@article{dd96fed84633499d84bcee6ba92ad566,
title = "Drimolen cranium DNH 155 documents microevolution in an early hominin species",
abstract = "Paranthropus robustus is a small-brained extinct hominin from South Africa characterized by derived, robust craniodental morphology. The most complete known skull of this species is DNH 7 from Drimolen Main Quarry, which differs from P. robustus specimens recovered elsewhere in ways attributed to sexual dimorphism. Here, we describe a new fossil specimen from Drimolen Main Quarry, dated from approximately 2.04–1.95 million years ago, that challenges this view. DNH 155 is a well-preserved adult male cranium that shares with DNH 7 a suite of primitive and derived features unlike those seen in adult P. robustus specimens from other chronologically younger deposits. This refutes existing hypotheses linking sexual dimorphism, ontogeny and social behaviour within this taxon, and clarifies hypotheses concerning hominin phylogeny. We document small-scale morphological changes in P. robustus associated with ecological change within a short time frame and restricted geography. This represents the most highly resolved evidence yet of microevolutionary change within an early hominin species.",
author = "Martin, {Jesse M.} and Leece, {A. B.} and Simon Neubauer and Baker, {Stephanie E.} and Mongle, {Carrie S.} and Giovanni Boschian and Schwartz, {Gary T.} and Smith, {Amanda L.} and Ledogar, {Justin A.} and Strait, {David S.} and Herries, {Andy I.R.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Y. Rak and B. Kimbel, who are completing a detailed description of the DNH 7 skull, for sharing observations and insights on this specimen, a number of which correspond to ours; however, endorsement of our conclusions is not implied and all observations and interpretations are, of course, our own. The research underpinning this publication was undertaken while J.M.M. and A.B.L. were completing a PhD at La Trobe University. We thank the student excavators from the Washington University Drimolen Cave Field School and the Australian Palaeoanthropological Fieldschool at Drimolen. We dedicate the discovery of DNH 155 to I. Good, whose daughter S. Good uncovered the specimen on Father{\textquoteright}s Day in 2018. We thank R. Nsibande for invaluable logistical assistance and we remember S. Mokobane for many years of similar support as well as mentorship and friendship but who sadly died mere months before the discovery of DNH 155. We thank J. Massey for providing access to digital data, K. McNulty and A. Gordon for providing statistical advice and support, A. Larson for advice regarding species concepts and to J.-J. Hublin and P. Gunz for access to data and support. We thank D. Wright for methodological assistance with the tip-dated analysis. We thank J. Adams and M. Meredith-Williams for the supervision provided to J.M.M. and A.B.L. throughout their PhD programmes (in addition to that also provided by A.I.R.H. and D.S.S.). We also thank P. Strait for timely advice regarding probability theory. We thank the landowners (K. and N. Nkosi) for their continuing support to excavate at Drimolen, including through South African Heritage Resource Agency permit nos. 2597 and 2883 to S.E.B. and A.I.R.H. This research was funded and supported by Higher Degree Research fee waivers and living scholarships from La Trobe University to J.M.M. and A.B.L. and an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant no. DP170100056 to A.I.R.H. and D.S.S. Biomechanical analysis was supported by a grant to D.S.S. from the Biological Anthropology Directorate of the National Science Foundation (no. NSF-BCS-0725126). S.N. was supported by the Max Planck Society. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.",
year = "2021",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1038/s41559-020-01319-6",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "5",
pages = "38--45",
journal = "Nature Ecology and Evolution",
issn = "2397-334X",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "1",
}