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Mandibular morphometric variation among Chinese cercopithecoids and the unique structure of the snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus) mandible

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Abstract

In order to understand how mandibular structure differs among the Chinese cercopithecoids (Rhinopithecus, Trachypithecus and Macaca), particularly the uniqueness of the snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus), we analysed ten mandibular measurements by principal components analysis (PCA), and examined scaling patterns. The results provided by the PCA illustrated differences due to size among the cercopithecoids and the relationship between colobines (Trachypithecus and Rhinopithecus) and cercopithecines, in which macaques (Macaca) are included. Allometric analysis indicated that, biomechanically, there is not a marked difference between macaques and leaf-eating monkeys. This may be associated with the fact that both share some similar ecology and niches in south and southwest China. The snub-nosed monkeys exhibit a significantly more robust mandible, evident in the symphysis, corpus, condyle, and masticatory momentum arm. This supports the hypothesis, based on the study of dental structure, that Rhinopithecus is a unique group in Asian Old World monkeys (OWMs) and has developed some unique characteristics in order to adapt to the tough food available in the severe cold climate of the Plateaux of Qinghai–Tibet, Yun-Gui and Qingling in China.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Palaeontology Scientific Trust (PAST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa, and the National Basic Research Programme of China (973 Programme––2007CB411600). We thank the following institutions and museums in China for allowing the examination and measurement of specimens: Northwest Institute of Biology, Xining, Qinghai; Institute of Zoology, Beijing; Guangdong Institute of Entomology, Guangzhou, Guangdong; Guangxi Forest Department, Nanning, Guangxi; Guangxi Medical College, Nanning, Guangxi; Sichuan Teachers’ College, Nanchong, Sichuan; and Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan. We also thank Dr. Christopher J. Vinyard and the two anonymous reviewers for their comments.

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  1. School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 2193, South Africa

    Ruliang Pan

  2. Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China

    Xeulong Jiang

  3. School of Anatomy and Human Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Nick Milne

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  1. Ruliang Pan
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  2. Xeulong Jiang
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Correspondence to Ruliang Pan.

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Pan, R., Jiang, X. & Milne, N. Mandibular morphometric variation among Chinese cercopithecoids and the unique structure of the snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus) mandible. Primates 49, 195–203 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-007-0071-0

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