Quantitative analysis shows strong directional selection in human limb evolution, suggesting unique evolutionary processes.
How has limb morphology diversified across the hominoid phylogeny, and does this divergence reflect natural selection or genetic drift? Cooper et al. (2026) apply a quantitative genetic framework to test evolutionary processes across multiple limb elements. While most lineages exhibit stabilizing selection or neutrality, strong directional selection is detected on the branch leading to Homo sapiens, indicating that human limb evolution represents a distinct departure from broader hominoid trends.
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Derin Tecel (2026) studied this question.
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