The Evolution of the Primate Foot from the Earliest Primates to the Miocene Hominoids

Abstract

The fossil evidence relating to the evolution of the primate foot is reviewed and evaluated. Many of the characteristic features of the primate foot had evolved by the early Tertiary over 40 million years ago. Probably the most significant of these developments was the progressive migration of the talus to a position over the calcaneum. These morphological features are followed through the Miocene hominoid genera from East Africa, Europe, and South Asia. While some features of Miocene hominoids, especially those relating to climbing abilities, are still evident in the predominantly bipedal earliest hominids of the Plio-Pleistocene, there is no evidence yet from the Miocene of the first stages in the evolution of that bipe-dalism.