Abstract
The interpretation of early primate endocasts can be framed around four critical questions: (1) What are accurate estimates of endocranial capacity for known euprimate specimens? (2) What does the available data for stem primates tell us with respect to the earliest phases of primate brain evolution? (3) How should relative brain size be assessed? and (4) What is the appropriate comparative context for interpreting fossil primate endocasts? The widespread availability of CT data has allowed for better estimates of endocranial volume (#1), and for more data from stem primates (#2). From these data it is clear that the earliest primates had brains that were little differentiated in terms of form or size from their ancestors, although there might have been some modest increase in the relative size of the neocortex. Major changes in shape occurred at the euprimate node, with expansions in the temporal and occipital lobes (reflected in an expanded neocortex), and a lack of expansion in the olfactory bulbs. The brain of early fossil euprimates nonetheless still displayed primitive features such as narrow frontal lobes. Questions #3 and #4 remain contentious, although a much-expanded comparative sample of fossil endocasts allows for new perspectives on these issues.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to M. Orliac for providing the stl file for Plesiadapis tricuspidens used to generate the relevant part of Fig. 12.2, and to E.C. Kirk for providing images of Rooneyia. We are also thankful to T.E. Macrini and two anonymous reviewers for comments that substantially improved this paper. Support from an NSERC Discovery Grant to MTS; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions: Individual Fellowship (H2020-MSCA-IF-2018-2020; No. 792611) to OCB; and a Kalbfleisch Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to SLT.
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Silcox, M.T., Bertrand, O.C., Harrington, A.R., Lang, M.M., San Martin-Flores, G.A., López-Torres, S. (2023). Early Evolution of the Brain in Primates and Their Close Kin. In: Dozo, M.T., Paulina-Carabajal, A., Macrini, T.E., Walsh, S. (eds) Paleoneurology of Amniotes . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13983-3_12
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