Mosaic evolution. An example in the origin of Neandertals
The emergence of Neandertal morphology (Homo neanderthalensis) is associated with the appearance of mosaic phenotypes in Middle Pleistocene ancestral populations. Using this case as a reference, we analyze the concept of “mosaic evolution”. Mosaic evolution suggests that different traits can evolve...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/388995 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/388995 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Human evolution Morphological integration Middle Pleistocene Hominin Neandertal |
| Sumario: | The emergence of Neandertal morphology (Homo neanderthalensis) is associated with the appearance of mosaic phenotypes in Middle Pleistocene ancestral populations. Using this case as a reference, we analyze the concept of “mosaic evolution”. Mosaic evolution suggests that different traits can evolve independently, at different times, resulting in various combinations of primitive and derived traits (mosaics) in descendant species. Often, the seemingly random nature of these trait combinations is interpreted within the conceptual framework of population genetics, where the different states of anatomical traits are seen as direct expressions of allelic variants. In this paper, we propose that the appearance of these mosaics of traits in Middle Pleistocene hominins of Europe occurred within a complex network of morphogenetic interactions involving two factors that affect the organism as a whole. First, during the early part of the Middle Pleistocene, there is an increase in body size, and consequently, an increase in metabolism, which may have affected facial anatomy through the expansion of the respiratory tract. Second, the hominin lineage from which Neandertals, Denisovans, and modern humans descend experiences an increase in the size of certain brain areas, leading to changes in the anatomy of the cranial vault and the integration of anatomical systems related to the base of the skull. In this context, changes in the overall orientation of the basicranium and in the topological relationships between the midline of the skull base and the lateral portions of the skull (temporal fossae) can be explained from an organismic perspective. |
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