{"title":"Tarsals from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain)","authors":"Adrián Pablos, Juan Luis Arsuaga","doi":"10.1002/ar.25425","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25425","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Here, we provide a complete, updated, and illustrated inventory, as well as a comprehensive study, of the tarsals (rearfoot) recovered from the Middle Pleistocene site of Sima de los Huesos (SH, Atapuerca, Spain) in comparison to other <i>Homo</i> comparative samples, both extant and fossil. The minimum number of individuals (MNI) estimated from the tarsals has been established as 15, which represents 51.7% of the 29 dental individuals identified within the SH sample. Within the SH hominin foot sample, an exclusive combination of primitive or plesiomorphic and derived or autapomorphic traits can be observed when compared with other <i>Homo</i> individuals/populations. Other characters are shared among SH hominins and Neandertals that might represent shared derived or autapomorphic traits for this evolutionary line, and most are likely related to robusticity (e.g., rectangular-like trochlea of the talus, broad calcanei, broad naviculars, and short lateral cuneiforms). Additionally, we observed some exclusive autapomorphic traits in the SH tarsal sample (e.g., narrow head of the talus and short intermediate cuneiforms). A few exclusive traits in SH tarsal remains are even more robust than in Neandertals (e.g., broad lateral malleolar facet in talus, more projected sustentaculum tali, and broad medial cuneiform). These traits could suggest a slightly higher level of gracilization in the tarsal bones of Neandertals compared to the SH sample that is also supported by other anatomical postcranial skeleton elements. Additionally, some paleobiological inferences are made in relation to body size (stature and body mass) and some associations are proposed within the SH sample. In conclusion, the morphology of the SH tarsi confirms an evolutionary relationship of sister groups between this population and Neandertals, probably representing a morphotype similar to the Neandertal ancestors.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 7","pages":"2635-2664"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ar.25425","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140112070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The lion of The Anatomical Record: The indomitable John Ladman","authors":"Jeffrey T. Laitman, Heather F. Smith","doi":"10.1002/ar.25424","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25424","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 10","pages":"3413-3416"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140102763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vascular microforamina and endocranial surface: Normal variation and distribution in adult humans","authors":"Emiliano Bruner, Stanislava Eisová","doi":"10.1002/ar.25426","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25426","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The term <i>craniovascular traits</i> refers to the imprints left by arteries and veins on the skull bones. These features can be used in biological anthropology and archaeology to investigate the morphology of the vascular network in extinct species and past populations. Generally, the term refers to macrovascular features of the endocranial cavity, like those associated with the middle meningeal artery, venous sinuses, emissary foramina, and diploic channels. However, small vascular passages (here called <i>microforamina</i> or <i>microchannels</i>) have been occasionally described on the endocranial surface. The larger ones (generally with a diameter between 0.5 and 2.0 mm) can be detected through medical scanners on osteological collections. In this study, we describe and quantify the number and distribution of these microforamina in adult humans (<i>N</i> = 45) and, preliminarily, in a small sample of children (<i>N</i> = 7). Adults display more microchannels than juvenile skulls. A higher frequency in females is also observed, although this result is not statistically significant and might be associated with allometric cranial variations. The distribution of the microforamina is particularly concentrated on the top of the vault, in particular along the sagittal, metopic, and coronal sutures, matching the course of major venous sinuses and parasagittal bridging veins. Nonetheless, the density is lower in the region posterior to <i>bregma</i>. Beyond oxygenation, these vessels are likely involved in endocranial thermal regulation, infection, inflammation, and immune responses, and their distribution and prevalence can hence be of interest in human biology, evolutionary anthropology, and medicine.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 10","pages":"3375-3383"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140094997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mario Modesto-Mata, Luis de la Fuente Valentín, Leslea J. Hlusko, Marina Martínez de Pinillos, Ian Towle, Cecilia García-Campos, María Martinón-Torres, José María Bermúdez de Castro
