This book challenges the assumption that morphological data are inherently unsuitable for phylogeny reconstruction, argues that both molecular and morphological phylogenies should play a major role in systematics, and provides the most comprehensive review of the comparative anatomy, homologies and evolution of the head, neck, pectoral and upper li

This book challenges the assumption that morphological data are inherently unsuitable for phylogeny reconstruction, argues that both molecular and morphological phylogenies should play a major role in systematics, and provides the most comprehensive review of the comparative anatomy, homologies and evolution of the head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles of primates. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an introduction to the main aims and methodology of the book. Chapters 3 and 4 and Appendices I and II present the data obtained from dissections of the head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles of representative members of all the major primate groups including modern humans, and compare these data with the information available in the literature. Appendices I and II provide detailed textual (attachments, innervation, function, variations and synonyms) and visual (high quality photographs) information about each muscle for the primate taxa included in the cladistic study of Chapter 3, thus providing the first comprehensive and up to date overview of the comparative anatomy of the head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles of primates. The most parsimonious tree obtained from the cladistic analysis of 166 head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscle characters in 18 primate genera, and in representatives of the Scandentia, Dermoptera and Rodentia, is fully congruent with the evolutionary molecular tree of Primates, thus supporting the idea that muscle characters are particularly useful to infer phylogenies. The combined anatomical materials provided in this book point out that modern humans have fewer head, neck, pectoral and upper limb muscles than most other living primates, but are consistent with the proposal that facial and vocal communication and specialized thumb movements have probably played an important role in recent human evolution. This book will be of interest to primatologists, comparative anatomists, functional morphologists, zoologists, physical anthropologists, and systematicians, as well as to medical students, physicians and researchers interested in understanding the origin, evolution, homology and variations of the muscles of modern humans. Contains 132 color plates.

The first photographic and descriptive musculoskeletal atlas of a baby gorilla, this book details the comparative and phylogenetic context of the gross anatomy and evolutionary history of the soft tissue morphology of modern humans and one of their closest relatives. With detailed high-quality photographs of musculoskeletal structures, it provides an updated review of the anatomical variations within gorillas as well as an extensive list of the synonyms used in the literature to designate the structures discussed. It will be of interest to students, teachers, and researchers studying primatology, comparative anatomy, functional morphology, zoology, and physical anthropology.

Chordates comprise lampreys, hagfishes, jawed fishes, and tetrapods, plus a variety of more unfamiliar and crucially important non-vertebrate animal lineages, such as lancelets and sea squirts. This will be the first book to synthesize, summarize, and provide high-quality illustrations to show what is known of the configuration, development, homology, and evolution of the muscles of all major extant chordate groups. Muscles as different as those used to open the siphons of sea squirts and for human facial communication will be compared, and their evolutionary links will be explained. Another unique feature of the book is that it covers, illustrates, and provides detailed evolutionary tables for each and every muscle of the head, neck and of all paired and median appendages of extant vertebrates. Key Selling Features: Has more than 200 high-quality anatomical illustrations, including evolutionary trees that summarize the origin and evolution of all major muscle groups of chordates Includes data on the muscles of the head and neck and on the pectoral, pelvic, anal, dorsal, and caudal appendages of all extant vertebrate taxa Examines experimental observations from evolutionary developmental biology studies of chordate muscle development, allowing to evolutionarily link the muscles of vertebrates with those of other chordates Discusses broader developmental and evolutionary issues and their implications for macroevolution, such as the links between phylogeny and ontogeny, homology and serial homology, normal and abnormal development, the evolution, variations, and birth defects of humans, and medicine.

This book demonstrates how the primate hand combines both primitive and novel morphology, both general function with specialization, and both a remarkable degree of diversity within some clades and yet general similarity across many others. Across the chapters, different authors have addressed a variety of specific questions and provided their perspectives, but all explore the main themes described above to provide an overarching “primitive primate hand” thread to the book. Each chapter provides an in-depth review and critical account of the available literature, a balanced interpretation of the evidence from a variety of perspectives, and prospects for future research questions. In order to make this a useful resource for researchers at all levels, the basic structure of each chapter is the same, so that information can be easily consulted from chapter to chapter. An extensive reference list is provided at the end of each chapter so the reader has additional resources to address more specific questions or to find specific data.

A comprehensive, illustrated textbook that reveals the structural and functional anatomy of primates. Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Choice ACRL Why do orangutan arms closely resemble human arms? What is the advantage to primates of having long limbs? Why do primates have forward-facing eyes? Answers to questions such as these are usually revealed by comparative studies of primate anatomy. In this heavily illustrated, up-to-date textbook, primate anatomist Daniel L. Gebo provides straightforward explanations of primate anatomy that move logically through the body plan and across species. Including only what is essential in relation to soft tissues, the book relies primarily on bony structures to explain the functions and diversity of anatomy among living primates. Ideal for college and graduate courses, Gebo's book will also appeal to researchers in the fields of mammalogy, primatology, anthropology, and paleontology. Included in this book are discussions of: • Phylogeny • Adaptation • Body size • The wet- and dry-nosed primates • Bone biology • Musculoskeletal mechanics • Strepsirhine and haplorhine heads • Primate teeth and diets • Necks, backs, and tails • The pelvis and reproduction • Locomotion • Forelimbs and hindlimbs • Hands and feet • Grasping toes

Developmental Approaches to Human Evolution encapsulates the current state of evolutionary developmental anthropology. This emerging scientific field applies tools and approaches from modern developmental biology to understand the role of genetic and developmental processes in driving morphological and cognitive evolution in humans, non-human primates and in the laboratory organisms used to model these changes. Featuring contributions from well-established pioneers and emerging leaders, this volume is designed to build research momentum and catalyze future innovation in this burgeoning field. The book’s broad research scope encompasses soft and hard tissues of the head and body, including the skeleton, special senses and the brain. Developmental Approaches to Human Evolution is an invaluable resource on the mechanisms of primate and vertebrate evolution for scholars across a wide array of intersecting disciplines, including primatology, paleoanthropology, vertebrate morphology, evolutionary developmental biology and health sciences.

Chimpanzees, including common chimpanzees and bonobos, are our closest living relatives. This book, which is the first photographic and descriptive musculoskeletal atlas of the genus Pan, adopts the same format as the photographic atlases of Gorilla and Hylobates previously published by the same authors. These three books are part of a series of mo

The vertebrate head is the most complex part of the animal body and its diversity in nature reflects a variety of life styles, feeding modes, and ecological adaptations. This book will take you on a journey to discover the origin and diversification of the head, which evolved from a seemingly headless chordate ancestor. Despite their structural diversity, heads develop in a highly conserved fashion in embryos. Major sensory organs like the eyes, ears, nose, and brain develop in close association with surrounding tissues such as bones, cartilages, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. Ultimately, this integrated unit of tissues gives rise to the complex functionality of the musculoskeletal system as a result of sensory and neural feedback, most notably in the use of the vertebrate jaws, a major vertebrate innovation only lacking in hagfishes and lampreys. The cranium subsequently further diversified during the major transition from fishes living in an aquatic environment to tetrapods living mostly on land. In this book, experts will join forces to integrate, for the first time, state-of-the-art knowledge on the anatomy, development, function, diversity, and evolution of the head and jaws and their muscles within all major groups of extant vertebrates. Considerations about and comparisons with fossil taxa, including emblematic groups such as the dinosaurs, are also provided in this landmark book, which will be a leading reference for many years to come.