Comparison of hind limb muscle mass in neonate and adult prosimian primates

Little ontogenetic data exist to indicate whether muscular organization of neonates reflects adult locomotion (e.g., leaping) or infant activities like clinging or the initial quadrupedal phase of locomotion that typifies most infant primates. In the present study, five species of primates with contrasting modes of locomotion were examined. Twenty-eight preserved neonatal and adult cadavers were studied by careful dissection of the hip, thigh, and leg muscles. Wet weights were taken of limb muscles after removal, and the muscles were combined into major functional groups (e.g., flexors, extensors) of each limb segment. Results demonstrate that the distribution of muscle mass within the thigh and within the leg are similar between neonates and adults for all species, with major groups varying by 5% or less in all but two age comparisons. Crural indices of the neonates are nearly identical to those of the adults, but leg/thigh muscle mass ratios were higher in the neonates. Species vary greatly in the percentage of adult limb segment muscle mass present in neonates, with Tarsius syrichta having the greatest percentage for all segments and two lemurids showing the least. These results primarily track differences in relative body mass at birth rather than developmental differences. The adaptive distribution of muscle, as discussed previously for adult prosimians, appears to be established at birth. Neonates of leaping species already have much larger quadriceps muscles than quadrupeds. Differences between large- and small-bodied leapers (e.g., pronounced superficial plantarflexor masses in tarsiers and pronounced deep plantarflexor masses in sifakas) also are present in neonates. Ratios of muscle mass over body mass are smaller in all neonates than in their adult counterparts, suggesting that the neonates are relatively poorly muscled, and that muscle mass must increase with positive allometry during growth.