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Tough life for chimpanzees in the savannah

Chimpanzee foods are mechanically more demanding than previously thought and might give clues about the evolution of the chewing apparatus in hominins

While forest dwelling chimpanzees mostly feed on ripe fruits commonly considered easy to process, savannah chimpanzees include more challenging non-fruit items into their diet. A study led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig has analysed the mechanical properties and the isotopic composition of plant foods eaten by chimpanzees living in the tropical forest and savannah woodland. They found that the savannah chimpanzees eat foods that are more mechanically challenging and therefore may place higher selective pressures on their chewing apparatus compared to their conspecifics living in the rainforest. Since early hominins likely evolved in an environment similar to that of today’s savannah woodland chimpanzees, our early ancestors may have encountered similarly challenging foods.

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© Adam van Casteren