Early Brain Growth Cessation in Wild Virunga Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of primatology 2013-05, Vol.75 (5), p.450-463
Main Authors: MCFARLIN, SHANNON C., BARKS, SARAH K., TOCHERI, MATTHEW W., MASSEY, JASON S., ERIKSEN, AMANDINE B., FAWCETT, KATIE A., STOINSKI, TARA S., HOF, PATRICK R., BROMAGE, TIMOTHY G., MUDAKIKWA, ANTOINE, CRANFIELD, MICHAEL R., SHERWOOD, CHET C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging - physiology
Animals
Animals, Wild
Brain
Brain - growth & development
brain growth
Chimpanzees
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Female
Gorilla gorilla
Gorilla gorilla - growth & development
Gorillas
Hominids
Life history
Male
mountain gorillas
Ontogeny
Pan troglodytes
Primatology
Rwanda
Uganda
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Summary:Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examined brain growth in wild Virunga mountain gorillas using data derived from necropsy reports (N = 34) and endocranial volume (EV) measurements (N = 86). The youngest individual in our sample was a 10‐day‐old neonatal male with a brain mass of 208 g, representing 42% of the adult male average. Our results demonstrate that Virunga mountain gorillas reach maximum adult‐like brain mass by 3–4 years of age; adult‐sized EV is reached by the time the first permanent molars emerge. This is in contrast to the pattern observed in chimpanzees, which despite their smaller absolute brain size, reportedly attain adult brain mass approximately 1 year later than Virunga mountain gorillas. Our findings demonstrate that brain growth is completed early in Virunga mountain gorillas compared to other great apes studied thus far, in a manner that appears to be linked with other life history characteristics of this population. Am. J. Primatol. 75:450‐463, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0275-2565
1098-2345
DOI:10.1002/ajp.22100