Allometry and heterochrony in the African apes

In this work allometry and heterochrony are integrated in an analysis of ontogenic and interspecific morphological patterns in the African apes. The relationship between the interspecific differences in adult morphology and the differences in underlying patterns of growth allometries, body weight gr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican journal of physical anthropology Vol. 62; no. 3; p. 275
Main Author Shea, B T
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.1983
Subjects
Age Factors
Animals
Anthropology, Physical
Biological Evolution
Body Weight
Female
Hominidae - growth & development
Male
Species Specificity
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:In this work allometry and heterochrony are integrated in an analysis of ontogenic and interspecific morphological patterns in the African apes. The relationship between the interspecific differences in adult morphology and the differences in underlying patterns of growth allometries, body weight growth rates, and developmental chronologies is investigated. Results indicate that rate hypermorphosis, or the extension of ancestral allometries into new size/shape ranges with no increase in the duration of ontogeny, underlies many of the interspecific differences in form among the African apes. In addition, the need for further clarification of the processes of heterochrony is stressed by distinguishing between rate and timing differences. These distinctions and processes are illustrated and discussed using the morphological data on the African apes.
ISSN:0002-9483
DOI:10.1002/ajpa.1330620307