Glenohumeral Mobility in Primates

Chan, Ling-Yau

doi:10.1159/000095682

Cited by 65 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…According to the brachiation theory of hominoid evolution, the dorsal scapula in hominoids, along with many other morphological features in their glenohumeral joints and other parts of their upper limbs, are adaptations for brachiation by enhancing shoulder mobility [Avis, 1962;Lewis, 1969Lewis, , 1972Lewis, , 1974Temerin and Cant, 1983;Lewis, 1985;Cant, 1986;Chan, 2007]. However, it is not known if brachiation involves a larger range of shoulder excursion.…”

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These were interpreted as mobility-enhancing features, and hominoids were therefore assumed to possess a higher glenohumeral mobility than other primates. However, Chan [2007] has shown that the hominoids' glenohu-meral joints are actually less mobile than those of many other primates. His findings have jeopardized the traditional belief that hominoids have a higher shoulder mobility than other primates.…”

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…His findings have jeopardized the traditional belief that hominoids have a higher shoulder mobility than other primates. Nevertheless, one cannot conclude that hominoids have a lower shoulder mobility based on their lower glenohumeral mobility alone, because scapular mobility also affects shoulder mobility [Chan, 2007].…”

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Orthograde scrambling is another form of climbing that could potentially explain hominoid postcranial features, although it was originally proposed to be the locomotor behaviour of the last common ancestor of the African apes and hominins [Crompton et al, 2003;Chan, 2007]. Although it differs from slow climbing in having an orthograde trunk and suspensory upper limb use, the demand on shoulder mobility is similar in the two locomotor behaviours.…”

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kinematic data on shoulder movement during vertical climbing showed that the arm is not very widely abducted from the trunk [Prost, 1980;Yamazaki and Ishida, 1984;Hirasaki et al,1993;Isler, 2005]. Therefore, the hominoid shoulder features cannot be adaptations for vertical climbing because they enhance shoulder mobility, since the amount of shoulder abduction needed for vertical climbing can be achieved easily even by the most terrestrial primates [Chan, 2007;Chan, in preparation].…”

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scapular Position in Primates

Chan¹

2006

IJFP

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Scapular position affects shoulder mobility, which plays an important role in the upper limb adaptations in primates. However, currently available data on scapular position are unsatisfactory because of the failure to simultaneously consider the relative dimensions of all the three skeletal elements of the shoulder girdle, i.e. the clavicle, the scapula and the thorax. In the present study, the clavicular length and the scapular spine length were measured on preserved cadavers, and the dorsoventral thoracic diameter was measured on scaled radiographs of a wide range of primates, permitting a quantitative comparison of scapular position among primates. It was found that arboreal monkeys have a more dorsally situated scapula than terrestrial ones, but the same difference was not found between terrestrial and arboreal prosimians. Hominoids were found to have the most dorsally situated scapula. Contrary to the slow climbing theory of hominoid evolution, which tries to explain most postcranial specializations of hominoids as adaptations for slow climbing, the scapulae of slow-climbing lorines and Alouatta are much less dorsal than those of the hominoids.

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Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Hominoids and Lorinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Scapular Position in Primates

Chan¹

2006

IJFP

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The range of passive arm circumduction in primates: Do hominoids really have more mobile shoulders?

Chan

2008

American J Phys Anthropol

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Hominoids and lorines are assumed to possess greater shoulder mobility than other primates. This assumption is based on morphological characteristics of the shoulder, rather than on empirical data. However, recent studies have shown that the glenohumeral joint of hominoids is not more mobile than that of other primates (Chan LK. 2007. Glenohumeral mobility in primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 78(1):1-18), and the thoracic shape of hominoids does not necessarily promote shoulder mobility (Chan LK. 2007. Scapular position in primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 78(1):19-35). Moreover, lorines differ significantly from hominoids in both these features, thus challenging the assumption that both hominoids and lorines have greater shoulder mobility. The present study aims to test this assumption by collecting empirical data on shoulder mobility in 17 primate species. Passive arm circumduction (a combination of glenohumeral and pectoral girdle movement) was performed on sedated subjects (except humans), and the range measured on the video images of the circumduction. The motion differed among primate species mostly in the craniodorsal directions, the directions most relevant to the animal's ability to brachiate and slow climb. Hylobatids possessed the highest craniodorsal mobility among all primate species studied. However, nonhylobatid hominoids did not have greater craniodorsal mobility than arboreal quadrupedal monkeys, and lorines did not have greater craniodorsal mobility than arboreal quadrupedal prosimians. Nonhylobatid hominoids and lorines had similar craniodorsal mobility, but this was due to a longer clavicle, more dorsal scapula, and lower glenohumeral mobility in the former, and a shorter clavicle, less dorsal scapula, and greater glenohumeral mobility in the latter. This study provides evidence for the reexamination of the brachiation, slow climbing, and vertical climbing hypotheses.

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In vivo baseline measurements of hip joint range of motion in suspensory and nonsuspensory anthropoids

Hammond

2013

American J Phys Anthropol

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Hominoids and atelines are known to use suspensory behaviors and are assumed to possess greater hip joint mobility than non-suspensory monkeys, particularly for range of abduction. This assumption has greatly influenced how extant and fossil primate hip joint morphology has been interpreted, despite the fact that there are no data available on hip mobility in hominoids or Ateles. This study uses in vivo measurements to test the hypothesis that suspensory anthropoids have significantly greater ranges of hip joint mobility than non-suspensory anthropoids. Passive hip joint mobility was measured on a large sample of anesthetized captive anthropoids (non-human hominids=43, hylobatids=6, cercopithecids=43, Ateles=6, Cebus=6). Angular and linear data were collected using goniometers and tape measures. Range of motion data were analyzed for significant differences by locomotor group using ANOVA and phylogenetic regression. The data demonstrate that suspensory anthropoids are capable of significantly greater hip abduction and external rotation. Degree of flexion and internal rotation were not larger in the suspensory primates, indicating that suspension is not associated with a global increase in hip mobility. Future work should consider the role of external rotation in abduction ability, how the physical position of the distal limb segments are influenced by differences in range of motion proximally, as well as focus on bony and soft tissue differences that enable or restrict abduction and external rotation at the anthropoid hip joint.

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Glenohumeral Mobility in Primates

Cited by 65 publications

References 43 publications

Scapular Position in Primates

Scapular Position in Primates

The range of passive arm circumduction in primates: Do hominoids really have more mobile shoulders?

In vivo baseline measurements of hip joint range of motion in suspensory and nonsuspensory anthropoids

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