Three-dimensional analysis of the manipulation system in the lesser panda

Endo, Hideki; Hama, Natsuki; Niizawa, Nobuharu; Kimura, Junko; Itou, Takuya; Sakai, Takeo

doi:10.3106/1348-6160(2007)32[99:taotms]2.0.co;2

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Although the ability to reach for food or prey, to hold it in a forepaw, or manipulate it with the digits exists in most tree-dwelling frogs (Gray et al, 1997), it is often considered to be most developed in mammals (Ivanco, Pellis & Whishaw, 1996;Iwaniuk, Nelson & Whishaw, 1999;Iwaniuk & Whishaw, 1999aEndo et al, 2007;Sacrey, Alaverdashvili & Whishaw, 2009). It is unclear whether the use of the forelimb for grasping arose independently within each mammal lineage and represents convergent evolution of motor patterns (Lassek, 1954;Bracha et al, 1990), or if these patterns arose early in mammalian evolution (Whishaw, Pellis & Gorny, 1992) before being lost or elaborated upon in different lineages.…”

Section: (2) Manual Food Grasping and Manipulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting a grip on tetrapod grasping: form, function, and evolution

Pouydebat²,

et al. 2013

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Human beings have been credited with unparalleled capabilities for digital prehension grasping. However, grasping behaviour is widespread among tetrapods. The propensity to grasp, and the anatomical characteristics that underlie it, appear in all of the major groups of tetrapods with the possible exception of terrestrial turtles. Although some features are synapomorphic to the tetrapod clade, such as well-defined digits and digital musculature, other features, such as opposable digits and tendon configurations, appear to have evolved independently in many lineages. Here we examine the incidence, functional morphology, and evolution of grasping across four major tetrapod clades. Our review suggests that the ability to grasp with the manus and pes is considerably more widespread, and ecologically and evolutionarily important, than previously thought. The morphological bases and ecological factors that govern grasping abilities may differ among tetrapods, yet the selective forces shaping them are likely similar. We suggest that further investigation into grasping form and function within and among these clades may expose a greater role for grasping ability in the evolutionary success of many tetrapod lineages.

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Section: (2) Manual Food Grasping and Manipulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting a grip on tetrapod grasping: form, function, and evolution

Pouydebat²,

et al. 2013

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“…The use of the forelimbs in grasping is common to a large number of vertebrates ranging from amphibians to mammals (Grzimek, 1990;Sustaita et al, 2013). Although the ability to grab food, to hold it and to manipulate it has been observed in a variety of aquatic and arboreal frogs (Gray et al, 1997;Manzano et al, 2008), this ability is often thought to be an essentially mammalian trait (Ivanco et al, 1996;Iwaniuk et al, 1999Endo et al, 2007;Sacrey et al, 2009). In eutherians, behaviours associated with grasping are widespread and have been observed in species belonging at least to six orders (Pilosa, Chiroptera, Rodentia, Carnivora, Scandentia and Primates).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting a grip on the evolution of grasping in musteloid carnivorans: a three‐dimensional analysis of forelimb shape

Fabre

Cornette

Slater

et al. 2013

J of Evolutionary Biology

114

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The ability to grasp and manipulate is often considered a hallmark of hominins and associated with the evolution of their bipedal locomotion and tool use. Yet, many other mammals use their forelimbs to grasp and manipulate objects. Previous investigations have suggested that grasping may be derived from digging behaviour, arboreal locomotion or hunting behaviour. Here, we test the arboreal origin of grasping and investigate whether an arboreal lifestyle could confer a greater grasping ability in musteloid carnivorans. Moreover, we investigate the morphological adaptations related to grasping and the differences between arboreal species with different grasping abilities. We predict that if grasping is derived from an arboreal lifestyle, then the anatomical specializations of the forelimb for arboreality must be similar to those involved in grasping. We further predict that arboreal species with a well-developed manipulation ability will have articulations that facilitate radio-ulnar rotation. We use ancestral character state reconstructions of lifestyle and grasping ability to understand the evolution of both traits. Finally, we use a surface sliding semi-landmark approach capable of quantifying the articulations in their full complexity. Our results largely confirm our predictions, demonstrating that musteloids with greater grasping skills differ markedly from others in the shape of their forelimb bones. These analyses further suggest that the evolution of an arboreal lifestyle likely preceded the development of enhanced grasping ability.

