![]() ![]() ![]() We investigate 1) ontogenetic growth patterns by applying Gompertz curves to within-species population-level data of humeral torsion, and we investigate 2) rates of change of humeral torsion across individual branches of a phylogeny of 25 primate species. We investigate whether within-species ontogenetic approaches are aligned with between-species comparative approaches in estimating shared derivation of humeral torsion in African apes. ![]() Developmental data has been suggested to be informative in perceiving homology and homoplasy in a paleoanthropological context, although opinions are still divided on the value of ontogenetic analyses. Humeral torsion (i.e., rotation of the humeral head on the shaft), has received particular attention within this debate because of its potential in diagnosing locomotion in fossil primates. Considerable debate exists, however, over whether these features are a product of shared ancestry or parallel evolution. Hominoid primates share a number shoulder morphologies associated with arms used for overhead movements.
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