Evolution of the Primate Foot

Angel Zeininger is Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University.  Her work focuses on morphological, experimental, and paleontological analysis of the foot and lower limb of primates, with a special emphasis on development.Kevin Hatala is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Chatham University.  He studies the fossil evidence for the evolution of primate and especially human locomotion using paleontological, and laboratory and field experimental approaches.Roshna Wunderlich is a Professor in the Department of Biology at James Madison University. Her work uses laboratory and field experimental studies to understand the function of the primate foot and locomotor ecology in primates.Daniel Schmitt is a Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University.  He conducts laboratory experiments on limb loading in primates to understand fundamental innovations in primate and human postcranial evolution.

• Introduction.- Clinical and Evolutionary Perspectives on the Primate Foot: A Historical and Contemporary View.- The Primate Ankle and Hindfoot.- The Primate Midfoot and Human Longitudinal Arch.- The Primate Forefoot.- Myology of the Primate Foot.- The Integument and Associated Structures of the Primate Foot.- Experimental Research on Foot Use and Function During Climbing by Primates.- Foot Posture During Quadrupedal Walking in Primates.- Primate Foot Use During Bipedal Walking.- Running in Addition to Walking Helped Shape the Human Foot.- The Feet of Paleogene Primates.- Miocene Ape Feet.- The Early Hominin Foot.- The Feet of Fossil Homo.- Locomotor behavior of the sloth lemurs (Palaeopropithecidae) and the function and anatomy of a foot adapted for suspensory locomotion.- Recent Developments and Future Directions for the Study of Primate Feet.

“The text offers a comprehensive summary of the synthetic methodologies of its 25 contributors, who are exponents of the most cutting-edge methods employed today. The accessible text is supplemented by many figures, tables, and appendixes. This new book is required reading for all scholars in primatology and biological anthropology, regardless of academic level.” (E. J. Sargis, Choice, Vol. 60 (11), 2023)