Question

What are the general features, external appearance and skeletal characters of Hominidae?

Answer 1

Hominidae:

The family Hominidae is formed by one genus called Homo which has only one species, Homo sapiens. This Homo sapiens is represented by humans. Man has many diagnostic characteristics by which he is distinguishable from the other members of the suborder Anthropoidae.

Some of these characteristics are listed below:

General features

1. Man walks bipedally with fully erect posture, for which several modifications in the human skeleton have taken place
2. In man, in relation to the weight of the body of adult. that of newborn is much greater.
3. Man has power of articulated speech.
4. Man has long span of life. Growth period is long. Rate of growth development is slow.

External appearance:
1. Upper extremities (arms) much shorter than lower extremities (legs).
2. Absence of ischial collosities.

3. Absence of tactile hairs.
4. Relatively hairless body, except dense hair on scalp.
5. Highly rolled margins of ear.

6. Prominent nose with elevated bridge and fleshy tip.

7. Presence of philtrum (median furrow) on upper lip.
8. Both transversely and anteroposterially arched foot.

9. Reduction is size of lateral toes and dominance of great toe, which is not opposable and lies under the same skin covering with the others approximately upto the middle of basal phalanx.

Skeletal characters:
1. Enlarged cranium and reduced facial portion.

2. Placement of foramen magnum far anteriorly at the base of skull for balancing the head on the vertebral column.
3. Disappearance of premaxilla by fusion with maxilla.
4. Wide pheno-maxillary fissure.

5. Short external auditory meatus.
6. Development of pyramidal mastoid process.

7. Development of styloid process.
8. Articulation of lachrymal with sphenoid in the orbit.

9. Large, broad nasal bones separated by intranasal suture.
10. Absence of chin.
11. Absence of simian shelf.

12. Presence of well-marked linea aspera in femur.
13. Fully formed lumbar curve in vertebral column.
14. Absence of sexual dimorphism

15. Absence of diastema.
16. Canines of smaller size with their crowns almost at the same level with that of the other teeth.

17. Reduction in the size of molar teeth. Single or double rooted upper molar.

Hominidae:

• The family Hominidae is formed by one genus called Homo which has only one species, sapiens.
• This Homo sapiens is represented by humans.
• Man has many diagnostic characteristics by which he is distinguishable from the other members of the suborder Anthropoidae.