Abstract
Recent field studies suggest that Macaca thibetana,a large endemic Chinese macaque, may be quite folivorous, distinguishing it from most other macaque species, which tend to be primarily frugivorous. To understand how this diet affects its masticatory system, we conducted a comparative morphometric study of mandibular dimensions. We took linear measurements from male and female mandibles of this species as well as four other macaques—M. fascicularis, M. nemestrina, M. arctoides,and M. assamensis—and four species of Presbytis—P. obscura, P. rubicunda, P. cristata,and P. phayrei—and subjected to them to a variety of analyses. Based on analyses of variances and discriminant analyses on each sex individually, the mandible of M. thibetanacorresponds to expected patterns for folivorous primates with respect to its wide condyles and thick corpora. However, the height of the corpus and symphysis are lower, and the anteroposterior length of the condyle is longer than predicted for a folivore. In addition to interpretations specifically relating to M. thibetana,we also discuss the functional morphology of the other species in light of what is published about their diets.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beecher, R. M. (1977). Function and fusion at the mandibular symphysis.Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 47: 325–336.
Beecher, R. M. (1979). Functional significance of the mandibular symphysis.J. Morph. 159: 117–130.
Bernstein, I. S. (1967). A field study of the pigtail monkey(Macaca nemestrina).Primates 8: 217–228.
Bernstein, I. S. (1968). The lutong of Kuala Selangor.Behaviour 32: 1–16.
Bouvier, M. (1986a). A biomechanical analysis of mandibular scaling in Old World monkeys.Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 69(4): 473–482.
Bouvier, M. (1986b). Biomechanical scaling of mandibular dimensions in New World monkeys.Int. J. Primatol. 7(6): 551–567.
Bouvier, M., and Hylander, W. L. (1981). Effect of bone strain on cortical bone structure in macaques(Macaca mulatto).J. Morphol. 167: 1–12.
Boyd, R. L., Gibbs, C. H., Mahan, P. E., Richmond, A. F., and Laskin, J. L. (1990). Temporomandibular joint forces measured at the condyle ofMacaca arctoides. Am. J. Orthod. Dentofac. Orthop. 97: 472–479.
Brehnan, K., Boyd, R. L., Laskin, J., Gibbs, C. H., and Mahan, P. (1981). Direct measurement of loads at the temporomandibular joint inMacaca arctoides.J. Dent. Res. 60: 1820–1824.
Crockett, C. M., and Wilson, W. L. (1980). The ecological separation ofMacaca nemestrina andM. fascicularis in Sumatra. In Lindburg, D. G. (ed.),The Macaques: Studies in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, pp. 148–181.
Curtin, S. H. (1976). Niche separation in sympatric Malaysian leaf-monkeys(Presbytis obscura andPresbytis melalophos).Yrbk. Phys. Anthropol. 20: 421–439.
Curtin, S. H. (1980). Dusky and banded leaf-monkeys. In Chivers, D. J. (ed.),Malayan Forest Primates: Ten Years’ Study in Tropical Rain Forest, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 107–146.
Daegling, D. J. (1992). Mandibular morphology and diet in the genusCebus.Int. J. Primatol. 13(5): 545–570.
Davies, A. G. (1991). Seed-eating by red leaf monkeys(Presbytis rubicunda) in dipterocarp forest of northern Borneo.Int. J. Primatol. 12(2): 119–144.
Davies, A. G., and Baillie, I. C. (1988). Soil-eating by red leaf monkeys(Presbytis rubicunda in Sabah, northern Borneo.Biotropica 20(3): 252–258.
Davies, A. G., Bennett, E. L., and Waterman, P. G. (1988). Food selection by two South-east Asian colobine monkeys(Presbytis rubicunda andPresbytis melalophos) in relation to plant chemistry.Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 34: 33–56.
Davis, D. (1962). Mammals of the lowland rain-forest of north Borneo.Bull. Nat. Mus. St. Singapore 31: 1–129.
Deng Z.-y. and Zhao Q.-k. (1987). Social structure in a wild group ofMacaca thibetana at Mount Emei, China.Folia Primatol. 49: 1–10.
Deng Z.-y. and Zhao, Q.-k. (1991). Early mother-infant relationships ofMacaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China.Primates 32(2): 197–205.
