Abstract
Knuckle walking is a mode of quadrupedalism employed by the African apes within the genera Gorilla and Pan wherein a large portion of the body weight is supported by the arms, with the dorsal middle phalanges making contact with the ground on each weight‐bearing stride. Several morphological features may be associated with knuckle walking, such as limited dorsiflexion in the wrist joint, dorsal concavities and ridges along the hamate and capitate bones, and the presence of knuckle pads on the dorsal surface of the phalanges. Though the trait is unique to the African apes among primates, there is a high level of variation between Gorilla and Pan in regard to technique and frequency of knuckle walking. Whether these differences are the consequence of varying degrees of arboreality and body size or evidence of parallel evolution of knuckle walking within the genera has yet to be resolved. Further research into traits indicative of knuckle walking in the fossil record of ancestral apes will enable future scientists to determine whether or not knuckle walking is the ancestral locomotive state for all African apes, including humans.
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