Dataset from: Ardipithecus hand provides evidence that humans and chimpanzees evolved from an ancestor with suspensory adaptations

The morphology and positional behavior of the last common ancestor of
humans and chimpanzees are critical for understanding the evolution of
bipedalism. Early 20th century anatomical research supported the view that
humans evolved from a suspensory ancestor bearing some resemblance to
apes. However, the hand of the 4.4 million-year-old hominin Ardipithecus
ramidus, purportedly provides evidence that the hominin hand was derived
from a more generalized form. Here we use morphometric and phylogenetic
comparative methods to show that Ardipithecus retains suspensory adapted
hand morphologies shared with chimpanzees and bonobos. We identify an
evolutionary shift in hand morphology between Ardipithecus and
Australopithecus that renews questions about the coevolution of hominin
manipulative capabilities and obligate bipedalism initially proposed by
Darwin. Overall, our results suggest that early hominins evolved from an
ancestor with a varied positional repertoire including suspension and
vertical climbing, directly affecting the viable range of hypotheses for
the origin of our lineage.