Neither chimpanzee nor human, Ardipithecus reveals the surprising ancestry of both
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In the context of accumulating evidence from genetics, developmental biology, anatomy, ecology, biogeography, and geology, Ardipithecus alters perspectives on how the authors' earliest hominid ancestors—and their closest living relatives—evolved.Abstract:
Australopithecus fossils were regularly interpreted during the late 20th century in a framework that used living African apes, especially chimpanzees, as proxies for the immediate ancestors of the human clade. Such projection is now largely nullified by the discovery of Ardipithecus. In the context of accumulating evidence from genetics, developmental biology, anatomy, ecology, biogeography, and geology, Ardipithecus alters perspectives on how our earliest hominid ancestors—and our closest living relatives—evolved.read more
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One small step: A review of Plio-Pleistocene hominin foot evolution.
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The integration of quantitative genetics, paleontology, and neontology reveals genetic underpinnings of primate dental evolution.
Leslea J. Hlusko,Christopher A. Schmitt,Christopher A. Schmitt,Tesla A. Monson,Marianne F. Brasil,Michael C. Mahaney +5 more
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References
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The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme
TL;DR: The adaptationist programme is faulted for its failure to distinguish current utility from reasons for origin, and Darwin’s own pluralistic approach to identifying the agents of evolutionary change is supported.
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The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme
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The locomotor anatomy of Australopithecus afarensis.
Jack T. Stern,Randall L. Susman +1 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that A. afarensis possessed anatomic characteristics that indicate a significant adaptation for movement in the trees, and it is speculated that earlier representatives of the A.Afarensis lineage will present not a combination of arboreal and bipedal traits, but rather the anatomy of a generalized ape.
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Deep homology and the origins of evolutionary novelty
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