{"title":"Artificial neural networks reconstruct missing perikymata in worn teeth","authors":"Mario Modesto-Mata, Luis de la Fuente Valentín, Leslea J. Hlusko, Marina Martínez de Pinillos, Ian Towle, Cecilia García-Campos, María Martinón-Torres, José María Bermúdez de Castro","doi":"10.1002/ar.25416","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25416","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Dental evolutionary studies in hominins are key to understanding how our ancestors and close fossil relatives grew from the early stages of embryogenesis into adults. In a sense, teeth are like an airplane's ‘black box’ as they record important variables for assessing developmental timing, enabling comparisons within and between populations, species, and genera. The ability to discern this type of nuanced information is embedded in the nature of how tooth enamel and dentin form: incrementally and over years. This incremental growth leaves chronological indicators in the histological structure of enamel, visible on the crown surface as perikymata. These structures are used in the process of reconstructing the rate and timing of tooth formation. Unfortunately, the developmentally earliest growth lines in lateral enamel are quickly lost to wear once the tooth crown erupts. We developed a method to reconstruct these earliest, missing perilymata from worn teeth through knowledge of the later-developed, visible perikymata for all tooth types (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars) using a modern human dataset. Building on our previous research using polynomial regressions, here we describe an artificial neural networks (ANN) method. This new ANN method mostly predicts within 2 counts the number of perikymata present in each of the first three deciles of the crown height for all tooth types. Our ANN method for estimating perikymata lost through wear has two immediate benefits: more accurate values can be produced and worn teeth can be included in dental research. This tool is available on the open-source platform R within the package teethR released under GPL v3.0 license, enabling other researchers the opportunity to expand their datasets for studies of periodicity in histological growth, dental development, and evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 9","pages":"3120-3138"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140102762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Keegan R. Selig, Sergi López-Torres, Anne M. Burrows, Mary T. Silcox, Jin Meng
{"title":"Dental caries in living and extinct strepsirrhines with insights into diet","authors":"Keegan R. Selig, Sergi López-Torres, Anne M. Burrows, Mary T. Silcox, Jin Meng","doi":"10.1002/ar.25420","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25420","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Dental caries is one of the most common diseases afflicting modern humans and occurs in both living and extinct non-human primates, as well as other mammalian species. Compared to other primates, less is known about the etiology or frequency of caries among the Strepsirrhini. Given the link between caries and diet, caries frequency may be informative about the dietary ecology of a given animal. Understanding rates of caries in wild populations is also critical to assessing dental health in captive populations. Here, we examine caries frequency in a sample of 36 extant strepsirrhine species (<i>n</i> = 316 individuals) using odontological collections of wild-, non-captive animals housed at the American Museum of Natural History by counting the number of specimens characterized by the disease. Additionally, in the context of studying caries lesions in strepsirrhines, case studies were also conducted to test if similar lesions were found in their fossil relatives. In particular, two fossil strepsirrhine species were analyzed: the earliest Late Eocene <i>Karanisia clarki</i>, and the subfossil lemur <i>Megaladapis madagascariensis</i>. Our results suggest that caries affects 13.92% of the extant individuals we examined. The frugivorous and folivorous taxa were characterized by the highest overall frequency of caries, whereas the insectivores, gummivores, and omnivores had much lower caries frequencies. Our results suggest that caries may be common among wild populations of strepsirrhines, and in fact is more prevalent than in many catarrhines and platyrrhines. These findings have important implications for understanding caries, diet, and health in living and fossil taxa.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 6","pages":"1995-2006"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140094996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Regional differences in the umbilical vein and ductus venosus at different stages of normal human development","authors":"Naoko Isotani, Toru Kanahashi, Hirohiko Imai, Akio Yoneyama, Shigehito Yamada, Tetsuya Takakuwa","doi":"10.1002/ar.25421","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25421","url":null,"abstract":"<p>During the fetal period, oxygenated blood from the placenta flows through the umbilical vein (UV), portal sinus, ductus venosus (DV), and inferior vena cava (IVC) to the heart. This venous route varies regionally in many aspects. Herein, we sought to characterize the venous route's morphological features and regional differences during embryonic and early-fetal periods. Twenty-nine specimens were selected for high-resolution digitized imaging; 18 embryos were chosen