Region-specific patterns of sexual shape variation in the human bony labyrinth: 3D geometric morphometric analysis of a sample with known genomic sex
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Le résumé fourni par la source
ABSTRACT The human bony labyrinth has attracted increasing interest because of its taxonomic, evolutionary, and functional significance. Although sexual dimorphism has been reported in several aspects of the temporal bone, the extent to which sex, age, size, and allometry contribute to labyrinth shape variation remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated patterns of sexual shape variation in the human bony labyrinth using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics in a sample of 98 archaeological individuals from South America with known genomic sex. Centroid size and allometric effects were assessed in a subset of 90 individuals with comparable metric scaling. In addition to analysing the complete labyrinth, the cochlea and semicircular canals were examined separately to evaluate region-specific patterns of sexual shape variation. Principal Component Analysis showed extensive overlap between females and males, and overall labyrinth shape did not differ significantly between sexes. Males exhibited significantly larger labyrinths than females, and centroid size explained a small but significant proportion of overall shape variation. Regional analyses showed no evidence of significant sexual shape differences in the cochlea or in any individual semicircular canal when analysed separately. In contrast, the combined semicircular canal system exhibited subtle but significant sexual shape variation independent of centroid size, whereas morphological disparity did not differ between sexes. The geometric comparison of the female and male consensus configurations further showed that sexual shape variation was regionally heterogeneous. Whereas the cochlea exhibited a pattern of localized changes with low directional coherence, the semicircular canals displayed more coordinated regional shape changes. The male consensus also exhibited slightly higher canal circularity across all three semicircular canals, particularly the posterior canal, while differences in canal-plane orientation remained minimal. These findings demonstrate that sexual shape variation in the human bony labyrinth is subtle and anatomically partitioned among its components. Although significant sex differences in centroid size were detected across most anatomical regions, overall labyrinth shape and cochlear morphology were primarily influenced by allometry, whereas significant sex-related shape differences were detected only when the semicircular canals were considered as an integrated anatomical system. These findings demonstrate that sexual dimorphism in the human bony labyrinth is subtle but regionally heterogeneous, with the cochlea and semicircular canals exhibiting distinct patterns of shape variation, suggesting that these structures are influenced by different developmental, functional, and evolutionary processes.
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Le contrôle bibliographique ouvert
DOI retrouvé dans Crossref DOI retrouvé ; titre concordant.
- Titre Crossref
- Region-specific patterns of sexual shape variation in the human bony labyrinth: 3D geometric morphometric analysis of a sample with known genomic sex
- Date Crossref
- 22/08/2026
- Éditeur
- openRxiv
- Type
- posted-content
Ce recoupement confirme des métadonnées liées au DOI. Il ne confirme ni la méthode ni les conclusions de l’étude, et il ne compte pas comme une seconde source scientifique indépendante.
Où se fait cette recherche
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University of Vienna Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Network pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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University of Bonn Department of Anthropology of the Americas pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas pays non établi dans la noticeStructure de recherche
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Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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National Institute of Anthropology and History pays non établi dans la noticeOrganisme public
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Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Universidad Nacional de La Plata pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Centro Científico Tecnológico - San Juan pays non établi dans la noticeStructure de recherche
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Universidad Nacional de Cuyo pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Universidad Nacional de Córdoba pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Universidad de Buenos Aires pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
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Universidad Isalud pays non établi dans la noticeUniversité ou école supérieure
Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Network — University of Vienna, Department of Anthropology of the Americas — University of Bonn et Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, avec 9 autres affiliations.
Une affiliation ne permet pas de déduire la nationalité d’un auteur.