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The medial pterygoid tubercle in the Atapuerca Early and Middle Pleistocene mandibles: Evolutionary implications
Author(s) -
Bermúdez de Castro JoséMaría,
Quam Rolf,
MartinónTorres María,
Martínez Ignacio,
GraciaTéllez Ana,
Arsuaga Juan Luís,
Carbonell Eudald
Publication year - 2015
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.22631
Subject(s) - pleistocene , anatomy , tubercle , paleontology , biology , geology , bacteria , bacilli
Numerous studies have attempted to identify the presence of uniquely derived (autoapomorphic) Neandertal features. Here, we deal with the medial pterygoid tubercle (MTP), which is usually present on the internal face of the ascending ramus of Neandertal specimens. Our study stems from the identification of a hypertrophied tubercle in ATD6‐96, an Early Pleistocene mandible recovered from the TD6 level of the Atapuerca‐Gran Dolina site and attributed to Homo antecessor . Our review of the literature and study of numerous original fossil specimens and high quality replicas confirm that the MTP occurs at a high frequency in Neandertals (ca. 89%) and is also present in over half (ca. 55%) of the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos (SH) hominins. In contrast, it is generally absent or minimally developed in other extinct hominins, but can be found in variable frequencies (