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The volar skin of primates: its frictional characteristics and their functional significance.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Cartmill, M
Published in: American journal of physical anthropology
May 1979

Friction of volar skin on wood is not proportional to load in human beings and prosimians, but to load raised to a fractional power. This meets theoretical expectations for the frictional characteristics of convex elastic surfaces. Although this enables small clawless primates to cling to steeper slopes and larger vertical supports than would otherwise be possible, the magnitude of the effect is not great enough to overcome the disadvantages of clawlessness in climbing vertical or steeply-sloping tree trunks and branches. In human subjects, friction appears to be more nearly proportional to load than in small prosimians used as experimental subjects. It is suggested that this is due to the fact that the small animals have discrete, elevated volar pads. Pad coalescence in large primates may be an adaptation for increasing the power to which load must be raised to become proportional to friction; increasing this exponent yields more friction per unit of adduction force on supports that are small relative to the animals' dimensions and weights.

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Published In

American journal of physical anthropology

DOI

EISSN

1096-8644

ISSN

0002-9483

Publication Date

May 1979

Volume

50

Issue

4

Start / End Page

497 / 509

Related Subject Headings

  • Strepsirhini
  • Species Specificity
  • Skin Physiological Phenomena
  • Locomotion
  • Lemur
  • Humans
  • Hand
  • Galago
  • Biophysics
  • Biophysical Phenomena
 

Citation

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Cartmill, M. (1979). The volar skin of primates: its frictional characteristics and their functional significance. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 50(4), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330500402
Cartmill, M. “The volar skin of primates: its frictional characteristics and their functional significance.American Journal of Physical Anthropology 50, no. 4 (May 1979): 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330500402.
Cartmill M. The volar skin of primates: its frictional characteristics and their functional significance. American journal of physical anthropology. 1979 May;50(4):497–509.
Cartmill, M. “The volar skin of primates: its frictional characteristics and their functional significance.American Journal of Physical Anthropology, vol. 50, no. 4, May 1979, pp. 497–509. Epmc, doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330500402.
Cartmill M. The volar skin of primates: its frictional characteristics and their functional significance. American journal of physical anthropology. 1979 May;50(4):497–509.
Journal cover image

Published In

American journal of physical anthropology

DOI

EISSN

1096-8644

ISSN

0002-9483

Publication Date

May 1979

Volume

50

Issue

4

Start / End Page

497 / 509

Related Subject Headings

  • Strepsirhini
  • Species Specificity
  • Skin Physiological Phenomena
  • Locomotion
  • Lemur
  • Humans
  • Hand
  • Galago
  • Biophysics
  • Biophysical Phenomena