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Related Experiment Videos

Lower Ilium Evolution in Apes and Hominins.

Ashley S Hammond1, Sergio Almécija1,2

  • 1Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, 20052.

Anatomical Record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)
|April 14, 2017
PubMed
Summary

The pelvis of the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees likely had a shorter lower ilium than most great apes. Independent evolution of elongated lower ilia occurred in orangutans and chimpanzees.

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Area of Science:

  • Paleoanthropology
  • Primate Anatomy
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Understanding the pelvic morphology of the Pan-Homo last common ancestor (LCA) is key to ape and human evolution.
  • Ardipithecus ramidus pelvis interpretations are debated, with some suggesting independent ilium elongation in orangutans and chimpanzees.
  • This challenges the use of these taxa as direct analogues for the LCA pelvis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine relative lower ilium height variation across hominoid species.
  • To model the evolutionary trajectory of this trait using fossil data.
  • To infer the pelvic morphology of the Pan-Homo LCA.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of relative lower ilium height in extant and fossil hominoids.
  • Maximum likelihood ancestral state reconstruction.
Keywords:
ArdipithecusSivapithecusancestral state reconstructionlast common ancestor (LCA)pelvis evolution

Related Experiment Videos

  • Calibration of evolutionary models using fossil hominoids.

    • Main Results:

    • Gorillas exhibit a plesiomorphic (ancestral) condition for lower ilium height, not an elongation.
    • Differences in lower ilium height are not solely explained by interspecific size variation.
    • Chimpanzees and orangutans independently evolved elongated lower ilia.

    Conclusions:

    • The Pan-Homo LCA's predicted lower ilium height is shorter than most great apes, excluding gorillas.
    • Different body regions exhibit distinct evolutionary histories within hominoids.
    • Reconstructing the mosaic nature of the LCA requires considering unique morphologies of each fossil and modern hominoid species.