Functional and Phylogenetic Features of the Forelimb in Miocene Hominoids

Abstract

The forelimb is the most versatile part of the locomotor system in primates. As such, its functional morphology varies widely among taxa with different locomotor specializations. It is therefore an attractive region for investigations of phylogeny, function, and their interrelationships. In addition, forelimb elements are relatively abundant in the catarrhine fossil record. This is especially true for the humerus, which will form the focus of what follows. In this discussion, only major references are cited: more complete bibliographies are included in Rose (1993a, 1994). Characters identified in the text by parenthesized letters, e.g., (a) or (a′), are listed in Table I, and their states in the taxa discussed are listed in Table II. Characters identified with a prime indicate the derived state. Many of the humeral characters are illustrated in Fig. 1.