Browse Items (175 total)

Recent comprehensive studies of DNA sequences support the monophyly of Afrotheria, comprising elephants, sirenians (dugongs and manatees), hyraxes, tenrecs, golden moles, aardvarks, and elephant shrews, as well as that of Paenungulata, comprising…

Spondyloarthropathy is a painful arthritic affliction of humans that also occurs in wild mammals. Important questions remain concerning the underlying causes of spondyloarthropathy in mammals, particularly regarding whether it is infectious in origin…

During development and evolution, the morphology of ectodermal organs can be modulated so that an organism can adapt to different environments. We have proposed that morphoregulation can be achieved by simply tilting the balance of molecular…

Mammalian metapodials (metacarpals and metatarsals), unlike most long bones, form a single growth plate, and undergo longitudinal growth at only one end. The growth dynamics of non-mammalian tetrapod metapodials have not been systematically examined…

The first mammalian metapodial (MP1) has periodically been argued to actually be a phalanx, because the first ray has one less element than the four posterior rays, and because the MP1 growth plate is proximal like those of all phalanges, rather than…

Characterization of the nature and skeletal distribution of gout was accomplished in a Chamoru (Chamorros) population with predilection to the disease. Uniform excavation by the gouty diathesis produces a punched-out appearance to these predominantly…

The reliability of visual examination of defleshed bones was assessed for detection of postcranial metastatic disease in individuals known to have had cancer. This was compared with standard clinical radiologic techniques. The skeletons of 128…

Presence of spine and sacroiliac involvement and the nature and distribution of the erosive lesions allow definitive diagnosis of spondyloarthropathy. Thus, spondyloarthropathy was identified in Theropithecus, Papio, Cercopithecus, Macaca, Colobus,…

The opportunity to examine the defleshed skeleton of an individual diagnosed in life (Hamann-Todd collection, individual 2036) afforded a unique opportunity to demonstrate the bone damage characteristic of at least one form of juvenile rheumatoid…

Uncertainties as to the nature and implications of osteoarthritis and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD) in primates were subject to critical review through examination of 153 prosimians and 1,250 Old World non-prosimian primates.…

The anterior position of the human foramen magnum is often explained as an adaptation for maintaining balance of the head atop the cervical vertebral column during bipedalism and the assumption of orthograde trunk postures. Accordingly, the relative…

Functional interpretations of the postcranium of the late Miocene ape Oreopithecus bambolii are controversial. The claim that Oreopithecus practiced habitual terrestrial bipedalism is partly based on restored postcranial remains originally recovered…

Physical anthropologists have devoted considerable attention to the structure and function of the primate prehensile tail. Nevertheless, previous morphological studies have concentrated solely on adults, despite behavioral evidence that among many…

The relationship between mandibular form and biomechanical function is a topic of significant interest to morphologists and paleontologists alike. Several previous studies have examined the morphology of the mandible in gouging and nongouging…

Locomotor features shared by arboreal marsupials and primates are frequently cited as a functional complex that evolved in the context of a "fine branch niche." Adaptation to a fine branch niche cannot be understood without considering that small and…

A partial skeleton was recovered from middle Miocene Muruyur sediments near Kipsaramon in the Tugen Hills, Baringo District, Kenya. The specimen, representing much of the upper skeleton, comes from locality BPRP#122 dated between 15(.)58 Ma and…

Several researchers have investigated, or commented on, the relative placement of the hominin mandibular fossa with regard to brain expansion and masticatory function. Two confounding factors are identified in this previous work. First, a number of…

Temporal bone morphology, as part of the basicranium, is commonly used in systematic evaluation of early hominid fossils. When an isolated right temporal bone, KNM-BC 1 (the Chemeron temporal) was discovered in the Baringo Basin, Kenya, Tobias…

Two bat families, the leaf-nosed (Phyllostomidae) and fruit bats (Pteropodidae), have independently evolved the ability to consume plant resources. However, despite their similar ages, species richness and the strong selective pressures placed on the…

Hausler & Schmid (1995) challenged the long held opinion that AL 288-1 (Australopithecus afarensis), popularly known as "Lucy," was female. They concluded that AL 288-1 was most probably male ("Lucifer") and, by extension, the hypodigm for A.…

Common (Callithrix jacchus) and pygmy (Cebuella pygmaea) marmosets and cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) share broadly similar diets of fruits, insects, and tree exudates. Marmosets, however, differ from tamarins in actively gouging trees with…

Tufted capuchins (sensu lato) are renowned for their dietary flexibility and capacity to exploit hard and tough objects. Cebus apella differs from other capuchins in displaying a suite of craniodental features that have been functionally and…

The jaw-closing muscles are responsible for generating many of the forces and movements associated with feeding. Muscle physiologic cross-sectional area (PCSA) and fiber length are two architectural parameters that heavily influence muscle function.…

The origin and early evolution of Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) is one of the best examples of macroevolution as documented by fossils. Early whales are divided into six families that differ greatly in their habitats, which varied from…

We discuss a model for the origin of cetacean swimming that is based on hydrodynamic and kinematic data of modern mammalian swimmers. The model suggests that modern otters (Mustelidae: Lutrinae) display several of the locomotor modes that early…

Free-ranging primates are confronted with the challenge of maintaining an optimal range of body temperatures within a thermally dynamic environment that changes daily, seasonally, and annually. While many laboratory studies have been conducted on…

Even though in vivo studies of mastication in living primates are often used to test functional and adaptive hypotheses explaining primate masticatory behavior, we currently have little data addressing how experimental procedures performed in the…

Non-human primates demonstrate food preferences much like humans. We have little insight, however, into how those preferences impact oral processing in primates. To begin describing this relationship, we conducted a preliminary analysis measuring…

It was proposed that the power stroke in primates has two distinct periods of occlusal contact, each with a characteristic motion of the mandibular molars relative to the maxillary molars. The two movements are called phase I and phase IT, and they…

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