High-resolution computed tomography study of the cranium of a fossil anthropoid primate, Parapithecus grangeri: New insights into the evolutionary history of primate sensory systems
Abstract
Extant anthropoids have large brains, small olfactory bulbs, and high‐acuity vision compared with other primates. The relative timing of the evolution of these characteristics may have important implications for brain evolution. Here computed tomography is used to examine the cranium of a fossil anthropoid, Parapithecus grangeri. It is found that P. grangeri had a relatively small brain compared with living primates. In addition, it had an olfactory bulb in the middle of the range for living primates. Methods for relating optic foramen area and other cranial measurements to acuity are discussed. Multiple regression is used to estimate retinal ganglion cell number in P. grangeri. Given currently available comparative data, P. grangeri seems to have had retinal ganglion cell counts intermediate for living primates, overlapping with the upper end of the range for strepsirrhines and possibly with the lower end for anthropoids.
Additional Information
© 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Version of Record online: 06 October 2004. Manuscript accepted: 01 July 2004. Manuscript received: 20 May 2004. Grant sponsor: the National Institutes of Health; Grant number: EY11759; Grant sponsor: W.M. Keck Foundation for Discovery in Basic Medical Research at the California Institute of Technology; Grant sponsor: Frank V. Hixon Fund. The authors thank Matthew Colbert for assistance with scanning, as well as Chris Kirk, Richard Kay, and Tim Smith for suggestions regarding the analysis. This is Duke Primate Center publication number 787.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 104451
- DOI
- 10.1002/ar.a.20113
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20200720-124523454
- EY11759
- NIH
- W. M. Keck Foundation
- Frank V. Hixon Fund
- Created
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2020-07-21Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field