A scientist has a newly discovered fossil skull from a species known as Ardipith

Question

A scientist has a newly discovered fossil skull from a species known as Ardipithecus ramidus (or Ardi). She measures the position of the foramen magnum, the opening in the skull through which the spinal cord passes, and compares the location of this opening in the Ardi skull with its position in various other fossil hominins. What question is she most likely addressing?

A. How big was Ardi’s brain?

B. Did Ardi every mate with Neanderthals?

C. How tall was Ardi?

D. Why did Ardi go extinct?

E. How upright was Ardi’s posture?

Explanation / Answer

E. How upright was Ardi's posture,

The foramen magnum is a very important feature in bipedal mammals. One of the attributes of a bipedal animal’s foramen magnum is a forward shift of the anterior border, this is caused by the shortening of the cranial base. Studies on the foramen magnum position have shown a connection to the functional influences of both posture and locomotion. The forward shift of the foramen magnum is apparent in bipedal hominins, including modern humans, Australopithecus africanus, and Paranthropus boisei. The discovery of this feature has given scientists another form of identifying bipedal mammals.

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