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Trabecular bone structure correlates with hand posture and use in hominoids.
Zewdi J Tsegai1, Tracy L Kivell, Thomas Gross
1Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom ; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
Plos One
|November 19, 2013
Summary
Trabecular bone structure in hominoid hands reflects locomotor behaviors. Knuckle-walking apes show greater bone density and stiffness dorsally, while suspensory and manipulative apes concentrate it palmarly, informing fossil behavior reconstruction.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Biomechanics
- Comparative Anatomy
Background:
- Bone adapts to mechanical stress, suggesting behavioral differences may impact skeletal structure.
- The hominoid hand, a key interface with the environment, exhibits varied postures and loading patterns across species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if trabecular bone structure in the third metacarpal reflects distinct hand postures and loading in extant hominoids.
- To analyze evolutionary rates of trabecular parameter changes across the hominoid clade.
Main Methods:
- Whole-epiphysis analysis of high-resolution microtomographic scans of the third metacarpal in knuckle-walking, suspensory, and manipulative hominoids.
- Application of comparative phylogenetic methods to assess evolutionary changes in trabecular parameters.
Main Results:
- Trabecular bone volume and stiffness distribution correlate with predicted hand loading in each behavioral group.
- Knuckle-walking taxa exhibit higher bone volume fraction and anisotropy, particularly dorsally, compared to suspensory and manipulative taxa.
- Humans show low bone volume fraction and variable anisotropy, consistent with manipulative hand use.
Conclusions:
- Inferred behavior is linked to trabecular bone structure in extant hominoid hands.
- These findings can aid in reconstructing the behavior of fossil primates based on their skeletal morphology.
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