DOI: 10.5061/dryad.z8w9ghxq7
title: Postcranial skeletal size measurements of hybrid captive Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

description: The dataset consists of postcranial measurements of size taken virtually
 from CT scans of fully articulated skeletons of 134 adult M.
 mulatta.  The measurements are maximum long bone lengths, weight
 at scanning, and crown-rump length.  The majority of monkeys were
 scanned in vivo, with a few scanned as cadavers following natural
 death.  The sample comes from a colony house at the California
 National Primate Center, University California Davis (CNPRC), which is
 composed of Indian, Chinese and hybrid animals.  For more
 information see our article.  Our research sought to examine the
 relationship between admixture and body size in the context of previous
 research that had suggested hybridisation in non-human primates leads to
 extreme size and heightened variation in offspring.  This
 research had largely been carried out on hybrids between more distantly
 related parental taxa and on early generation hybrids.  Our
 project is aimed at better understanding what determines hybrid morphology
 in non-human primates with the ultimate aim of building models for
 hybridisation between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.  These data
 were comparable with previous work and enabled us to show that, contrary
 to previous research in other taxa, in M. mulatta hybrids are relatively
 small but not outside of the range of parental variation.
description: Laura Buck collected these data virtually in Avizo (limb bone
 lengths) and SlicerMorph (crown-rump length) from the CT scans for each
 individual.  Weight was collected at scanning by  CNPRC staff.  All limb
 bone measurements were taken on the right side unless that bone was
 compromised, in which case the left was used and this is indicated in the
 field ‘notes’.  Chinese ancestry was provided by the CNPRC and is
 estimated using mating records.
description: # Postcranial skeletal size measurements of hybrid captive Rhesus macaques
 (Macaca mulatta)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z8w9ghxq7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z8w9ghxq7) ## Description of the data and file structure Postcranial skeletal size measurements of hybrid captive Rhesus macaques (*Macaca mulatta*) Description of the data and file structure The data are uploaded in a tab-delimited text file. Except where noted (weight), all measurements are in mm. ### Files and variables #### File: BuckEtAl2025\_AJBA\_HybridMacaqueSize.txt **Description:**  | Variables | Definition | | :--------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Specimen | ID number provided for each individual by California National Primate Center, University of California Davis (CNPRC) | | Sex | Provided by CNPRC; F: female, M: male | | Chinese Ancestry | Provided by CNPRC, estimated from mating records. 0: full-bred Indian animal, 1: full-bred Chinese animal, numbers in between indicate hybrids | | kg | Weight at scanning (in kg) | | C-R curved | Crown to rump length measured using the Open Curve semilandmarking tool in SlicerMorph. Measurement starts at mid-point between mid-points of orbits and ends at the notch under the spinous process of the third sacral vertebra. Points included on the nuchal ridge, second cervical vertebra and first thoracic vertebra. Additional point included on the spinous processes of sufficient vertebrae to accurately describe the shape of the spine. | | R humeral max | Maximum length of right humerus. Proximal-most point on humeral head to distal-most point on medial trochlea. | | R femoral max | Maximum length of the right femur. Proximal-most point on radial head in line with styloid process to distal-most point on styloid process. | | R radial max | Maximum length of the right radius. Proximal-most point on greater trochanter to distal-most point on lateral condyle. | | R tibial max | Maximum length of the right tibia. Proximal-most point on medial margin of proximal condyle to distal-most point on medial malleolus | | Note | Instances where a bone from the left side was used because that on the right side was not measureable are noted (n = 2) |