CT-based study of internal structure of the anterior pillar in extinct hominins and its implications for the phylogeny of robust Australopithecus.

ABSTRACT: The phylogeny of the early African hominins has long been confounded by contrasting interpretations of midfacial structure. In particular, the anterior pillar, an externally prominent bony column running vertically alongside the nasal aperture, has been identified as a homology of South African species Australopithecus africanus and Australopithecus robustus. If the anterior pillar is a true synapomorphy of these two species, the evidence for a southern African clade of Australopithecus would be strengthened, and support would be given to the phylogenetic hypothesis of an independent origin for eastern and southern African "robust" australopith clades. Analyses of CT data, however, show that the internal structure of the circumnasal region is strikingly different in the two South African a

SUBMITTER: Villmoare BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3182691 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature