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Gibbons to Gorillas: Allometric Issues in Hominoid Cranial Evolution

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Evolution of Gibbons and Siamang

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR))

Abstract

The major body size disparity between the hylobatids (small apes) and hominids (large apes), as well as the scarce number of extant hominoid taxa, is particularly challenging for interpreting hominoid craniofacial feature polarities. Any features differing between the two subclades will automatically be correlated, whether causally or spuriously, with body size. In this chapter, we highlight examples where the validity of several proposed hominid synapomorphies is challenged when hylobatid morphology and multilevel allometric analyses are factored in. These findings have implications regarding various Miocene hominoid evolutionary scenarios. We propose that hominoid phylogenetic studies in general require an increased emphasis on the hylobatids, and we offer a specific multistep allometric framework that can be applied to studying fossil and extant hominoid morphologies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, 60515, USA

    Erin R. Leslie

  2. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Brian T. Shea

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  1. Erin R. Leslie
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  2. Brian T. Shea
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Correspondence to Erin R. Leslie .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Center for Ecology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, USA

    Ulrich H. Reichard

  2. Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan

    Hirohisa Hirai

  3. Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy

    Claudia Barelli

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Leslie, E.R., Shea, B.T. (2016). Gibbons to Gorillas: Allometric Issues in Hominoid Cranial Evolution. In: Reichard, U., Hirai, H., Barelli, C. (eds) Evolution of Gibbons and Siamang. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-5614-2_9

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