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Experimental Research on Foot Use and Function During Climbing by Primates

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The Evolution of the Primate Foot

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects ((DIPR))

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Abstract

Vertical climbing has played a central role in the evolutionary history of the primate foot. Yet, to date, very little experimental work has examined how the primate foot functions during climbing, due in part to logistical limitations and ethical considerations associated with experimental data collection. Additionally, the current literature generally lacks an integrative approach for collecting multiple types of data and examining the interactions of various physical setups in an experimental setting. This chapter reviews literature on the experimental biomechanics of primate climbing, with a focus on the primate hindlimb and foot. We first describe how the primate foot is used during climbing in naturalistic contexts. We then review and synthesize studies on four aspects of the primate foot during climbing: spatiotemporal features, kinematics, kinetics, and electromyography. We conclude that future studies should attempt to include more biomechanical data on the foot specifically, collect data that allow an understanding of how substrate affects foot function, and broaden the species sample from which data are collected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Duke Lemur Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Jandy B. Hanna

  2. Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Vivek Venkataraman

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Correspondence to Jandy B. Hanna .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Angel Zeininger

  2. Department of Biology, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Kevin G. Hatala

  3. Department of Biology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA

    Roshna E. Wunderlich

  4. Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Daniel Schmitt

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Hanna, J.B., Venkataraman, V. (2022). Experimental Research on Foot Use and Function During Climbing by Primates. In: Zeininger, A., Hatala, K.G., Wunderlich, R.E., Schmitt, D. (eds) The Evolution of the Primate Foot. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06436-4_8

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