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Brief communication: Ectocranial suture closure in Pongo: Pattern and phylogeny
Author(s) -
Cray James,
Cooper Gregory M.,
Mooney Mark P.,
Siegel Michael I.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.21367
Subject(s) - gorilla , phylogenetic tree , biology , fibrous joint , phylogenetics , taxon , evolutionary biology , primate , synostosis , zoology , anatomy , paleontology , genetics , gene
Ectocranial suture fusion patterns have been shown to contain biological and phylogenetic information. Previously the patterns of Homo , Pan , and Gorilla have been described. These data reflect the phylogenetic relationships among these species. In this study, we applied similar methodology to Pongo to determine the suture synostosis progression of this genus, and to allow comparison to previously reported data on other large‐bodied hominoids. We hypothesized these data would strengthen the argument that suture synostosis patterns reflect the phylogeny of primate taxa. Results indicate that the synostosis of vault sutures in Pongo is similar to that reported for Gorilla (excluding Pan and Homo ). However, the lateral‐anterior pattern of fusion, in which there is a strong superior to inferior pattern, for Pongo is unique among these species, reflecting its phylogenetic distinctness among great ape taxa. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.