Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Epigraph
- Introduction: Gorilla biology: Multiple perspectives on variation within a genus
- Part 1 Gorilla taxonomy and comparative morphology
- 1 An introductory perspective: Gorillas – How important, how many, how long?
- 2 A history of gorilla taxonomy
- 3 Patterns of diversity in gorilla cranial morphology
- 4 The hierarchy of intraspecific craniometric variation in gorillas: A population-thinking approach with implications for fossil species recognition studies
- 5 Morphological differentiation of Gorilla subspecies
- 6 Ontogeny and function of the masticatory complex in Gorilla: Functional, evolutionary, and taxonomic implications
- 7 Intraspecific and ontogenetic variation in the forelimb morphology of Gorilla
- Part 2 Molecular genetics
- Part 3 Behavioral ecology
- Part 4 Gorilla conservation
- Afterword
- Index
- References
4 - The hierarchy of intraspecific craniometric variation in gorillas: A population-thinking approach with implications for fossil species recognition studies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Epigraph
- Introduction: Gorilla biology: Multiple perspectives on variation within a genus
- Part 1 Gorilla taxonomy and comparative morphology
- 1 An introductory perspective: Gorillas – How important, how many, how long?
- 2 A history of gorilla taxonomy
- 3 Patterns of diversity in gorilla cranial morphology
- 4 The hierarchy of intraspecific craniometric variation in gorillas: A population-thinking approach with implications for fossil species recognition studies
- 5 Morphological differentiation of Gorilla subspecies
- 6 Ontogeny and function of the masticatory complex in Gorilla: Functional, evolutionary, and taxonomic implications
- 7 Intraspecific and ontogenetic variation in the forelimb morphology of Gorilla
- Part 2 Molecular genetics
- Part 3 Behavioral ecology
- Part 4 Gorilla conservation
- Afterword
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Understanding the nature of intraspecific craniometric variation in Gorilla gorilla is of major importance in paleoanthropology since gorillas are often used to model what variation might have looked like in a fossil hominid species. The use of modern species analogs, like gorillas, is a critical factor in fossil species recognition studies that seek to determine whether a sample of fossils represents one or more species. In such studies, a decision must be made as to whether the variation in the fossil sample is representative of intraspecific or interspecific variation. Consequently, accurately characterizing intraspecific variation in modern taxa is the foundation upon which such decisions rest.
The concept of “population thinking” should have a central role in fossil species recognition studies. Mayr (1963:5–6) states: “the replacement of typological thinking by population thinking is perhaps the greatest conceptual revolution that has taken place in biology” (see also, among many others: Mayr, 1942, 1969, 1976, 1999; Mayr et al., 1953; Simpson, 1953, 1961; Mayr & Ashlock, 1991). By population thinking, we mean the theory and practice of population systematics in which biological species are thought of as aggregates of interbreeding natural populations comprising individuals that vary genetically and phenetically. Questions have been raised about the extent to which biological anthropologists have embraced population thinking (e.g., Fuller & Caspari, 2001). While paleoanthropologists may be familiar with the theory, fossil species recognition studies have not fully incorporated population thinking into their practical design or interpretation of results.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Gorilla BiologyA Multidisciplinary Perspective, pp. 62 - 103Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002
References
(1977). Methodological approaches to morphological variation in primate populations: The Celebesian macaques. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 20, 290–308Google Scholar
(1978). The craniofacial morphology of the Sulawesi macaques: Multivariate approaches to biological problems. Contributions to Primatology, 13, 1–151Google ScholarPubMed
(1980). Multivariate analysis and the study of form, with special reference to canonical variate analysis. American Zoologist, 20, 679–693CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1992). Assessing the affinities of fossils using canonical variates and generalized distances. Human Evolution, 7, 49–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albrecht, G. H. and Miller, J. M. A. (1993). Geographic variation in primates: A review with implications for interpreting fossils. In Species, Species Concepts, and Primate Evolution, eds. W. H. Kimbel and L. B. Martin, pp. 123–161. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
(1957). Age changes in dimensional differences between the skulls of male and female apes. Proceeding of the Zoological Society of London, 128, 259–265CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1975). Some data on the systematic position of the Eastern gorilla population of the Mt. Kahuzi region (Zaire). Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie, 66, 188–201Google Scholar
Chambers, J. M., Cleveland, W. S., Kleiner, B., and Tukey, P. A. (1983). Graphical Methods for Data Analysis. Pacific Grove, CA: Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole
Clutton-Brock, T. H. (1985). Size, sexual dimorphism, and polygyny in primates. In Size and Scaling in Primate Biology, ed. W. L. Jungers, pp. 51–60. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
(1929). Revision of the genus Gorilla. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard, 50, 291–381Google Scholar
Dixson, A. F. (1981). The Natural History of the Gorilla. New York: Columbia University Press
and (1998). Gorilla ecology and behavior. Evolutionary Anthropology, 6, 120–1313.0.CO;2-H>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1999). Diet of western lowland gorillas in south-west Central African Republic: Implications for subspecific variation in gorilla grouping and ranging patterns. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 28, 121Google Scholar
and (2001). Population thinking: Dead or alive. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 24, 25Google Scholar
