The Biogeographic Implications of Early Hominin Phylogeny

  • David S. Strait

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    8 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    The biogeographic implications of early hominin phylogeny were investigated using cladistic analysis. Geography was treated as a cladistic character with three states (eastern, southern and central Africa). The geography character was plotted onto a cladogram derived from a recent study of early hominin phylogeny, and each change in character state was interpreted as a dispersal event. Results indicate that hominins dispersed at least four times between African regions, and that most hominin speciation events took place in eastern Africa. Many adaptively significant morphologies also evolved in eastern Africa, although the possibility exists that bipedalism originated in central Africa.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationVertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
    PublisherSpringer
    Pages183-191
    Number of pages9
    Edition9789400759183
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2013

    Publication series

    NameVertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
    Number9789400759183
    ISSN (Print)1877-9077

    Keywords

    • Ardipithecus
    • Australopithecus
    • Biogeography
    • Cladistics
    • Dispersal
    • Hominins
    • Homo
    • Orrorin
    • Paranthropus
    • Parsimony
    • Phylogeny
    • Praeanthropus
    • Sahelanthropus

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