Dissertation Research: Arboreal-Terrestrial Adaptations inPedal Functional Morphology in Cercopithecus and Cercocebus

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One of the important issues in paleoanthropology is the development of bipedalism in early hominids. In order to adequately understand the adaptations of the human foot for terrestriality, studies are needed that analyze the adaptations in the feet of other terrestrial primate groups. In this study, the researcher will analyze the functional foot morphology of fourteen species of Cercopithecus and Cercocebus, monkey groups found in the Old World. The student will identify interspecific differences in foot function associated with shifts from an arboreal to a terrestrial mode of locomotion. This unique study will increase our understanding of the trends in pedal adaptation to terrestrial locomotion. It will add to our understanding of the structural modifications in the foot associated with the transition to terrestriality in various primate groups and in early hominids. Clearly establishing this correlation between morphology and behavior is fundamental to establishing the theoretical framework by which to intrepret the relationship between ecology and the positional behavior of fossil primates and early hominids.