for histological analysis. The venous route showed a primitive, large, S-shaped curved morphology with regional narrowing and dilation at Carnegie stage (CS) 15. Regional differences in vessel-wall differentiation became apparent from approximately CS20. The vessel wall was poorly developed in most DV parts; local vessel-wall thickness at the inlet was first detected at CS20. The lumen of the venous route changed from a nonuniform shape to a relatively round and uniform morphology after CS21. During the early-fetal period, two large bends were observed around the passage of the umbilical ring and at the inlet of the liver. The length ratio of the extrahepatic UV to the total venous route increased. The sectional area gradually increased during embryonic development, whereas differences in sectional area between the DV, UV, and IVC became more pronounced in the early-fetal period. Furthermore, differences in the sectional area between the narrowest part of the DV and other hepatic veins and the transverse sinus became more pronounced. In summary, the present study described morphological, morphometric, and histological changes in the venous route throughout embryonic and early-fetal development, clarifying regional characteristics.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 10","pages":"3306-3326"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-03-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140066105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Sima de los Huesos thorax and lumbar spine: Selected traits and state-of-the-art","authors":"Asier Gómez-Olivencia, Juan Luis Arsuaga","doi":"10.1002/ar.25414","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25414","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Information on the evolution of the thorax and lumbar spine in the genus <i>Homo</i> is hampered by a limited fossil record due to the inherent fragility of vertebrae and ribs. Neandertals show significant metric and morphological differences in these two anatomical regions, when compared to <i>Homo sapiens</i>. Thus, the important fossil record from the Middle Pleistocene site of Sima de los Huesos (SH) not only offers important information on the evolution of these anatomical regions within the Neandertal lineage but also provides important clues to understand the evolution of these regions at the genus level. We present the current knowledge of the costal skeleton, and the thoracic and lumbar spine anatomy of the hominins found in Sima de los Huesos compared to that of Neandertals and modern humans. The current SH fossil record comprises 738 vertebral specimens representing a minimum of 70 cervical, 95 thoracic and 47 lumbar vertebrae, 652 rib fragments representing a minimum of 118 ribs, and 26 sternal fragments representing 4 sterna. The SH hominins exhibit a morphological pattern in their thorax and lumbar spine more similar to that of Neandertals than to that of <i>H. sapiens</i>, which is consistent with the phylogenetic position of these hominins. However, there are some differences between the SH hominins and Neandertals in these anatomical regions, primarily in the orientation of the lumbar transverse processes and in the robusticity of the second ribs. The presence of some but not all of the suite of Neandertal-derived features is consistent with the pattern found in the cranium and other postcranial regions of this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 7","pages":"2465-2490"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ar.25414","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140050882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Cranium I: Neurocranium","authors":"Ana Pantoja-Pérez, Juan-Luis Arsuaga","doi":"10.1002/ar.25413","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25413","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Sima de los Huesos (SH) site has provided a significant collection of hominin remains, including numerous cranial fragments, which have contributed to our understanding of the MP human population. The taxonomic classification of the SH hominins remains a topic of debate, with some studies suggesting a close relationship to Neandertals based on nuclear DNA analysis. The cranial morphology of the SH specimens exhibits a mix of Neandertal-like features and primitive traits observed in earlier <i>Homo</i> populations, providing insights into the evolutionary pattern of the Neanderthal lineage. This study focuses on the neurocranial traits of the SH population and describes three previously undescribed cranial individuals. The SH cranial collection now comprises 20 nearly complete crania, representing approximately two-thirds of the estimated population size. The analysis of the SH population reveals variations in robustness, frontal torus development, sagittal keeling, and occipital torus morphology, which may be related to sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic factors. The suprainiac region exhibits notable ontogenetic changes, while suture obliteration patterns do not strictly correlate with dental age. Metric measurements, particularly cranial breadths, highlight significant intrapopulation variation within the SH sample. Compared with other Middle Pleistocene (MP) hominins, the SH cranial vault displays archaic characteristics but differs from <i>Homo erectus</i> and Neandertals. The SH individuals have relatively short and tall cranial vaults, distinguishing them from other MP fossils. These findings contribute to our understanding of the MP human populations and their evolutionary trajectories.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 7","pages":"2278-2324"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140061157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luisa C. Pusch, Christian F. Kammerer, Jörg Fröbisch
