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Maxillary morphology of chimpanzees: Captive versus wild environments
Hester Hanegraef1, Fred Spoor1,2
1Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London, UK.
Journal of Anatomy
|January 31, 2024
Summary
Captive chimpanzees exhibit distinct maxillary morphology compared to wild populations, with larger, more asymmetrical cranial structures. These differences impact comparative studies in human evolution research, highlighting the need to exclude captive specimens.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Primatology
- Comparative Anatomy
Background:
- Osteological samples from captive animals are often excluded from morphological studies due to assumed unrepresentativeness.
- Rearing environments, particularly diet, can significantly influence cranial morphology and dental health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate morphological differences in the maxillae of wild versus captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
- To assess the impact of captive environments on cranial morphology relevant to human evolution research.
Main Methods:
- Utilized three-dimensional geometric morphometrics on computed tomography scans of 94 wild and 30 captive chimpanzee specimens.
- Analyzed size and shape variations in the maxillae.
Main Results:
- Captive chimpanzees possess larger and more asymmetrical maxillae than wild individuals.
- Significant maxillary shape differences persist even after adjusting for allometric size.
- Higher levels of shape variation were observed in the captive group.
Conclusions:
- Maxillary morphology differs significantly between wild and captive chimpanzees.
- Captive chimpanzee maxillae are not representative of wild populations and should be excluded from taxonomic and morphological analyses.
- Inclusion of captive specimens can exaggerate interspecies differences, such as between chimpanzees and bonobos.
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