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pubmed:abstractText |
Functional and allometric analyses of the hand of the late Miocene ape Oreopithecus bambolii (Tuscany, Italy) reveal a series of features that reflect an improved grasping capability including firm pad-to-pad precision gripping that apes are unable to perform. Related features such as hand length, relative thumb length, a deep and large insertion area for the tendon of the long thumb flexor, and the form of the metacarpal 2/capitate articulation are not present in extant or fossil apes. In these features, the Oreopithecus hand closely matches the pattern of early hominids, presumably as a response to similar functional demands.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Institut de Paleontologia M. Crusafont, c/Escola Industrial, 23, 08201 Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.
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