Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Paleobiology of Theropithecus brumpti from the Turkana Basin, Kenya and Ethiopia

狒狒属的化石代表经常被用作过去环境的指示器，并被用作人类进化的类似物。然而，数据基本上仅限于一个物种，草原适应了奥斯瓦迪，掩盖了该属潜在的形态和生态广度。新的化石材料被认为是森林适应的物种，布伦蒂毛虫，现在可以使用了。本项目详细描述了布氏毛虫的古生物学，包括颅后功能形态和运动模式，并记录了尾猿运动行为的形态关联。从所有可用的布伦普提后颅骨材料收集的线性测量和广泛的比较样本被用来检查被认为与运动模式有关的一般大小和颅后特征。这些特征在已知的尾盘动物中差异很大。使用定性以及单变量和多变量定量方法对这些测量结果进行分析，以检验以下假设：(1)与目前的文献相反，布伦蒂毛虫实际上是相对陆生的(与大多数尾猿类相比)，尽管与森林栖息地有关，(2)但比其他类人猿物种具有更多的树上适应能力，以及(3)是一种灵巧的手工觅食。本项目是首次对布氏毛滴虫进行全面的后颅脑功能分析。这些数据和比较样本一起，可以用来进一步探索(1)气候变化如何影响原始人的解剖和行为，(2)特定环境背景下物种发生和进化的模式，(3)未来研究中对更多化石类群的解释，以及(4)人类进化的古生态背景。该项目将增加新的形态数据，通过共享数据库(即Primo)和出版物广泛传播，并加强美国、埃塞俄比亚和肯尼亚研究人员之间的联系。此外，该项目还支持一名女研究生的研究。

The fossil representatives of the baboon genus Theropithecus are often used as indicators of past environments and as analogues for human evolution. However, data are essentially limited to one species, the grassland adapted T. oswaldi, masking potential morphological and ecological breadth within the genus. New fossil material of the putatively forest adapted species, T. brumpti, is now available. This project presents a detailed description of the paleobiology of T. brumpti including postcranial functional morphology and locomotor mode, and documents morphological correlates of cercopithecine locomotor behavior. Linear measurements collected from all available T. brumpti postcranial material and an extensive comparative sample are used to examine both general size and postcranial features that are thought to be related to locomotor mode. These features vary significantly among known cercopithecids. These measurements are analyzed using qualitative as well as univariate and multivariate quantitative approaches to test the hypotheses that (1) contrary to the current literature T. brumpti is actually relatively terrestrial (compared to most cercopithecids) even though associated with forest habitats, (2) yet, has more arboreal adaptations than other Theropithecus species, and (3) was a dexterous manual forager. This project is the first comprehensive postcranial functional analysis of T. brumpti. These data, along with the comparative sample, can be used to further explore (1) how climatic changes influence Theropithecus anatomy and behavior, (2) patterns of species occurrence and evolution in specific environmental contexts and (3) the interpretation of additional fossil taxa in future studies and (4) the paleoecological context of human evolution. This project will add new morphological data to be disseminated widely through shared databases (i.e. PRIMO) and publications, as well as strengthening ties between American, Ethiopian and Kenyan researchers. In addition, the project supports the research of a female graduate student.