title: Hand preferences for coordinated bimanual actions in 777 great apes: implications for the evolution of handedness in hominins.
abstract: Whether or not nonhuman primates exhibit population-level handedness remains a topic of considerable scientific debate. Here, we examined handedness for coordinated bimanual actions in a sample of 777 great apes including chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. We found population-level right-handedness in chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas, but left-handedness in orangutans. Directional biases in handedness were consistent across independent samples of apes within each genus. We suggest that, contrary to previous claims, population-level handedness is evident in great apes but differs among species as a result of ecological adaptations associated with posture and locomotion. We further suggest that historical views of nonhuman primate handedness have been too anthropocentric, and we advocate for a larger evolutionary framework for the consideration of handedness and other aspects of hemispheric specialization among primates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, 141 E. College Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030, USA. whopkins@agnesscott.edu
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.forename: Kimberley A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bania
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Calcutt
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schaeffer
authors.forename: Elizabeth V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Lonsdorf
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schapiro
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D015186:Hominidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture; D013045:Species Specificity