doi: 10.1073/pnas.0704250104. Epub 2007 Jun 18.
The primate semicircular canal system and locomotion
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- PMID:17576932
- PMCID: PMC1892787
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0704250104
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The primate semicircular canal system and locomotion
Fred Spoor et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A..
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Abstract
The semicircular canal system of vertebrates helps coordinate body movements, including stabilization of gaze during locomotion. Quantitative phylogenetically informed analysis of the radius of curvature of the three semicircular canals in 91 extant and recently extinct primate species and 119 other mammalian taxa provide support for the hypothesis that canal size varies in relation to the jerkiness of head motion during locomotion. Primate and other mammalian species studied here that are agile and have fast, jerky locomotion have significantly larger canals relative to body mass than those that move more cautiously.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Figures
Graphical relationship between canal sizes, body mass, and agility. Double logarithmic plots of mean [average semicircular canal radius (SCR)] canals against body mass for 91 primates (a) and 210 mammals (b).
References
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