{"title":"The origin and evolution of Cynodontia (Synapsida, Therapsida): Reassessment of the phylogeny and systematics of the earliest members of this clade using 3D-imaging technologies","authors":"Luisa C. Pusch, Christian F. Kammerer, Jörg Fröbisch","doi":"10.1002/ar.25394","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ar.25394","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The origin of cynodonts, the group ancestral to and including mammals, is one of the major outstanding problems in therapsid evolution. One of the most troubling aspects of the cynodont fossil record is the lengthy Permian ghost lineage between the latest possible divergence from its sister group Therocephalia and the first appearance of definitive cynodonts in the late Permian. The absence of cynodonts and dominance of therocephalians in middle Permian strata has led some workers to argue that cynodonts evolved from within therocephalians, rendering the latter paraphyletic, but more recent analyses support the reciprocal monophyly of Cynodontia and Therocephalia. Furthermore, although a fundamental dichotomy in the derived subclade Eucynodontia is well-supported in cynodont phylogeny, the relationships of more stemward cynodonts from the late Permian and Early Triassic are unresolved. Here, we provide a re-evaluation of the phylogeny of Eutheriodontia (Cynodontia + Therocephalia) and an assessment of character evolution within the group. Using computed tomographic data derived from extensive sampling of the earliest known (late Permian and Early Triassic) cynodonts and selected exemplars of therocephalians and later (Middle Triassic onwards) cynodonts, we describe novel aspects of the endocranial anatomy of these animals. These data were incorporated into a new phylogenetic data set including a comprehensive sample of early cynodonts. Our phylogenetic analyses support some results previously recovered by other authors, but recover therocephalians as paraphyletic with regards to cynodonts, with cynodonts and eutherocephalians forming a clade to the exclusion of the “basal therocephalian” families Lycosuchidae and Scylacosauridae. Though both conservatism and homoplasy mark the endocranial anatomy of early non-mammalian cynodonts, we were able to identify several new endocranial synapomorphies for eutheriodont subclades and recovered generally better-supported topologies than previous analyses using primarily external craniodental characters.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":"307 4","pages":"1634-1730"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ar.25394","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140040852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Iván Narváez, Ane de Celis, Fernando Escaso, Santiago Martín de Jesús, Adán Pérez-García, Francisco Ortega
{"title":"A new Crocodyloidea from the middle Eocene of Zamora (Duero Basin, Spain).","authors":"Iván Narváez, Ane de Celis, Fernando Escaso, Santiago Martín de Jesús, Adán Pérez-García, Francisco Ortega","doi":"10.1002/ar.25422","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.25422","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The eusuchian crocodyliforms recorded in the Eocene levels of the Spanish Duero Basin belong to three lineages: Planocraniidae, with the species Duerosuchus piscator; Alligatoroidea, represented by several specimens of the genus Diplocynodon; and Crocodyloidea, which includes several specimens traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus. The genus Asiatosuchus, established in 1940 based on a middle Eocene species from Mongolia, has subsequently served as a wastebasket taxon for Paleogene remains belonging to several species, not only from Asia but also belonging to the European and North American records. Many of these species are known by highly fragmentary remains, sharing the presence of characters such as a flat and triangular skull, and long symphyses in the lower jaw, recognized as characteristic for the crocodyloids. In addition to isolated cranial remains, among the material traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus at the Duero Basin stands out a nearly complete skull and a left mandible, from the middle Eocene area of Casaseca de Campeán (Zamora Province). The present study analyses in detail these specimens, previously reported during the 1980s, but analyzed in a very preliminary way. They are included for the first time in a phylogenetic analysis to establish the systematic position of this Spanish form. The results confirm that it corresponds to a new species of basal crocodyloid, defined here as Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov.</p>","PeriodicalId":50965,"journal":{"name":"Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140040851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}