ANT332H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Mechanical Advantage, Scapula, Australopithecus
Document Summary
The upper limbs of humans and apes are much more similar to each other than are the lower limbs. This is largely because biped locomotion has resulted in greater anatomical changes in the lower limbs than in the upper limbs. The entire upper limb in humans and apes is capable of a greater range of movement than is found in most monkeys, and particularly greater than is found in the monkeys of the old world. The arms are used fully extended above the head to suspend and propel the animal through the trees. Semi-brachiators are monkeys, rather than apes, that are essentially quadrupeds but use their upper limbs above their heads to a greater extent than do purely quadrupedal monkeys. The old world semi-brachiators are the colobine monkeys of africa and asia that use their forelimbs in association with the hindlimbs to check their momentum after leaping.
