俄亥俄州立大学研究人员通过观察西非赤色山魈的运动能力，对科学界关于人类祖先足部结构的假设提出质疑。1 这些研究人员在象牙海岸泰伊森林的猴类研究项目站进行了研究，发现赤色山魈虽然脚踝灵活性不如黑猩猩，但仍可通过中足部位高达46度的弯曲能力垂直攀爬树干。1 相比之下，黑猩猩踝关节可向上弯曲约45度，而人类踝关节仅约20度。1
这项发现对科学界长期以来的认知构成了挑战。1 研究人员表示，不能仅因为某物没有黑猩猩样的脚就排除垂直攀爬的可能性。1 考虑到人类与黑猩猩在600万至700万年前从最后共同祖先分化，1 这些观察结果表明猿类足部结构的多样性可能被低估了。1 该研究论文已发表于《美国国家科学院院刊》2026年第123卷第35期，所获得的视频证据为猴类中基本上未被认可或低估的运动行为提供了首批运动学文献记录。1
Researchers from Ohio State University have challenged prevailing assumptions about the foot structure necessary for vertical tree climbing by studying red colobus monkeys in West Africa1. Through observations conducted at a primate research station in Tai Forest, Ivory Coast, scientists discovered that these monkeys can climb tree trunks vertically despite having ankle flexibility inferior to chimpanzees, relying instead on midfoot bending capacity of up to 46 degrees1. This finding suggests that ape-like feet may not be a prerequisite for effective vertical climbing, contradicting long-held theories about the locomotor capabilities of the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees1.
The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2026, Volume 123, Issue 35, compared the anatomical flexibility of multiple primate species1. While red colobus monkeys achieved midfoot flexion of 46 degrees and chimpanzees demonstrated ankle dorsiflexion of approximately 45 degrees, humans' ankles bend only about 20 degrees1. Luke Fannin, a member of the research team, noted that "you cannot exclude the possibility of vertical climbing simply because something does not have chimpanzee-like feet"1. W. Scott McGraw emphasized that video evidence from the study provided "the first kinematic documentation of locomotor behaviors that are essentially unrecognized or underestimated in primates"1. These findings have significant implications for interpreting fossil evidence and reconstructing the evolutionary history of human ancestors, particularly given that humans and chimpanzees diverged from their last common ancestor between 6 and 7 million years ago1.
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