Abstract
Late Miocene large-bodied hominoids from Yunnan, China are critical to the understanding of hominid and hominoid origins and evolution in Asia. The aim of the present study is to examine dental development and ontogeny of Lufengpithecus from Yuanmou and Lufeng. Based on scanning electron microscope observations of enamel incremental markings, the mean crown formation time of Lufengpithecus incisors was estimated to be 3.7–4.6 years, which is longer than that of Proconsul, Paranthropus, and early Homo, and closer to that of Australopithecus afarensis, Pan, and Homo sapiens. The dental eruption characteristics of Lufengpithecus lufengensis, including age at first molar emergence, eruption sequence of dentition, and M1/I1 eruption pattern, show an ape-like, not human-like, developmental pattern. High and regular frequency of linear enamel hypoplasia indicates that late Miocene L. lufengensis suffered from regular physiological stress associated with seasonal dietary fluctuations.
