Evolutionary trend in dental size in Gigantopithecus blacki revisited

Yingqi Zhang; Reiko T Kono; Wei Wang; Terry Harrison; Masanaru Takai; Russell L Ciochon; Changzhu Jin

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.005

Evolutionary trend in dental size in Gigantopithecus blacki revisited

J Hum Evol. 2015 Jun:83:91-100. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.005. Epub 2015 Apr 17.

Authors

Yingqi Zhang¹, Reiko T Kono², Wei Wang³, Terry Harrison⁴, Masanaru Takai⁵, Russell L Ciochon⁶, Changzhu Jin⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China. Electronic address: zhangyingqi@ivpp.ac.cn.
² Division of Human Evolution, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan. Electronic address: rtkono@kahaku.go.jp.
³ Guangxi Museum of Nationalities, Nanning 530021, China.
⁴ Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
⁵ Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama 484-8506, Japan.
⁶ Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1409, USA.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.

PMID: 25895449
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.005

Abstract

Previous analyses of dental size in Gigantopithecus blacki indicated marked sexual dimorphism and a trend towards increasing size through time. These studies were based on a sample of over 700 teeth from five localities excavated prior to 1990. Since then, 12 additional cave sites have been discovered in southern China, yielding hundreds of isolated teeth of G. blacki. Most of these sites are well dated by a combination of biochronology and absolute dating methods, so we now have a much better understanding of the chronology of G. blacki. Here, we reexamine the degree of sexual dimorphism and the question of dental size increase through time in G. blacki based on the expanded collections now available. Our results show that sexual dimorphism is not as marked as indicated in previous studies and confirm earlier analyses suggesting that the postcanine teeth of G. blacki tend to become larger through time from the beginning of the Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene.

Keywords: ANOVA; Chronology; Sexual dimorphism; Silverman's test.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Biological Evolution*
China
Cuspid / anatomy & histology*
Fossils
Hominidae / anatomy & histology*
Humans
Male
Paleodontology