, , and (1997). The hierarchy of craniometric variation among gorillas. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 24, 117Google Scholar
, , and (1999). Gorilla behavioral ecology: Effects of altitudinal changes on highland/lowland populations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 28, 137Google Scholar
(2001). Sexual size dimorphism in primates: Considerations of relative variation between sexes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 32, 72Google Scholar
, , and (1996). Phenetic affinities among early Homo crania from East and South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 30, 189–225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1970). Population systematics of the gorilla. Journal of Zoology, London, 161, 287–300CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groves, C. P. (1986). Systematics of the great apes. In Comparative Primate Biology, vol. 1, Systematics, Evolution, and Anatomy, eds. D. R. Swindler and J. Erwin, pp. 187–217. New York: A. R. Liss
and (1979). Systematic relationships of gorilla from Kahuzi, Tshiaberimu, and Kayonza. Folia Primatologica, 32, 161–179CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (1951). A critical review of Coolidge's measurements of gorilla skulls. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 121, 43–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1999). Morphological variation in great ape and modern human mandibles. Journal of Anatomy, 195, 491–513CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hursh, T. M. (1975). A multivariate study of chimpanzee and gorilla crania. PhD thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
(1976). Multivariate analysis of allometry in crania. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 18, 111–120Google Scholar
Jenkins, P. D. (1990). Catalogue of Primates in the British Museum (Natural History) and Elsewhere in the British Isles, Part V, The Apes, Superfamily Hominoidea. London: Natural History Museum Publications
and (1990). Sexual dimorphism and sex ratios in Madagascan primates. American Journal of Primatology, 24, 1–14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1927). Cranial characteristics of gorillas and chimpanzees. Nature, 120, 914–915CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelley, J. (1993). Taxonomic implications of sexual dimorphism in Lufengpithecus. In Species, Species Concepts, and Primate Evolution, eds. W. H. Kimbel and L. B. Martin, pp. 429–458. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
, , , , and (1995). Craniometric variation in large-bodied hominoids: Testing the single-species hypothesis for Homo habilis. Journal of Human Evolution, 29, 443–462CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1998). Morphological differentiation of gorilla subspecies. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 26, 149Google Scholar
and (1977). Relationships of sexual dimorphism in canine size and body size to social, behavioral and ecological correlates in anthropoid primates. Primates, 18, 117–136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1982). Correlates of sexual dimorphism in primates: Ecological and size variables. International Journal of Primatology, 3, 387–402CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leutenegger, W. and Cheverud, J. (1985). Sexual dimorphism in primates: The effects of size. In Size and Scaling in Primate Biology, ed. W. L. Jungers, pp. 32–50. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
, , and (1988). A probabilistic approach to the problem of sexual dimorphism in Homo habilis: A comparison of KNM-ER 1470 and KNM-ER 1813. Journal of Human Evolution, 17, 503–511CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, L. B. and Andrews, P. (1993). Species recognition in Middle Miocene hominoids. In Species, Species Concepts, and Primate Evolution, eds. W. H. Kimbel and L. B. Martin, pp. 393–428. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
Mayr, E. (1942). Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist. New York: Columbia University Press
Mayr, E. (1963). Animal Species and Evolution. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Mayr, E. (1969). Principles of Systematic Zoology. New York: McGraw-Hill
Mayr, E. (1976). Typological versus population thinking. In Evolution and the Diversity of Life: Selected Essays, pp. 26–29, Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Mayr, E. (1999). Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist. (Reprint of Mayr (1942) with a new introduction by the author.) Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Mayr, E. and Ashlock, P. D. (1991). Principles of Systematic Zoology, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill
Mayr, E., Linsley, E. G., and Usinger, R. (1953). Methods and Principles of Systematic Zoology. New York: McGraw-Hill
, , and (1997). An hierarchical analysis of craniofacial variation in Homo habilis using a Gorilla analog. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 24, 170Google Scholar
, , and (1998). A hierarchical analysis of craniofacial variation in Homo habilis compared to a modern human analog. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 26, 163Google Scholar
, , , , and (1999). New findings on the distinctive gorillas of the Nigeria–Cameroon border region. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 28, 213–214Google Scholar
and (1993). Sexual dimorphism in hominoids: Further studies of craniofacial shape differences in Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo. Journal of Human Evolution, 24, 183–205CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oxnard, C. E. (1987). Fossils, Teeth, and Sex: New Perspectives on Human Evolution. Seattle, WA: Seattle University Press
, , and (1985). Sexual dimorphisms in dental dimensions of higher primates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 8, 127–152Google Scholar
, , and (1999). Craniometric discrete trait variation in Gorilla gorilla. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement28, 218Google Scholar
Pickford, M. (1986). On the origins of body size dimorphism in primates. In Sexual Dimorphism in Living and Fossil Primates, eds. M. Pickford and B. Chiarelli, pp. 77–91. Florence, Italy: Il SedicesimoCrossRef
