TY - JOUR
T1 - Dental shape variability in cercopithecoid primates: A model for the taxonomic attribution of macaques from roman archaeological contexts
AU - Delgado, Mónica Nova
AU - Gamarra, Beatriz
AU - Nadal, Jordi
AU - Mercadal, Oriol
AU - Olesti, Oriol
AU - Pérez-Pérez, Jordi Guàrdia Alejandro
AU - Galbany, Jordi
PY - 2014/1/1
Y1 - 2014/1/1
N2 - © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel. Morphometric variation of biological structures has been widely used to determine taxonomic affinities among taxa, and teeth are especially informative for both deep phylogenetic relationships and specific ecological signals. We report 2-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GM) analyses of occlusal crown surfaces of lower molars (M1, n = 141; M2, n = 158) of cercopithecoid primate species. A 12-landmark configuration, including cusp tips and 8 points of the molar crown contour, were used to evaluate patterns of variation in lower molar shape among cercopithecoid primates and to predict the taxonomic attribution of 2 archaeological macaques from Roman time periods. The results showed that the lower molar shape of cercopithecoid primates reflects taxonomic affinities, mostly at a subfamily level and close to a tribe level. Thus, the cusp positions and crown contour were important elements of the pattern related to interspecific variation. Additionally, the archaeological specimens, attributed to Macaca sylvanus based on osteological information, were classified using the GM molar shape variability of the cercopithecoid primates studied. The results suggest that their molar shape resembled both M. sylvanus and M. nemestrina, and species attribution varied depending on the comparative sample used.
AB - © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel. Morphometric variation of biological structures has been widely used to determine taxonomic affinities among taxa, and teeth are especially informative for both deep phylogenetic relationships and specific ecological signals. We report 2-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GM) analyses of occlusal crown surfaces of lower molars (M1, n = 141; M2, n = 158) of cercopithecoid primate species. A 12-landmark configuration, including cusp tips and 8 points of the molar crown contour, were used to evaluate patterns of variation in lower molar shape among cercopithecoid primates and to predict the taxonomic attribution of 2 archaeological macaques from Roman time periods. The results showed that the lower molar shape of cercopithecoid primates reflects taxonomic affinities, mostly at a subfamily level and close to a tribe level. Thus, the cusp positions and crown contour were important elements of the pattern related to interspecific variation. Additionally, the archaeological specimens, attributed to Macaca sylvanus based on osteological information, were classified using the GM molar shape variability of the cercopithecoid primates studied. The results suggest that their molar shape resembled both M. sylvanus and M. nemestrina, and species attribution varied depending on the comparative sample used.
KW - Cercopithecoid primates
KW - Geometric morphometrics
KW - Macaca
KW - Molar shape
KW - Procrustes superimposition
KW - Taxonomy
KW - Teeth
U2 - 10.1159/000371633
DO - 10.1159/000371633
M3 - Article
SN - 0015-5713
VL - 85
SP - 361
EP - 378
JO - Folia Primatologica
JF - Folia Primatologica
IS - 6
ER -