Human relatives interactive link.
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Tutorial link.
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- Australopithecus sp. (cc = 530-414)
- Homo habilis (cc = 640)
- Homo erectus (cc = 990)
- Homo neanderthalensis (cc = 1,465)
- Homo sapiens sapiens (cc = 1,350)
Materials. You will be provided with cast replicas of hominid skulls along with tools for measuring and a partially complete character matrix.
Review the excerpt below:
"Previous studies have shown that along its evolutionary radiation, hominids have mainly diversified in body size, locomotor apparatus and cranial size and shape3,13,14,15, together with ecological and behavioural characteristics12,16. Within this radiation, humans differentiated considerably from the rest of the species mainly in cranial size and shape (e.g. refs13,15). In this context, it has been suggested that the hominids, and particularly the hominins, experimented one or several adaptive radiations —i.e., the rapid diversification of an ancestral species in morphologically and ecologically diverse ones16,17,18—, in contrast with the more traditional view of a continuous and gradual process where Homo sapiens was the last stage12,13,14,19,20."
From: Rocatti, G., Perez, S.I. 2019. The Evolutionary Radiation of Hominids: a Phylogenetic Comparative Study. Nature: Scientific Reports (9)15267. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51685-w [article link].
Procedure.
"Previous studies have shown that along its evolutionary radiation, hominids have mainly diversified in body size, locomotor apparatus and cranial size and shape3,13,14,15, together with ecological and behavioural characteristics12,16. Within this radiation, humans differentiated considerably from the rest of the species mainly in cranial size and shape (e.g. refs13,15). In this context, it has been suggested that the hominids, and particularly the hominins, experimented one or several adaptive radiations —i.e., the rapid diversification of an ancestral species in morphologically and ecologically diverse ones16,17,18—, in contrast with the more traditional view of a continuous and gradual process where Homo sapiens was the last stage12,13,14,19,20."
From: Rocatti, G., Perez, S.I. 2019. The Evolutionary Radiation of Hominids: a Phylogenetic Comparative Study. Nature: Scientific Reports (9)15267. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51685-w [article link].
Procedure.
- Review the partially complete character matrices in your Lab Notebook Guide.
- It includes 7 species of hominid and eight skull character-traits.
- You need to complete the character matrix provided in your Lab Notebook Guide.
- Review the character descriptions.
- Use the skull diagrams and equations provided below, along with the provided tools, to complete the character matrix.
- Next, using the code provided in your Lab Notebook Guide, complete the coded character matrix.
- Then, construct a phylogenetic tree to illustrate the relationships among these taxa.
- Take a picture of your hypothesis (tree) and paste into your Lab Notebook Guide.
- Complete the remaining questions.
Skull diagrams including common terminology. Click to enlarge.
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Additional skull diagrams. Click to enlarge.
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Measurement directions and index formulas. Click to enlarge.
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