Estrada, A., and Estrada, R. (1976). Establishment of a free-ranging colony of stumptail macaques(Macaca arctoides): Relations to the ecology I.Primates 17(3): 337–355.
Fittinghoff, N. A., Jr. (1978). Macaca fascicularisof Eastern Borneo: Ecology, Demography, Social Behavior, and Social Organization in Relation to a Refuging Habitus, Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Davis.
Fooden, J. (1971). Report on primates collected in Western Thailand, January-April, 1967.Field. Zool. 59(1): 1–62.
Fooden, J. (1976). Primates obtained in peninsular Thailand June–July, 1973, with notes on the distribution of continental Southeast Asian leaf-monkeys(Presbytis).Primates 17(1): 95–118.
Fooden, J. (1983). Taxonomy and evolution of thesinica group of macaques: 4. Species account ofMacaca thibetana.Fieldiana Zool.17: 1–20.
Fooden, J. (1990). The bear macaque,Macaca arcloides: A systematic review.J. Hum. Evol. 19: 607–686.
Fooden, J., Quan G.-q., Wang Z.-g., and Wang Y.-x. (1985). The stumptail macaques of China.Am. J. Primatol. 8: 11–30.
Gould, S. J. (1975a). Atlometry in primates, with emphasis on scaling and the evolution of the brain. In Szalay, F. S. (ed.),Approaches to Primate Paleobiology. Contributions to Primatology, Vol. 5, Basel, Karger, pp. 244–292.
Gould, S. J. (1975b). On the scaling of tooth size in mammals.Am. Zool. 15: 351–362.
Hiiemae, K. M., and Kay, R. F. (1973). Evolutionary trends in the dynamics of primate mastication. In Zingeser, M. R. (ed.),Symp. Fourth Int. Cong. Primatol.,Vol. 3, Karger, Basel, pp. 28–64.
Hert, J., Liskova, M., and Landrgot, B. (1969). Influence of the long-term, continuous bending on the bone.Folia Morphol. (Prague) 17: 389–399.
Hert, J., Pribylova, E. and Liskova, M. (1972). Reaction of bone to mechanical stimuli. 3. Microstructure of compact bone of rabbit tibia after intermittent loading.Acta Anat. 82: 218–230.
Hinton, R. J., and Carlson, D. S. (1979). Temporal changes in human temporomandibular joint size and shape.Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 50: 325–334.
Hladik, C. M. (1975). Ecology, diet, and social patterning in Old and New World primates. In Tuttle, R. H. (ed.),Socioecology and Psychology of Primates, Mouton, The Hague.
Hladik, C. M. (1977). A comparative study of the feeding strategies of two sympatric species of leaf monkeys:Presbytis senex andPresbytis entellus. In Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.),Primate Ecology, Academic Press, London, pp. 324–353.
Hohl, T. H., and Tucek, W. H. (1982). Measurement of condylar loading forces by instrumented prosthesis in the baboon.J. Max.-Fac. Surg. 10: 1–7.
Hylander, W. L. (1979a). An experimental analysis of temporomandibular joint reaction force in macaques.Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 51: 433–455.
Hylander, W. L. (1979b). Functional significance of primate mandibular form.J. Morphol. 160: 223–240.
Hylander, W. L. (1979c). Mandibular function inGalago crassicaudatus andMacaca fascicularis: Anin vivo approach to stress analysis of the mandible.J. Morphol. 159: 253–296.
Hylander, W. L. (1984). Stress and strain in the mandibular symphysis of primates: A test of competing hypotheses.Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 64: 1–46.
Hylander, W. L. (1985). Mandibular function and biomechanical stress and scaling.Am. Zool. 25: 315–330.
Hylander, W. L., and Bays, R. (1979). Anin vivo strain-gauge analysis of the squamosal-dentary joint reaction force during mastication and incisai biting inMacaca mulatto andMacaca fascicularis.Arch. Oral Biol. 24: 689–697.
Kool, K. (1986). Ranging and feeding behaviour of the silvered leaf monkey,Presbytis cristata, at Pangandaran, Jawa Barat, Indonesia.Primate Rep. 14: 244.
Lindberg, D. G. (1976). Dietary habits of rhesus monkeys(Macaca mulatto Zimmerman) in Indian forests.J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 73(2): 261–279.
