Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions

Abstract Pigmentation patterns of the visible part of the eyeball, encompassing the iris and portions of the sclera, have been discussed to be linked to social cognition in primates. The cooperative eye hypothesis suggests the white sclera of humans to be a derived adaptive trait that enhances eye-m...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Kai R. Caspar, Marco Biggemann, Thomas Geissmann, Sabine Begall
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/56b5b0cb6c824e00b74c78412e35e902
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:56b5b0cb6c824e00b74c78412e35e902
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:56b5b0cb6c824e00b74c78412e35e9022021-12-02T17:12:17ZOcular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions10.1038/s41598-021-92348-z2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/56b5b0cb6c824e00b74c78412e35e9022021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92348-zhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Pigmentation patterns of the visible part of the eyeball, encompassing the iris and portions of the sclera, have been discussed to be linked to social cognition in primates. The cooperative eye hypothesis suggests the white sclera of humans to be a derived adaptive trait that enhances eye-mediated communication. Here, we provide a comparative analysis of ocular pigmentation patterns in 15 species of hominoids (humans, great apes & gibbons) that show marked differences in social cognition and quantify scleral exposure at the genus level. Our data reveals a continuum of eye pigmentation traits in hominoids which does not align with the complexity of gaze-mediated communication in the studied taxa. Gibbons display darker eyes than great apes and expose less sclera. Iridoscleral contrasts in orangutans and gorillas approach the human condition but differ between congeneric species. Contrary to recent discussions, we found chimpanzee eyes to exhibit a cryptic coloration scheme that resembles gibbons more than other apes. We reevaluate the evidence for links between social cognition and eye pigmentation in primates, concluding that the cooperative eye hypothesis cannot explain the patterns observed. Differences in scleral pigmentation between great apes and humans are gradual and might have arisen via genetic drift and sexual selection.Kai R. CasparMarco BiggemannThomas GeissmannSabine BegallNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Kai R. Caspar Marco Biggemann Thomas Geissmann Sabine Begall Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
description	Abstract Pigmentation patterns of the visible part of the eyeball, encompassing the iris and portions of the sclera, have been discussed to be linked to social cognition in primates. The cooperative eye hypothesis suggests the white sclera of humans to be a derived adaptive trait that enhances eye-mediated communication. Here, we provide a comparative analysis of ocular pigmentation patterns in 15 species of hominoids (humans, great apes & gibbons) that show marked differences in social cognition and quantify scleral exposure at the genus level. Our data reveals a continuum of eye pigmentation traits in hominoids which does not align with the complexity of gaze-mediated communication in the studied taxa. Gibbons display darker eyes than great apes and expose less sclera. Iridoscleral contrasts in orangutans and gorillas approach the human condition but differ between congeneric species. Contrary to recent discussions, we found chimpanzee eyes to exhibit a cryptic coloration scheme that resembles gibbons more than other apes. We reevaluate the evidence for links between social cognition and eye pigmentation in primates, concluding that the cooperative eye hypothesis cannot explain the patterns observed. Differences in scleral pigmentation between great apes and humans are gradual and might have arisen via genetic drift and sexual selection.
format	article
author	Kai R. Caspar Marco Biggemann Thomas Geissmann Sabine Begall
author_facet	Kai R. Caspar Marco Biggemann Thomas Geissmann Sabine Begall
author_sort	Kai R. Caspar
title	Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
title_short	Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
title_full	Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
title_fullStr	Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
title_full_unstemmed	Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
title_sort	ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/56b5b0cb6c824e00b74c78412e35e902
work_keys_str_mv	AT kaircaspar ocularpigmentationinhumansgreatapesandgibbonsisnotsuggestiveofcommunicativefunctions AT marcobiggemann ocularpigmentationinhumansgreatapesandgibbonsisnotsuggestiveofcommunicativefunctions AT thomasgeissmann ocularpigmentationinhumansgreatapesandgibbonsisnotsuggestiveofcommunicativefunctions AT sabinebegall ocularpigmentationinhumansgreatapesandgibbonsisnotsuggestiveofcommunicativefunctions
_version_	1718381434023968768

Ocular pigmentation in humans, great apes, and gibbons is not suggestive of communicative functions

Ejemplares similares