Adaptation to suspensory locomotion in Australopithecus sediba.
Australopithecus sediba is represented by well-preserved fossilized remains from the locality of Malapa, South Africa. Recent work has shown that the combination of features in the limb skeleton of A. sediba was distinct from that of earlier species of Australopithecus, perhaps indicating that this species moved differently. The bones of the arm and forearm indicate that A. sediba was adapted to suspensory and climbing behaviors. We used a geometric morphometric approach to examine ulnar shape, potentially identifying adaptations to forelimb suspensory locomotion in A. sediba. Results indicated suspensory capabilities in this species and a stronger forelimb suspensory signal than has been documented in Australopithecus afarensis. Our study confirms the adaptive significance of functional morphological traits for arboreal movements in the locomotor repertoire of A. sediba and provides important insight into the diversity and mosaic nature of locomotor adaptations among early hominins.
Department of Anthropology, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06053, USA; Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: rein@ccsu.edu.
Thomas R
TR
Rein
Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Terry
T
Harrison
Department of Cell & Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1333 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, South Africa.
Kristian J
KJ
Carlson
Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
Katerina
K
Harvati
D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D005580:Fossils / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008124:Locomotion; D014457:Ulna / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
Australopithecus afarensis; Functional morphology; Geometric morphometrics; South Africa; Ulna