Primate craniofacial growth is traditionally assumed to cease upon maturation or at least be negligible, whereas bony remodeling is typically associated with advanced adult age and, in particular, tooth loss. Therefore, size and shape of the craniofacial skeleton of young and middle‐aged adults should be stable. However, research on both modern and historic human samples suggests that portions of the
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The pterion is the sutural juncture of the frontal, parietal, sphenoidal, temporal, and zygomatic bones on the lateral aspect of the cranium. As a craniometric landmark, the pterion has a taxonomic valence, in addition to a common neurosurgical entry point in medicine. Variation in the articulation patterns at the pterion have been documented between primate species yet have a high degree of uniformity within species, suggesting a genetic control for this complex region of the skull. In this study, pterion pattern variation was investigated in 1627 Rhesus macaque crania of the Cayo Santiago colony. The colony's associated skeletal collections accompany known age, sex, and maternal lineages. Pterion pattern prevalence rates were tested against matrilines, as well as cranial shape, and cranial sutural fusion ages (including individuals with prematurely fused sutures). Five patterns were identified, the most prominent being the prevailing Old World Monkey frontotemporal (FT) articulation (83.4%). The relative frequency of those not exhibiting the FT pattern was found to vary considerably between matrilineal families (
- Award ID(s):
- 1926601
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10530000
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Anatomical Record
- Volume:
- 307
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 1932-8486
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 3139-3151
- Size(s):
- p. 3139-3151
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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