LCF of Pithecanthropus

 

The hip joint of Pithecanthropus erectus (Homo erectus) had a ligament of the head of the femur, in Latin called the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). The femur of a male specimen was first discovered in 1892 by Eugène Dubois (1858-1940) on the island of Java (2004DeVosJ). The age of the sediment preserving the remains of the Java Man is estimated to be approximately in the range of 540-430 thousand years (2015JoordensJC_RoebroeksW). On the femoral head, a deep pit of the femoral head is noticeable—the trace of the distal attachment of the LCF (sketchfab.com). The location of the pit on the femoral head of Pithecanthropus is identical to that of Homo sapiens. In light of this, we assume that the Java Man walked similarly to anatomically modern humans.

Illustration:

Pithecanthropus had LCF

The left femur of Java Man (Pithecanthropus erectus, Homo erectus), specimen from the Darwin Museum (Moscow); view from the medial side (photo by the author). The arrow indicates the fossa of the femoral head - the place of attachment of the LCF.

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References: 

De Vos J. The Dubois collection: a new look at an old collection. Scripta Geologica. 2004;Special Issue,4:267-85.

Joordens JC, d’Errico F, Wesselingh FP, Munro S, De Vos J, Wallinga J, ... Roebroeks W. Homo erectus at Trinil on Java used shells for tool production and engraving. Nature. 2015;518(7538)228-31.

keywords: ligamentum capitis femoris, ligament of head of femur, ligamentum teres, связка головки бедра, anatomy, paleontology, pithecanthropus

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