Sagittal crest
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A sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull (at the sagittal suture) of many mammalian and primate skulls, among others. The presence of this ridge of bone indicates that there are exceptionally strong jaw muscles. The sagittal crest is thought by scientists to serve primarily for attachment of the temporalis muscle, which attaches the skull to the often massive jaws of certain mammals, dinosaurs and other species. Sagittal crests are found in robust great apes, in many of mankind's ancestors, and, occasionally, in some extant Homo sapiens populations (including Eskimos[1]). Prominent Sagittal crests are found among male gorillas and Orangutans, and, with the notable exception of the prominent crests of the particularly robust Bili Ape, do occur but only rarely in male chimpanzees.
The largest sagittal crest ever discovered in the human lineage belongs to the 'Black Skull', Paranthropus aethiopicus field number KNM WT 17000, the earliest known robust hominid ancestor and the oldest robust australopithecine discovered to date. The prominence of the crest appears to have been an adaptation for the aethiopicus's heavy chewing, and the Black Skull's cheek teeth are correspondingly large.
[edit] See also
- Mountain Gorilla
- Paranthropus aethiopicus (The Black Skull)
- Phrenology
- Sagittal Keel
[edit] External link
- ArcheologyInfo.com - 'Black Skull' (Australopithecus aethiopicus, specimen KNM-WT 17000)
