Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo
Frontal pneumatisation is not present in all primates, and among extant species, ethmoidally-derived frontal sinuses are present only in the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo. A simple and repeatable method is described here to quantify variation in the shape, size and bilateral variation of the frontal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société d'Anthropologie de Paris
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/7840 |
| _version_ | 1797699399175897088 |
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| author | Antoine Balzeau Lou Albessard-Ball Anna Maria Kubicka Camille Noûs Laura T. Buck |
| author_facet | Antoine Balzeau Lou Albessard-Ball Anna Maria Kubicka Camille Noûs Laura T. Buck |
| author_sort | Antoine Balzeau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Frontal pneumatisation is not present in all primates, and among extant species, ethmoidally-derived frontal sinuses are present only in the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo. A simple and repeatable method is described here to quantify variation in the shape, size and bilateral variation of the frontal sinuses. This has allowed the first large study of these variables, including analyses of large samples of P. paniscus, P. troglodytes, G. gorilla and of several geographically diverse populations of H. sapiens. Frontal sinus shape and size are potential phylogenetic markers in primate systematics. We suggest that, in contrast to an allometric relationship between endocranial and frontal sinus form in Pan and Gorilla, H. sapiens is autapomorphic in having highly variable, supero-inferiorly large frontal sinuses, whose size is unrestricted by variation in cranial form. However, we also describe differences in frontal pneumatisation between those taxa. H. sapiens differs from the other taxa in having relatively smaller frontal sinuses that are more variable in shape and size. In P. troglodytes, P. paniscus and G. gorilla, the shape and size of frontal pneumatisation correlates positively with the overall size of the braincase. This suggests that the large space available in the bone structures of the non-human primates analysed allows the sinuses to develop under only slight constraint (if any) from surrounding structures. In H. sapiens, a significant correlation is observed between the asymmetry in the anterior extension of the frontal lobes of the brain and the shape and extension of the frontal sinuses. We suggest that the more vertical orientation of the H. sapiens frontal bone, its reduced thickness, the reduction of the supraorbital tori and the increased influence of the frontal lobes appear to have modified the integration between the skull, brain and sinuses in the frontal region in our species compared to our nearest extant relatives. Our results reduce the possibility of a strong functional origin for the variation in size and shape of the frontal sinuses in the primates analysed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:07:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-14000bcaa7464a43b61665e91737d1e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1777-5469 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:07:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Société d'Anthropologie de Paris |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris |
| spelling | doaj.art-14000bcaa7464a43b61665e91737d1e72023-09-03T11:11:58ZengSociété d'Anthropologie de ParisBulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris1777-54692021-10-013310.4000/bmsap.7840Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and HomoAntoine BalzeauLou Albessard-BallAnna Maria KubickaCamille NoûsLaura T. BuckFrontal pneumatisation is not present in all primates, and among extant species, ethmoidally-derived frontal sinuses are present only in the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo. A simple and repeatable method is described here to quantify variation in the shape, size and bilateral variation of the frontal sinuses. This has allowed the first large study of these variables, including analyses of large samples of P. paniscus, P. troglodytes, G. gorilla and of several geographically diverse populations of H. sapiens. Frontal sinus shape and size are potential phylogenetic markers in primate systematics. We suggest that, in contrast to an allometric relationship between endocranial and frontal sinus form in Pan and Gorilla, H. sapiens is autapomorphic in having highly variable, supero-inferiorly large frontal sinuses, whose size is unrestricted by variation in cranial form. However, we also describe differences in frontal pneumatisation between those taxa. H. sapiens differs from the other taxa in having relatively smaller frontal sinuses that are more variable in shape and size. In P. troglodytes, P. paniscus and G. gorilla, the shape and size of frontal pneumatisation correlates positively with the overall size of the braincase. This suggests that the large space available in the bone structures of the non-human primates analysed allows the sinuses to develop under only slight constraint (if any) from surrounding structures. In H. sapiens, a significant correlation is observed between the asymmetry in the anterior extension of the frontal lobes of the brain and the shape and extension of the frontal sinuses. We suggest that the more vertical orientation of the H. sapiens frontal bone, its reduced thickness, the reduction of the supraorbital tori and the increased influence of the frontal lobes appear to have modified the integration between the skull, brain and sinuses in the frontal region in our species compared to our nearest extant relatives. Our results reduce the possibility of a strong functional origin for the variation in size and shape of the frontal sinuses in the primates analysed.http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/7840frontal bone pneumatisationanatomical integrationbrain asymmetriesinternal cranial anatomy |
| spellingShingle | Antoine Balzeau Lou Albessard-Ball Anna Maria Kubicka Camille Noûs Laura T. Buck Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris frontal bone pneumatisation anatomical integration brain asymmetries internal cranial anatomy |
| title | Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo |
| title_full | Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo |
| title_fullStr | Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo |
| title_short | Frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera Pan, Gorilla and Homo |
| title_sort | frontal sinus variation in extant species of the genera pan gorilla and homo |
| topic | frontal bone pneumatisation anatomical integration brain asymmetries internal cranial anatomy |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/7840 |
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