The Role of Extant Primate Models for Interpreting Premolar Crown Variation in Fossil Hominins
Open AccessParanthropus, a clade of extinct hominins closely related to the genus Homo,, has distinctly molarized premolars. Molarized premolars are used to differentiate Paranthropus, fossil remains from Homo, remains, particularly at sites where the two genera are found in close temporal overlap. However, molarized premolars are a poorly defined morphological trait and their adaptive significance is not well understood. To address questions of the evolutionary origin and significance of premolar molarization, this dissertation uses three models to quantify the expression of molarization in extant primates and reevaluates the significance of the morphological differences between the premolars of Paranthropus, and Homo. The results of the developmental, integration, and ecological models employed in this dissertation find that molarization is a trait prone to homoplasy and may not be a reliable synapomorphic character for the genus Paranthropus,. Furthermore, the results of the ecological analyses suggest that the degree of the expression of molarization may relate to dietary divergence between species currently included in Paranthropus, and sympatric Homo,. Molarization is a morphological trait that should be used conservatively in phylogenetic analyses but its presence provides an additional line of evidence for reconstructing the paleoecology of fossil hominin communities.
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.