ABSTRACT
Profound morphological changes must have taken place in hominid structure, some of which directly affected manual skill and such as improved bipedal walking, which affected it indirectly. The more critical and specific the functional character complexes are the more likely one is to be able to identify within the spectrum of hominid evolution the true line leading to modern man. In phylogenetic sense, minor inadequacies of gait which place a physiological limit on the hunting range of one group of hominids compared with another better endowed group, could well lead to extinction of the former. The final status of Proconsul in the systematics of hominid evolution may turn out to be it represents an important structural and functional stage in the phylogeny of hominid locomotion. Certain general similarities in structure and function with Colobinae were also apparent which led the authors to suggest that, in terms of locomotor habit; Proconsul had much in common with modern leaf-eating monkeys especially Nasalis.
