Brief communication: Endocranial volumes in an ontogenetic sample of chimpanzees from the taï forest national park, ivory coast

Research on chimpanzees from Taï National Park, Ivory Coast, reveals that endocranial volume (EV) increases rapidly during early ontogeny and reaches 34% of adult mean by the neonate stage. The study, based on high-resolution CT scans of 43 chimpanzee crania, found an average adult EV of 378.7 ± 30.1 cm³, with sexual dimorphism evident before adulthood. Regression analysis showed that cranial width provided better estimates for EV than length or height. This unique dataset, enriched by behavioral observations, advances understanding of brain growth patterns in great apes and contributes to discussions on hominin evolution.

Neubauer, S., Gunz, P., Schwarz, U., Hublin, J.-J., & Boesch, C. (2011). Brief communication: Endocranial volumes in an ontogenetic sample of chimpanzees from the taï forest national park, ivory coast. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 147(2), 319–325. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.21641