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    Predicting euarchontan body mass: A comparison of tarsal and dental variables.

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    Date
    2015-07
    Authors
    Boyer, Douglas
    Yapuncich, Gabriel
    Gladman, Justin T
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    Abstract
    Multiple meaningful ecological characterizations of a species revolve around body mass. Because body mass cannot be directly measured in extinct taxa, reliable body mass predictors are needed. Many published body mass prediction equations rely on dental dimensions, but certain skeletal dimensions may have a more direct and consistent relationship with body mass. We seek to evaluate the reliability of prediction equations for inferring euarchontan body mass based on measurements of the articular facet areas of the astragalus and calcaneus.Surface areas of five astragalar facets (n = 217 specimens) and two calcaneal facets (n = 163) were measured. Separate ordinary least squares and multiple regression equations are presented for different levels of taxonomic inclusivity, and the reliability of each equation is evaluated with the coefficient of determination, standard error of the estimate, mean prediction error, and the prediction sum of squares statistic. We compare prediction errors to published prediction equations that utilize dental and/or tarsal measures. Finally, we examine the effects of taxonomically specific regressions and apply our equations to a diverse set of non-primates.Our results reveal that predictions based on facet areas are more reliable than most linear dental or tarsal predictors. Multivariate approaches are often better than univariate methods, but require more information (making them less useful for fragmentary fossils). While some taxonomically specific regressions improve predictive ability, this is not true for all primate groups.Among individual facets, the ectal and fibular facets of the astragalus and the calcaneal cuboid facet are the best body mass predictors. Since these facets have primarily concave curvature and scale with positive allometry relative to body mass, it appears that candidate skeletal proxies for body mass can be identified based on their curvature and scaling coefficients.
    Type
    Journal article
    Subject
    Calcaneus
    Talus
    Tooth
    Animals
    Primates
    Body Size
    Anthropology, Physical
    Fossils
    Female
    Male
    Permalink
    https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18081
    Published Version (Please cite this version)
    10.1002/ajpa.22735
    Publication Info
    Boyer, Douglas; Yapuncich, Gabriel; & Gladman, Justin T (2015). Predicting euarchontan body mass: A comparison of tarsal and dental variables. American journal of physical anthropology, 157(3). pp. 472-506. 10.1002/ajpa.22735. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18081.
    This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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    Scholars@Duke

    Boyer

    Douglas Martin Boyer

    Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology
    Yapuncich

    Gabriel Yapuncich

    Research Scholar
    Alphabetical list of authors with Scholars@Duke profiles.
    Open Access

    Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy

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