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“…fulgens has led some authors to conclude that, in the red panda lineage, the hypertrophy of this bone evolved completely independently from that of the giant panda (Endo et al 2007(Endo et al , 2008. However, such an inference is not supported by the morphology of the relatively large radial sesamoid of the extinct ailuropodine I. arctoides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…In most instances, this bone is of similar size to other sesamoids, or even vestigial, but in some mammals, such as talpids (Krause and Jenkins 1983;Sánchez-Villagra and Menke 2005), many tenrecids (Salton and Sargis 2008) and elephants (Hutchinson et al 2011), it constitutes a digit-like element that is variously called 'os falciforme', 'prepollex' or 'predigit'. Furthermore, a truly hypertrophied radial sesamoid, constituting a functional 'false thumb', is considered to be present in the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Lankester and Lydekker 1901;Wood-Jones 1939a, b;Davis 1964;Gould 1978;Chorn and Hoffmann 1978;Endo et al 1996Endo et al , 1999aEndo et al , b, 2001aAntón, et al 2006;Salesa et al 2006a, b) and, to a lesser extent, in the red panda, Ailurus fulgens (Roberts and Gittleman 1984;Endo et al 2001bEndo et al , 2007Antón et al 2006;Salesa et al 2006b). The functional role of the radial sesamoid as a grasping structure essentially depends on its size and degree of movement relative to the metapodials and other wrist bones, thus being only possible when the radial sesamoid is relatively long compared to other bones of the manus (Abella et al 2013a).…”

Section: Radial Sesamoids and The Evolutionary Significance Of The Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the former, the 'false thumb' constitutes a part of a double pincer-like, manipulative functional apparatus in which the hand flexes around the scapholunar and the unciform, so as to grasp objects between the true digits and both the radial sesamoid and the pisiform (Endo et al 1999a(Endo et al , b, 2001aAntón et al 2006). In contrast, the less marked hypertrophy of the radial sesamoid of the lesser panda, coupled with associated musculoskeletal differences, indicate the possession of a different grasping mechanism (Endo et al 2001b(Endo et al , 2007Antón et al 2006;Salesa et al 2006b;Abella et al 2013a), more similar to that displayed by other small-to medium-sized carnivorans. In the latter taxa, these grasping abilities are employed not only in food manipulation but also in arboreal climbing behaviours along thin branches (Antón et al 2006), given the lack in these taxa of the true thumb opposability characteristic of primates.…”

Section: Radial Sesamoids and The Evolutionary Significance Of The Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tracing the origin of the panda’s thumb

Abellá

Pérez‐Ramos

Valenciano

et al. 2015

Sci Nat

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We investigate the relative development of the carnivoran radial sesamoids to untangle the evolution of this iconic structure. In the pandas (both giant and red), this 'false thumb' is known to perform a grasping role during bamboo feeding in both the red and giant pandas. An original locomotor role has been inferred for ailurids, but this remains to be ascertained for ursids. A large sample of radial sesamoids of Indarctos arctoides from the Miocene of Batallones-3 (Spain) indicates that this early ailuropodine bear displayed a relatively hypertrophied radial sesamoid, with a configuration more similar to that of the red panda and other carnivorans than to that of giant pandas. This false thumb is the first evidence of this feature in the Ursidae, which can be linked to a more herbivorous diet. Moreover, in the two extant pandas, the false thumb should not be interpreted as an anatomical convergence, but as an exaptive convergence regarding its use during the bamboo feeding, which changes the evolutionary view of this singular structure.

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Three-dimensional analysis of the manipulation system in the lesser panda

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Getting a grip on tetrapod grasping: form, function, and evolution

Getting a grip on tetrapod grasping: form, function, and evolution

Getting a grip on the evolution of grasping in musteloid carnivorans: a three‐dimensional analysis of forelimb shape

Tracing the origin of the panda’s thumb

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