Lindberg, D. G. (1977). Feeding behaviour and diet of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatto) in a Siwalik forest in North India. In Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.),Primate Ecology, Academic Press, 1977, pp. 223–249.
MacKinnon, J. R., and MacKinnon, K. S. (1978). Comparative feeding ecology of six sympatric primates in West Malaysia. In Chivers, D. J., and Herbert, J. A. (eds.),Recent Advances in Primatology, Vol. 1, Academic Press, London, pp. 305–321.
McCann, C. (1933). Notes on some Indian macaques.J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36: 795–810.
Medway, Lord (1969).The Wild Mammals of Malaya and Offshore Islands Including Singapore, Oxford University Press, London.
Medway, Lord (1970). The monkeys of Sundaland. In Napier, J. R., and Napier, P. R. (eds.),Old World Monkeys: Evolution, Systematics and Behavior, Academic Press, New York, pp. 513–553.
Moffet, B. D., Johnson, L. C., McCabe, J. B., and Askew, H. C. (1964). Articular remodeling in the adult human temporomandibular joint.Am. J. Anat. 115: 119–142.
Oates, J. F., Waterman, P. G., and Choo, G. (1980). Food selection by the South Indian leaf-monkey,Presbytis johnü, in relation to leaf chemistry.Oecologia 45: 45–56.
Oberg, T., Carlson, G. E., and Fajers, C.-M. (1971). The temporomandibular joint. A morphologic study on a human autopsy material.Acta Odontol. Scand. 29: 349–384.
Ravosa, M. J. (1991). Structural allometry of the prosimian mandibular corpus and symphysis.J. Hum. Evol. 20: 3–20.
Rijksen, H. D. (1978).A Field Study on Sumatran Orang Utans (Pongo pygmaeus abeliiLesson 1927). Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation, H. Veenman and Zonen B. V., Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Rodman, P. S. (1973).Synecology of Bornean Primates, Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Smith, R. J. (1983). The mandibular corpus of female primates: Taxonomic, dietary and allometric correlates of interspecific variations in size and shape.Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 61: 315–330.
Smith, R. J., Petersen, C. E., and Gipe, D. P. (1983). Size and shape of the mandibular condyle in primates.J. Morphol. 177: 59–68.
Stanford, C. (1991).The Capped Langur in Bangladesh: Behavioral Ecology and Reproductive Tactics, Contributions to Primatology, Vol 26, Szalay, F. S. (ed.), Karger, Basel.
Supriatna, J., Manullang, B. O., and Soekara, E. (1986). Group composition, home range, and diet of the maroon leaf monkey(Presbytis rubicunda) at Tanjung Puting Reserve, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.Primates 27(2): 185–190.
Suzuki, A. (1965). An ecological study of wild Japanese monkeys in snowy area, focused on their food habits.Primates 6: 31–72.
Wheatley, B. P. (1980). Feeding and ranging of East BorneanMacaca fascicularis. In Lindburg, D. G. (ed.),The Macaques: Studies in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, pp. 215–246.
Xiong C.-p. (1984). Ecological studies of the stump-tailed macaque.Acta Theriol. Sin. 4: 1–9 (in Chinese).
Zhao Q.-k. and Deng Z.-y. (1988a).Macaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China. I. A cross-sectional study of growth and development.Am. J. Primatol. 16: 251–260.
Zhao Q.-k. and Deng Z.-y. (1988b).Macaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China. II. Birth seasonally.Am. J. Primatol. 16: 261–268.
Zhao Q.-k. and Deng Z.-y. (1988]c).Macaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China. III. Group composition.Am. J. Primatol. 16: 269–273.
Zhao Q.-k. and Deng Z.-y. (1988d). Ranging behavior ofMacaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China.Int. J. Primatol. 9: 37–47.
Zhao Q.-k., Xu J.-m., and Deng Z.-y. (1989). Climate, vegetation and topography of the slope habitat ofMacaca thibetana at Mt. Emei, China.Zool. Res. 10(Suppl.): 91–100.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Takahashi, L.K., Pan, R. Mandibular morphometrics among macaques: The case ofmacaca thibetana . Int J Primatol 15, 597–621 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02735973
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02735973