Analyse de la variabilité de taille et de forme de l'extrémité distale de l'humérus chez les grands singes africains par la morphométrie géométrique

Abstract

The variability of the humeral distal extremity, in inferior view, of three African hominoids, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla, was analysed using Procrustes methods in order to determine the effect of size on the morphology of the joint. The humeral contour was defined by 28 variables (14 landmarks in a two-dimensional space). A PCA analysis was made on superimposed coordinates. The results show that the intraspecific variation emphasized in Pan and Gorilla is highly size-dependent (axes 1 and 2). Pan paniscus is distinguished from Pan troglodytes by minor differences in the projection of both epicondyles (axis 3).