn.fr
Brigitte
B
Senut
Masato
M
Nakatsukasa
Yutaka
Y
Kunimatsu
Yoshihiko
Y
Nakano
Tomo
T
Takano
Hiroshi
H
Tsujikawa
Daisuke
D
Shimizu
Miyuki
M
Kagaya
Hidemi
H
Ishida
D000818:Animals; D000886:Anthropometry; D002968:Clavicle / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D007630:Kenya; D012540:Scapula / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology