禄丰古猿行动方式及系统发育分析

It is still unclear which kind of fossil hominoid is the most closely related one to the early hominin lineage . Late Miocene large-bodied hominoid fossils are crucial in explaining the origin and evolution of early hominins. Lufengpithecus lufengensis from Shihuiba,Lufeng county of Yunnan province in China is the most representative member of the Late Miocene hominoids in Asia, and its phylogeny with hominin lineage has been disputed since its recovery in 1975. The present project is focusing on the morphological and functional comparative study on the anatomical features and the internal structure of the limb bones in Lufengpithecus,other Miocene apes,fossil hominins, modern humans and great apes.By using the computerized tomography scanning、digital reconstructing techniques and the biomechanics analysis ,the project will build biomechanics models of limb bones and find out the key information of locomotion,and make sure whether or not Lufengpithecus is bipedalism while on the ground. Secondly, The project will analyze and encode the morphological traits of skulls and teeth with cladistic method to explore the phylogeny of Lufengpithecus lufengensis in hominoid evolution. By comparing the lufengpithecus lufengensis with extant apes and humans, other fossil hominoids and hominins , the project will reconstruct the phylogeny tree of the extinct and extant hominoids and provide new evidence for the interpretation of taxonomy and phylogeny of Lufengpithecus lufengensis in early hominin origin.

早期人类起源于何处哪类古猿依然是未解之谜。晚中新世古猿化石对解读早期人类起源演化问题具有重要学术价值。我国云南禄丰石灰坝发现的禄丰古猿是亚洲中新世晚期材料最丰富、最具代表性的古猿种类，其系统地位自1975年发现以来一直受到国际学术界争议。本项目基于禄丰古猿头骨、牙齿和肢骨化石的形态学研究，应用高精度CT扫描及三维重建技术和生物力学分析方法，深入解读禄丰古猿肢骨骨骼形态、结构和功能适应性，探讨禄丰古猿的行动方式，分析判定禄丰古猿是否具有地上双足行走的鉴别性特征；应用分支系统学分析方法，深入解读禄丰古猿形态特征性状的系统分类演化意义，并与现生类人猿和现代人、其他古猿和化石人类进行广泛的系统比较，为最终解答禄丰古猿的系统分类位置、判别禄丰古猿是否属于早期人类支系提供新证据。

中新世晚期生活在我国西南地区的禄丰古猿（Lufengpithecus lufengensis） 对研究亚洲地区早期人类及古猿的演化与灭绝具有重要意义。本项目基于丰富的禄丰古猿化石材料，并与相关的现生类人猿、其它化石古猿、现代人和早期人亚科成员的综合比较研究，采用传统形态测量、几何形态测量方法、CT扫描三维重建、生物力学和分支系统分析方法等手段，关注禄丰古猿行走方式、系统位置、牙齿生长模式、牙齿结构与适应性（包括臼齿釉质厚度和内部EDJ形态）等研究内容，取得了一系列成果，达到项目计划的预期目标。.结果表明：1）禄丰古猿行走方式较为多样化，可能以地栖蹠行性四足行走为主，同时伴有树栖四足行走、垂直攀爬或悬吊等其它行走方式；2）禄丰古猿有别于 Sivapithecus-Pongo 支系，更接近于欧洲中新世古猿，且位于人类与非洲大猿共同祖先的基干位置；3）禄丰古猿前部牙齿生长模式与人类有一定的相似性，有别于现生大猿，4）禄丰古猿属于“厚”釉质类型，可能与其选择进食更坚硬更复杂的备选食物密切相关；5）禄丰古猿臼齿EDJ 形态呈现出较为低矮、齿质尖较外扩等特点整体与现生猩猩最相似。上述成果为解答禄丰古猿的系统位置及其与早期人类的系统关系提供了关键证据。