Hominoid nasal region polymorphism and its phylogenetic significance

The morphology of the nasal bones and their articulations with the adjoining frontal and maxillary bones have recently been reported in Nature and elsewhere to be diagnostic of hominoid taxa, and cladistic analysis based on these features has been used to assign two immature Plio-Pleistocene hominoi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1987-07, Vol.328 (6128), p.333-335
Main Author: ECKHARDT, R. B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anthropology
Bones
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Female
Fossils
Gorilla gorilla - genetics
Haplorhini - genetics
Male
Monkeys & apes
Nose
Paleontology
Pan troglodytes - genetics
Phylogeny
Pleistocene
Polymorphism, Genetic
Pongo pygmaeus - genetics
Skull - anatomy & histology
Species Specificity
Vertebrate paleontology
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Description
Summary:The morphology of the nasal bones and their articulations with the adjoining frontal and maxillary bones have recently been reported in Nature and elsewhere to be diagnostic of hominoid taxa, and cladistic analysis based on these features has been used to assign two immature Plio-Pleistocene hominoids (AL 333-105 and Taung) to different lineages (Paranthropus and Homo, respectively). Because earlier studies had established that hominoid crania are highly variable intraspecifically, it seemed desirable to try to replicate the study reporting a consistently different pattern for each hominoid taxon. My results show extensive polymorphism in the nasal region within every taxon of extant pongids, including several rather clear examples, in extant Pan troglodytes, of that recently hypothesized to be a 'paranthropine' pattern. These findings underscore the substantial risks inherent in cladistic analyses using very restricted character sets to assign individual specimens to particular taxa.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/328333a0