Relative facial width, and its association with canine size and body mass among chimpanzees and bonobos: Implications for understanding facial width-to-height ratio expression among human populations

Objectives: Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) has been widely investigated in the context of its role in visual communication, though there is a lack of consensus about how fWHR serves as a social signal. To better understand fWHR variation in a comparative context, we investigate the associations between fWHR and canine crown height (CCH) and body mass, respectively, among two chimpanzee subspecies (<i>Pan </i><i>troglodytes schweinfurthii, Pan troglodytes troglodytes</i>) and bonobos (<i>Pan paniscus</i>).Materials and Methods: We collected landmark data from 3D surface models of 86 <i>Pan </i>cranial specimens to quantify fWHR and upper CCH, and to estimate body mass. We used Spearman's r and Kruskal-Wallis tests to test for significant relationships among variables, and to assess sexual dimorphism.Results: There is an inverse relationship between fWHR and CCH in both sexes of<i> </i><i>Pan</i>, however there are interpopulation differences in the relationship between fWHR and CCH among <i>Pan</i> taxa. <i>Pan paniscus</i> have relatively wide faces and small canine crowns, and wide faces in <i>Pan t. schweinfurthii</i> males may be driven by body size constraints. <i>Pan troglodytes</i> and <i>Pan paniscus</i> show fWHR dimorphism, and<i> Pan </i><i>paniscus</i> have significantly higher fWHRs than do either <i>Pan troglodytes</i> subspecies.Discussion: Our findings indicate that CCH and facial breadth may serve subtly different signaling functions among <i>Pan </i>taxa. Further research into the circumstances in which wide faces evolved among chimpanzees and bonobos will likely afford deeper insights into the function of relatively wide faces in the context of visual signaling among humans and our extinct hominin relatives.