Publication Date

1982

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Orlosky, Frank James, 1943-

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Anthropology

LCSH

Phylogeny; Prisms; Primates

Abstract

The use of enamel prism patterns in determining phylogenetic relationships between primate taxa is investigated in this thesis. Representative samples were taken from fifteen primate taxa, etched with acid and photographed with a Scanning Electron Microscope. The resulting data were used to group the taxa into five prism pattern designations. By comparing prism size, shape, alignment and distribution, it was determined that the taxonomic clusters were not natural groupings as compared to those found by traditional morphological and molecular methods. Only the group of Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla could be identified as a phylogenetically close group. Because other groupings did not show this consistency, it appears that shape alone is not a reliable phylogenetic indicator. Until extensive work is done on this method and standard shapes are defined and uniformly applied, prism shape cannot be used confidently in primate taxonomic studies.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.||Includes illustrations.

Extent

vii, 52 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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