Glossary
calcaneus
heel bone.
callus
a woven bone formation (unorganized) in response to a bone fracture.
cancellous bone
spongy bone.
canine
a single cusped tooth located between the first premolar and the lateral incisor.
capitate
the largest write bone; situated in the center of the deistal row of carpals.
caries
decay on bone or tooth; sometimes referred to as a cavity on the tooth.
carnivore
a dietary category that describes animals that specialize in eating only meat; animals included in the taxonomic order Carnivora.
catarrhine
in taxonomic classification, any member of the infraorder Catarrhini including Old World monkeys, apes and humans.
caudal
the relative term used for quadrupedal animals (those that travel on four legs) to describe features that are closer to the tail of the trunk; the opposite of cranial; the term inferior is a synonym commonly used when referring to bipedal hominins.
cercopithecoid
in taxonomic classification, members of the family Cercopithecidae, including Old World monkeys.
character
an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral features of an organism.
character state
the absence, presence, or developmental state (e.g., size and shape) of a character.
cheek teeth
a post-canine tooth in primates used for crushing.
childhood
stage in human development after infancy and before juvenile; considered to be between the ages of 3 and 12 years old in most cultures.
chromosome
a large molecule found in cells that contains DNA. Humans have 46 chromosomes (44 autosomal and 2 sexual), but different species have different chromosomal numbers.
clade
in cladistics, a species or group of species that represents the descendants from a single common ancestor; a holophyletic group.
cladistic analysis
a type of classification that looks at evolutionary histories based on the analysis of shared derived traits.
cladogenetic speciation
a splitting or diversification event, usually over a short period of geologic time. As populations begin to differ more and more from one another, they may eventually be recognized as different geographic variants of the same species. Given enough time, they will be recognized as separate species.
cladogram
a chart that demonstrates evolutionary relationships based on derived traits; the ultimate result of cladistic analysis.
classification
arrangement of organisms into groups based on comparable characteristics.
clavicle
collarbone.
closed environment
an geographic area with a substantial canopy of foliage limiting the amount of light that is able to reach the ground.
Colles fracture
a break in the bone that crossing the distal end of the radius.
conchae
shell shaped bones of the nasal cavity; located on the lateral nasal walls.
condyle
an articular prominence of a bone.
congenital
from birth.
conspecific
organisms belonging to the same species.
context
place in space and time.
convergence
[syn. convergent evolution] the adaptations of similar traits in two or more unrelated species either by chance or through similarity of function; the opposite of divergent evolution. Bat wings and butterfly wings are an example of convergent evolution.
coronal suture
the suture between the frontal and parietal bones in the cranium.
cortical bone
the thick exterior layer of smooth bone..
costal
an adjective that describes the ribs.
cranial
refers to the skull and mandible; a relative term used for quadrupedal organisms (those that travel on four legs) to describe features that are closer to the head or top of the body; opposite of caudal. The term superior is a synonym commonly used when referring to bipedal hominin anatomy.
Cranial shaping
intentional creation of abnormally shaped skulls through pressure on developing cranial skeletal tissue.
cranium
the bones that surrounds the brain case; the skull excluding the mandible and hyoid bones.
crepuscular
describes organisms that are mostly active during dusk and dawn.
crest
a ridge on the chewing surface of a tooth that connects the cusps to one another.
cusp
a rounded or pointed projection made of enamel on the chewing surface of a tooth