Pickford, M. and Chiarelli, A. B. (1986). Sexual dimorphism in primates: Where are we and where do we go from here. In Sexual Dimorphism in Living and Fossil Primates, eds. M. Pickford and B. Chiarelli, pp. 1–5. Florence, Italy: Il SedicesimoCrossRef
(2000). Variance dimorphism in primates. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 30, 251Google Scholar
and (1988). Sexual dimorphism and dental variability in platyrrhine primates. International Journal of Primatology, 9, 169–178CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1989). Quantitative approaches to primate morphology. Folia Primatologica, 53, 82–100CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1943). The skeletal and dental development and variability of the gorilla. Human Biology, 15, 236–337Google Scholar
(1944). The skeletal and dental development and variability of the gorilla (concluded). Human Biology, 16, 23–76Google Scholar
1999. Nutritional aspects of diet of gorillas at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic with interpopulation and interspecific comparisons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 28, 231Google Scholar
(1994). Terrestrial traits in the hands and feet of gorillas. American Museum Novitates, 3091, 1–56Google Scholar
and (2000). The Cross River gorillas: A distinct subspecies, Gorilla gorilla diehli Matschie 1904. American Museum Novitates, 3304, 1–552.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (1996). Gorillas of the Bwindi-Impenetrable Forest and the Virunga Volcanoes: Taxonomic implications of morphological and ecological differences. American Journal of Primatology, 40, 1–213.0.CO;2-1>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmid, P. and Stratil, Z. (1986). Growth changes, variations and sexual dimorphism of the gorilla skull. In Selected Proceedings of the 10th Congress of the International Primatological Society, vol. 1, Primate Evolution, eds. J. G. Else and P. C. Lee, pp. 239–247. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press
(1927). Studies on the growth of Gorilla and of other higher primates, with special reference to a fetus of Gorilla, preserved in the Carnegie Museum. Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, 11, 1–86Google Scholar
(1934). Some distinguishing characters of the mountain gorilla. Journal of Mammalogy, 15, 51–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1983). Allometry and heterochrony in the African apes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 62, 275–289CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1986). Ontogenetic approaches to sexual dimorphism in the anthropoids. Human Evolution, 1, 97–110CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , and (2001). Testing the taxonomic integrity of Paranthropus boisei sensu stricto. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 115, 167–178CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simpson, G. G. (1953). The Major Features of Evolution. New York: Columbia University Press
Simpson, G. G. (1961). Principles of Animal Taxonomy. New York: Columbia University Press
Stringer, C. B. (1986). The credibility of Homo habilis. In Major Topics in Primate and Human Evolution, eds. B. Wood, L. Martin, and P. Andrews, pp. 266–294, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press
, , and (1997). Sexual dimorphism and geographic variation among subspecies of Gorilla. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 24, 223–224Google Scholar
, , , , and (1998). Morphological distinctiveness of Nigerian gorilla crania. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 26, 213Google Scholar
and (2000). Sanctuary in Nigeria for possible fourth subspecies of gorilla. Oryx, 34, 71Google Scholar
(1995). Effects of ontogeny and sexual dimorphism on scapula morphology in the mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei). American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 98, 431–445CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1997). Relative growth, ontogeny, and sexual dimorphism in Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla and G. g. beringei): Evolutionary and ecological considerations. American Journal of Primatology, 43, 1–333.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2002). Masticatory form and function in the African apes. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 117, 133–156CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Teaford, M. F., Walker, A., and Mugaisi, G. S. (1993). Species discrimination in Proconsul from Rusinga and Mfangano Islands, Kenya. In Species, Species Concepts, and Primate Evolution, eds. W. H. Kimbel and L. B. Martin, pp. 373–392. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
(1996). What we don't know about great ape variation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 163–168CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1974). Multivariate structural statistics in natural history. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 45, 235–247CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watts, D. S. (1991). Comparative socioecology of gorillas. In: Great Ape Societies, eds. W. C. McGrew, L. F. Marchant, and T. Nishida, pp. 16–28. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press
Wilson, S. R. (1984). Towards an understanding of data in physical anthropology. In Multivariate Statistical Methods in Physical Anthropology, eds. G. N. van Vark and W. W. Howells, pp. 261–282. Boston, MA: D. ReidelCrossRef
Wood, B. A. (1975). An analysis of sexual dimorphism in primates. PhD thesis, University of London
(1976). The nature and basis of sexual dimorphism in primates. Journal of Zoology, London, 180, 15–34CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, B. A. (1991). Koobi Fora Research Project, vol. 4. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press
Wood, B. A. (1993). Early Homo: How many species? In Species, Species Concepts, and Primate Evolution, eds. W. H. Kimbell and L. B. Martin, pp. 485–522. New York: Plenum PressCrossRef
, , and (1991). Intraspecific variation and sexual dimorphism in cranial and dental variables among higher primates and their bearing on the hominid fossil record. Journal of Anatomy, 174, 185–205Google ScholarPubMed
- 2
- Cited by