Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI)

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Author: search.filters.author.Zipfel, Bernhard

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    On the importance of using standardized anatomical terminology in palaeoanthropology: The missing StW 431 pubic body
    (The Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2024-09) VanSickle, Caroline; Zipfel, Bernhard
    In 1987, a partial right pubic bone, StW 431ef, was unearthed with hominin skeletal remains at Sterkfontein Cave, South Africa. It preserved the lateral portion of the superior pubic ramus, yet has been described in the literature as a “pubic body”. We confirmed that no medial pubic fragments were discovered with this fossil and sought to explain why it has been described this way. We found that international anatomical terminology guidelines for humans define the pubic body with medial elements, while veterinary guidelines associate it with the portion near the acetabulum We suggest that as a hominin, the StW 431ef pubis should be described based on the human standards, and is thus the lateral portion of a superior pubic ramus. This case illustrates the importance of palaeoanthropologists agreeing on which international standard to follow to ensure clarity and accuracy across disciplines and over time.
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    The inner craniodental anatomy of the Papio specimen U.W. 88-886 from the Early Pleistocene site of Malapa, Gauteng, South Africa
    (Evolutionary Studies Institute, 2019-04) Bouchet, Florian; Ribéron, Alexandre; Heaton, Jason L.; Hoffman, Jakobus; Bam, Lunga; Jakata, Kudakwashe; Tawane, Mirriam; Tenailleau, Christophe; Zipfel, Bernhard; Beaudet, Amélie
    Cercopithecoids represent an essential component of the Plio-Pleistocene faunal assemblage. However, despite the abundance of the cercopithecoid fossil remains in African Plio-Pleistocene deposits, the chronological and geographic contexts from which the modern baboons (i.e. Papio hamadryas ssp.) emerged are still debated. The recently discovered Papio (hamadryas) angusticeps specimen (U.W. 88-886) from the Australopithecus sediba-bearing site of Malapa, Gauteng, South Africa, may represent the first modern baboon occurrence in the fossil record. Given the implication of U.W. 88-886 for the understanding of the papionin evolutionary history and the potential of internal craniodental structures for exploring evolutionary trends in fossil monkey taxa, we use X-ray microtomography to investigate the inner craniodental anatomy of this critical specimen. Our goal is to provide additional evidence to examine the origins of modern baboons. In particular,we explore (i) the tissue proportions and the dentine topographic distribution in dental roots and (ii) the endocranial organization. Consistent with the previous description and metrical analyses of its external cranial morphology, U.W. 88-886 shares internal craniodental anatomy similarities with Plio-Pleistocene and modern Papio, supporting its attribution to Papio (hamadryas) angusticeps. Interestingly, average dentine thickness and distribution in U.W. 88-886 fit more closely to the extinct Papio condition, while the sulcal pattern and relative dentine thickness are more like the extant Papio states. Besides providing additional evidence for characterizing South African fossil papionins, our study sheds new light on the polarity of inner craniodental features in the papionin lineage.
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    A case of vertebrate fossil forgery from Madagascar
    (Bernard price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2010-12) Zipfel, Bernhard; Yates, Celeste; Yates, Adam M.
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    Partial hominin tibia (StW 396) from Sterkfontein, South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009-12) Zipfel, Bernhard; Berger, Lee R.
    Comparison of a proximal hominin tibial fragment, StW 396 from Sterkfontein Member 4, South Africa, with the StW 514a tibia, also from Member 4 and attributed to Australopithecus africanus, indicates a degree of morphological variability that may represent the extremes of intraspecific variability or even exceed what one would expect from intraspecific variation alone. The morphology of StW 396 is human-like which suggests adaptations towards stability at the knee, whilst that of StW 514a is interpreted as being more mobile and ape-like (Berger & Tobias 1996). Four features separate the two morphological patterns. In StW 514a the attachment area of m. semimembranosus is strongly localized, whereas in StW 396 the posteromedial border is notched near the base of the lateral intercondylar tubercle; thirdly, the lateral tibial condyle of StW 514a is supero-inferiorly thin, whereas in StW 396 the lateral condyle is supero-inferiorly thickened and the contrast between the condyle and the shaft is less pronounced; lastly the articular surface of the medial condyle of StW 396 is anteroposteriorly broad and highly concave as opposed to the narrower, flatter surface of StW 514a. The degree of variability of the two specimens possibly suggests differing functional adaptations and may thus support an hypothesis suggesting that two hominin species may be represented within Sterkfontein Member 4.
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    New Cenozoic fossil-bearing site abbreviations for collections of the University of the Witwatersrand
    (Bernard price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009-12) Zipfel, Bernhard; Berger, Lee R.
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    Size and shape of the human foot bone from Klasies River main site, South Africa
    (Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 2008-04) Zipfel, Bernhard; Kidd, Robert S.
    Rightmire et al. (2006) recently described three human metatarsal bones of Middle Stone Age antiquity from Klasies River Mouth (KRM) main site, South Africa. One of these, a complete adult left first metatarsal is broadly similar to Late Stone Age (LSA) Holocene skeletons from the southern coastal margins of the Cape, and based on size, was suggested to be from a male. Our analysis subjected the KRM first metatarsal and comparative human samples to selected morphometric analyses, in an attempt to test the hypothesis regarding shape associated sexual dimorphism as a means to estimate sex in the KRM individual. The results support earlier suggestions that it falls within the range of early Holocene variation, this being very narrow both in size and shape. The size-independent shape-associated morphology, however, suggests that the individual may be female. Even though these findings imply that the KRM individual may have been female based on sexually dimorphic shape-associated discrimination in LSA Holocene people, they are not conclusive and that this individual could probably be assigned to either sex.